Month: July 2019

Burger crew meeting called to order on Saturday, May 25, 2019

Members in attendance: Angela, Trev, Innie, Wayne, DK

Guests: Christian Y., Marty

I. Ordering 

We all ordered a Double Cheeseburger ($5.95) with French fries ($3.75).  Trevor and Angela also opted to order another single Cheeseburger ($3.95) after they finished sharing their Double. (Spoiler alert: These burgers were that good.)  The burgers are advertised on the menu as hand formed and flat top grilled with onions, served with American cheese, pickles, and house sauce.

II. The burgers

This one was a winner!  The burgers were simple, but well-executed, and they were thoroughly enjoyed all around by the whole group.

The patties were made in the smashburger style, with a great sear and lots of browning, but still very juicy.  DK even saw bits of pink in his burger.  When eaten by itself, the patties had lots of umami and meaty flavor.  All our burgers came out perfectly seared and juicy, so A+ for the Window’s consistency game.

The American cheese was melty and congealed into the crevices of the patties, and didn’t overpower the flavor of the meat.  The crew agreed that the standard American cheese was a great choice, for both flavor and gooey texture.

The onions were very thinly sliced and caramelized, but still had enough bite to not be mushy.  Wayne said that it reminded him of an Oklahoma style cheeseburger, but without the onions smashed into the patty.  The pickles were not the standard bread and butter pickle.  When eaten solo, they tasted homemade, and just lightly pickled.  The house sauce seemed like a chunkier thousand island.  The bun was sweet and soft like a Hawaiian bread, and maybe steamed with a cover on the grill.  At first glance, we suspected that there was too much bread, but because the bun was so soft, it gave easily and mushed together with the other ingredients very nicely with each bite.

Trev and Angela actually preferred the single over the double cheeseburger, citing that the bun to meat ratio with the single was better.

III. The Fries/Sides

The fries at the Window were amazing! Definitely one of the best fries I’ve had since joining the crew. One of my personal pet peeves at burger-centric joints is when the fries taste like an afterthought, or even worse, when they don’t offer fries at all.  When I walk into a burger place and see only bags of chips offered as a side, my disappointment is immeasurable.  

These fries had a nice crispy rind on the outside and were soft and airy on the inside.  Double fried to golden brown and well seasoned with flake salt.  Trev thought that they were Yukon gold potatoes from the texture and taste. 

IV. Miscellaneous 

True to it’s name, this establishment is just an order and pickup window.  Only outdoor seating is available in the form of stackable plastic stools.  A few of the crew members said that the seating reminded them of their experiences with street vendors in Southeast Asia.  There was limited shade, so come early if you want to grab a comfortable spot to munch on your meal.  They also offer their meals to go.

The neighborhood is very typically Venice, which may be charming to some, but verging on a bit too granola for others.  Let’s just say that you shouldn’t be surprised when the pickup window calls out orders for people named Starchild, Moon, and (my personal favorite) Matrix.  Also keeping true to the neighborhood demographic, they offer a beyond burger option, a grain bowl, and kale salad on their menu.

Parking is limited, and the small lot is shared with the scattered outdoor seating.

V. Value

The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered.  They ranged from $7.50 to $8, which made this a great value (especially when considering the usual price range of food options in the Venice area).

VI. The verdict

This place earned some high scores all around.  The crew rated it 4.2, 4.9, 4.6, 4.3, and 4.3.  Excellent choice by DK!

Next burger crew meeting will be held July 28^th, 2019 at Burgers Never Say Die.

The final stop for Burger Crew does San Francisco!

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Sunday, June 30, 2019 at 9am.

Members in attendance: Angela d., Sumana S., Trevor Y., Dennis K., Innie C., and myself (Wayne T.)

