#bad burger

[pandasburgerblog]

BBQ Burger- Jethro’s BBQ n’ Bacon Bacon, West Des Moines, IA

This burger boasts-  1/2 pound Angus steak patty, topped with pulled pork tossed in Jethro's Secret BBQ sauce, pepper jack cheese and crispy onion strings on a freshly baked bun.

The burger- I’ve done it yet again, folks. I have succumb to the siren song of a bbq burger and yet again been disappointed by it. I thought that perhaps this time would be different, because, you know, we were at a BBQ restaurant, but alas, BBQ sauce on a burger has failed me again.  This burger was one of the worst burgers I have had in a while, you guys. Even somehow worse than the BBq burger from Perkins I reviewed last time. BBQ sauce is usually a pretty flavorful condiment, y’all. IT’s sweet, tangy, and sometimes spicy. And yet, this burger was about as flavorless as they come. Tasted like literal cardboard flavored meatloaf. No salt, no spice, nothing. No salt from the onion strings, only a vague watery sweetness from the pulled pork, and absolutely nothing from the pepper jack cheese, which, in the cheese world, should be beating over the head with flavor. There is absolutely no subtlety to pepper jack cheese, OK? I actually couldn’t finish this burger, it was so bad. Don’t get this burger, guys. It’s not good. My husband’s ribs were decent, though.

The restaurant- There are several different Jethro’s BBQs around the Des Moines area, each specializing in a different thing (such as bacon, as this one does). They are very popular around here and often get rave reviews. I’ve been to two locations now, and honestly, I’m not impressed. I don’t know what everybody is so excited about, but maybe I’m just ordering the wrong stuff *looks pointedly at this burger*.

Final Thoughts-  Really, really bad guys. Stay far away. 

[pandasburgerblog]

America Burger- Saddle Creek Breakfast Club, Omaha, NE

This burger boasts- a wagyu patty, bacon, american cheese, iceburg lettuce, a fried egg, and house mayo

The burger- I will admit this, the bar for this burger was high. It has some stiff competition from other burgers here in Omaha, like the Croque Garcon at Block 16, the Breakfast Burger at Early Bird, and even the gone but never forgotten M’s burger at M’s pub, all of which received good burger rating from this here esteemed blog. And let me tell you folks this burger....was a huge disappointment. Not only did it fail to raise the bar, it forgot when it was supposed the meet the bar and slept in that morning. This burger was working with the best ingredients! House mayo, a fried egg (which the Croque Garcon burger has taught me to truly appreciate), even a wagyu patty!!! And yet, it was boring as all get out. I have one thing to say to folk over at SCBC, and that is that waygu beef does not a tasty burger make. You still need salt, people! Or like any seasoning at all. Like, waygu beef still just tastes like beef at the end of the day. Broil or season that shit or get out of the burger business. A true shame that delicious ingredients were mishandled this way.

The restaurant- Saddle Creek Breakfast Club is a cute little brunch joint, and is a great place to hit up in the months of April, May, June, September, and maybe October when you can enjoy their outside patio. Eating inside is a trial however, because the place is the size of a shoe box.

Final thoughts- A tragedy, really. Bad burger.

[pandasburgerblog]

Cheeseburger- The Rusty Duck, Dexter, Iowa

This burger boasts- all beefy patty, your choice of cheese, add bacon if you want 

On the first day of Christmas, my true Panda gave to me...a bunch of backlog burger blogs! Through necessity, I’ve been stocking up blog posts over the last 6 months, so watch out folks, because they’re coming at you fast and hot!

The burger- Credit for this burger blog goes to my father, who has been on the lookout for blog worthy restaurants for a while now. He found this little hole-in-the-wall restaurant because it won the coveted “Best Burger in Iowa’ award in 2011, and he figured it was worth the trip. Now, despite what I’m about to say about this burger, it WAS worth the trip. I have been wanting to visit some of the award winners for a while now, and so I was excited to finally try one. On that note, never have I ever had a burger that was less deserving of a “Best Anything” award, and especially not deserving of best burger in the state. The only reason I can fathom why this burger won in the first place is that, and I do not exaggerate here, the patty is literally the size of your face. The picture does not do it justice. This thing came out with a patty that was at least 2 inches thick, the size of a dinner plate, and with at least a half of package of bacon on top. Props to the restaurant for the unnecessarily large portion size for a $12 dollar price tag. However, if I wanted to eat a meatloaf sandwich, I would have ordered a meatloaf sandwich. I will also begrudgingly admit that it is a task and a half to season all that meat, but they somehow managed to do it...and then some. When I first saw the burger, I thought it was going to be a dry, flavorless, sand pit. Instead, it was like eating a salt lick. This burger was inedibly salty, and the bacon, though plentiful, did nothing to help. Even ketchup couldn’t tame this dead sea burger. I don’t think I’ve ever been more disappointed in a burger in my life.

The restaurant- The Rusty Duck is the local eatery in a very small town about a half hour outside of Des Moines. It’s not much to look at, but the prices are cheap, the portions are huge, and it seems to bring the locals a lot of joy.

Final Thoughts- You may have an award, and I can’t take that away from you, but Burger Blog only call’s like it sees it: This is a bad burger.

[thewoodeewoo]

Burgers & Fun

[jtem]

Original art work. Bad Burger, Manchester N.H.

(In the back, to the right of the restrooms)

[jtem]

[dimlylitmealsforone]

Ellen plumbed the depths of her Facebook feed to bring us this, the handiwork of a university friend experimenting with shock diets with possibly some mild reggae and heavy cannabis use on the side.

Before I made it my mission to catalogue food sadness, I was never aware of a) how popular potato waffles are with people who cannot cook and b) how many people feel they can play fast and loose with the concept of the burger bun.

I’m going to go on record and say that pancakes and Bird’s Eye potato waffles are not acceptable substitutes for a burger bun.  Krispy Kreme doughnuts, cronuts, two slices of square white bread, tortilla wraps, and pork chops; these really shouldn’t be used in place of the humble bun either. 

You need to consider how you contain your burgers. 

People, these buns are problematic.