#mediocreburger

[pandasburgerblog]

The Pretzel Burger- Brick City Grill, Ames IA

This burger boasts- angus beef patty, american cheese, bacon, 1000 Island dressing, lettuce and pretzel bun

Another day, another burger blog because I have got to catch up on these!

The burger- Brick City Grill has sort of become our burger standby here in Ames, simply out of necessity. Until very recently (like yesterday) there was no other place in Ames that served a variety of burgers. So, when in the mood for burgers, this is generally where we end up. Having been here a number of times now, I find myself feeling that, while the burgers here are fine, sufficient meals, they’re never as good as I want them to be, or really, expect them to be. The pretzel burger was no exception. It was good, but there just wasn’t enough flavor or contrast. American cheese is not a very flavorful choice, and the Thousand Island dressing just didn’t pack the wallop I was hoping. I did end up needing to put ketchup on this burger. All in all, I really found this to be a meh sort of burger. Credit where credit is due, however. I had not, until this point, tried a pretzel bun before, and I understand now why they are so popular. That thing held up! Even under the barrage of burger juices, it held together and remained both texturally interesting and tasty. I may order more of these in the future.

The restaurant- I have been to this establishment a number of times, please see one of my previous posts regarding it.

Final Thoughts- This is a mediocre burger if ever there was one.    

[pandasburgerblog]

Bacon Cheddar Burger- Louie M’s Burger Lust, Omaha, NE

This burger boasts- 1/2 pound beef patty, bacon, cheddar cheese

The burger- Looking at the photo I took, I see now that it not all that appetizing. I blame this wholly on this burger, and not my photography skills. Even the lens blur function on my camera couldn’t make this burger look, or taste, good. For a place called “Burger Lust”, their burgers are not very good. They are, however, big ol’ greasy messes, which I will admit, I do enjoy from time to time. And, I know what your thinking. “But Panda, you ordered a burger with cheddar and bacon on it. Of course it’s going to be greasy.” Well, burger blogger, while you are correct that I did pick two of the greasiest burger topping known to man, I can confirm that their other burgers are just as greasy. Honestly, if their patties had been a little more flavorful, I would have been ok with it. But their patties just tasted like nothing, or they tasted like grease. I couldn’t really tell. But it is a huge burger (1/2 pound patty, y’all!) for pretty fricken cheap, so it’s not all bad. These burgers are probably best consumed at like 2 am after a night at the bar.Then these burgers would probably be delicious. 

The restaurant-  This place is very reminiscent of a dive bar. Again, I suggest you guys uber to this place after you’ve had a few. Then the ambiance will be perfect. They also have a fairly extensive breakfast menu for a place called “Burger Lust”.

Final Thoughts- This burger gets a mediocre rating because I think it has strong drunken snack potential. 

[daidaiparadise]

YOU GOT SEE THE CHICKEN WINGS? THEY ARE OOZING OUT CHEESE! NEED I SAY MORE?! #thefoodieadventuresofdesandsteph #mediocreburger (at BWB Singapore)

[pandasburgerblog]

The Burger di Manzo- +39 Cantina, Ames, IA

This burger boasts- caramelized onions, truffle aioli, and pancetta

The Burger- I have to be quite honest, my opinions of this burger are probably skewed by restaurant that serves it and the price I paid for it. In all likelihood, this is probably actually a perfectly tasty burger, and another person I was dining with that evening got the same burger and said it was the best burger he had ever eaten. I personally felt that this burger left something to be desired, but I’ll explain.

I will recognize that the patty was nice and flavorful, if a little thick, and anything with pancetta on it has the makings of greatness. And if the story had ended there, this would be a very different review. My main complaints with this burger was 1) the truffle aioli, and 2) the bun it was served on.

My complaint with the truffle aioli was that there was simply not enough of it. It was actually quite delicious, and complemented the burger nicely by providing some light and creamy notes to off-set the heaviness of the meat. But there wasn’t enough of it. I ended up having to put ketchup on my burger, and that was really a travesty. I hated covering up the flavors of the aioli with kethcup, but this burger really need some more sauce. My complaint against the bun is much harsher. This bun will go down in history as the worst burger bun I have ever eaten.  This fancy burger was served to be on a flimsy white bread bun that wasn’t even toasted, and fell apart immediately. There is no excuse for that, seeing as +39 prides itself in being one of the nicer restaurants in town, and literally already bakes it’s other breads in-house. This bun ruined this burger, and +39 should be ashamed. 

The restaurant- Apart from their bun transgression, +39 is a quaint little Italian bistro style restaurant with a fully stocked bar that serves my favorite amaretto sours. Their prices are reasonable to high, but their portions are small.

Final Thoughts- The unbiased burger blogger would probably find this to be a perfectly good burger, but I will say that it is a mediocre burger, because it did not meet my standards for what a restaurant of price and quality should be serving.

[lxshist]

:)

6.7/10