I. Ordering

Wayne: PB&J Burger with bacon, Nashville hot chicken sandwich (split with Sumana)
Sumana: PB&J Burger with bacon, The Okie Burger, The Hot Wes Burger
Trangela: PB&J Burger with bacon, breakfast tacos, coffee
Dennis: PB&J Burger with bacon, cheesy tots
Innie: The Hot Wes Burger, Nashville hot chicken sandwich

II. The burgers

The burgers were a huge hit, and for many of us, it was the highlight (and savior) of a trip filled with mediocre and overpriced burgers. Wes spoke to us personally and told us that the burgers were made entirely of coarse ground brisket and were hand-smashed. They were very beefy, nicely seasoned, and had a great sear while staying juicy. Everybody who had the PB&J burger felt that it went very well with the rest of the burger; Angela even wanted more PB and less cheese. The onion strings were a huge hit in the burger, with the right amount of chew and crispiness, and the same could be said about the bacon.

Those that ordered the Hot Wes enjoyed them. They didn’t have a spicy kick but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing if you were looking for spicy flavor rather than heat. The queso and onion strings made for a great texture combination.

The Okie Burger brought Sumana back to Texas, reminding her of hometown favorite Whataburger, with mustard grilled patties and pickles with great flavor. She said that Southerners living in the bay area should definitely try it out if they want a slice of home.

III. The sides

The cheesy tots were awesome. The tots themselves were nicely fried, very crispy and salted. The cheese itself was very creamy and there was a generous amount of it.

Trevor really liked the breakfast tacos, saying that they tasted like how he wished the breakfast tacos in Austin tasted. He also really liked his coffee. Great flavor, and it came in a French press.

The Nashville hot chicken sandwiches were very good. The chicken was crispy and juicy, and the heat level was what some of us called “approachable,” meaning that you’d definitely know that it was there but that it shouldn’t be overwhelming to anyone who wanted to give it a try. The breading stayed crispy for a long time, and it was so crisp that Innie described it like having a crispy shell of breading.

IV. Miscellaneous

The restaurant feels like an old school diner, with a jukebox playing, bottle cap counter top, and burger paraphernalia everywhere, including an awesome neon burger sign. The tables had purse hooks under them, which is always a plus for everyone carrying a bag, and they have restrooms on site (which was more rare than we would’ve expected this trip).

Wes is a super cool guy, and despite not normally having the full burger menu available for breakfast, he told us that we could order any of the burgers once he realized how serious we were about trying them. His restaurant motto (“burgers are fun”) fits in very well with Burger Crew’s way of life.

V. Value

Everyone thought that the burger pricing was pretty spot-on, with the amounts that we would’ve paid for our burgers ranging between $12-$12.50.

VI. Rating

The burgers were almost universally praised. Out of a 5.0 point rating scale, our ratings were 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.2, 4.2, and 4.4, easily the highest scores of the entire trip.

This concludes Burger Crew does San Francisco! Our next stop: Burgers Never Say Die in Los Feliz on July 27.

Burger crew meeting called to order on Saturday, June 29, 2019 at 8:30pm.

Members in attendance: Angela d., Sumana S., Trevor Y. (me), Wayne T., Dennis K., and Innie C.

Guests: Isabel G., Christian Y., Todd W., Cindy W.

I. Ordering

There was only one burger on the menu: ($16) The Comstock Burger – secret sauce, fontiamerican, pickle, shallot, malt vinegar chips. You can have extra add-ons $5 Double (3/4lb) + $3 Seared Pork Belly + $3 Head to Tail Pork Jus

II. The burger

I admit I had to look up “Comstock” in the dictionary and it has something to do with a reformist (as in person who makes changes to something in order to make it better). I hope that means this burger will get better because it has a lot of areas to improve. Based on the collective feedback, the burger was deemed very meaty with a good sear with lots of juices. That would imply that it’s a good burger, HOWEVER we found that even though it looked to be cooked properly the meat was found to be CHEWY to the point one burger felt like it had tendons in it. The pickles were deemed too thin and ranged from noticeable to the only saving grace of the burger. Along with the chewiness came crunchiness from the chips…. sometimes. Some of the chips got soggy which gave a very inconsistent bite to bite experience. Some bites had a good crunch and others led to a messy plate since everything fell out. Two burgers were ordered as doubles and had the pork belly option. The consensus was one patty is enough and don’t bother with the pork belly. It didn’t taste like much and was more ham-like than the eye-rolling pork belly we come to expect.

Bottom line, the burger needs to be less chewy and more flavorful. The burger feels like it’s trying to hard. I really really wanted to like this burger but it just didn’t live up to any hype.

III. The Sides and Drinks

What lacked in the burger was probably made up in the delicious sides and drinks. As a saloon they make some top notch cocktails. We had sazeracs made with Dickel, Rittenhouse, and Michters and all were excellent! It’s pretty rare to find a bar that can make a decent sazerac. I also sampled the manhattan which was also excellent. And if rye whisky isn’t you’re thing, all the other cocktails ordered were yummy as well.

ORDER the TATER TOTS and WHITE CHEDDAR CHEXX. You will not disappointed if you enjoy fried potatoes and or cheese.

IV. Miscellaneous 

Live Jazz music played upstairs. It was pretty loud so it made having conversations somewhat challenging. They played typical 40s jazz that I would expect to hear at a jazz concert. However I don’t think that played well in this environment. I would have preferred either a more mellow background or upbeat big band. The jazz played is jazz to be experienced actively. I wasn’t there to listen to jazz. I was there to hangout with friends and eat delicious burgers. At one point in the night someone from the Jazz band came downstair asking for tips so have your small bills ready.

The bar itself felt pretty intimate with the small nook type spaces and darker settings. It’s definitely not ideal for large groups and the fact they were able to fit 10 of us in the restaurant was very impressive.

V. Value

The members would pay between $8 and $10.50 so the $16 price tag on the burger before add-ons makes this a low value burger.

VI. The verdict

On a scale from 1-5 the burger averaged 2.8 with a high of 3.3 and a low of 1.8. Come for the drinks and sides and perhaps stay for the company but don’t get the burger.

Next Burger Crew stop: Wes Burger ‘N’ More

Minutes of a Meeting of the Members of Burger Crew LA

Date:                                   Saturday, June 29, 2019
Time:                                  4:15 p.m. Pacific Time
Location:                          Burger Shack, 2237 Powell Street, SF, CA 94133
Members Present:     Angela, Trevor, Wayne, DK, Innie, Sumana
Members Absent:      None
Guests Present:          Christian, Isabel

I. Call to Order

Meeting was called to order around 4:15 p.m.

II. Discussion

	Angela	Trevor	Wayne	DK (& Isa)	Innie (& Chris)	Sumana
Ordering	(Shared) Combo: ½ lb. shack burger (added: grilled onions, bacon, jalapenos, American cheese), curly fries	(Shared) Combo: ½ lb. shack burger (added: grilled onions, bacon, jalapenos, American cheese), curly fries	Combo: ¼ lb. shack burger (added: American cheese, pickles, onions), regular fries, substituted drink for a Nutella milkshake	½ lb. shack burger (requested medium rare patty, added: American cheese, bacon, pickles on the side), sweet potato fries, root beer float	½ lb. shack burger (added: jalapenos, pickles and onions), onion rings	½ lb. shack burger (added: Cheddar cheese, jalapenos, pickles), Oreo milkshake
Burgers	It was good. The patties were smashed, had a great sear, and were seasoned; however, it didn’t taste like meat.  The buns were flimsy and fell apart.  Picking the ½ pound was a good choice, and also the toppings were worked well for the burger. Probably would not like burger without the toppings. Need acid notes (i.e. pickles or jalapenos) for sure or else the burger would fall flat.	Technically sound burger, but is missing the umami flavor. Wished it tasted better.	The burger looked good, had a sear and was not dry, but the meat didn’t taste beefy enough.  The taste did not match the visual. Patty was cooked medium-well, but the doneness level was not specified when ordered. American cheese wasn’t melted. Pickles added a nice contrast.	Bun was thin, falling apart. The sear on the patty was nice and crispy; however the meat was flavorless and bland. Did not think the ingredients were fresh. Pickles: “wtf yo?” (still eats it) “It has an ocean quality to them.”  If there were some changes, like better ingredients or a better patty grind, that would make it a really good burger.	Really liked the burger: it was meaty and very satisfying. Recommends getting the double (½ lb.) for sure. Ration of bun to meat may be a little off, but not bad. Jalapenos made a (good) difference; it gave it an acidic kick. This was a good, no frills burger. Bun was gooey. Asked for medium rare, but only got pink here and there.	Enjoyed the burger a lot. Asked the lady at the register what kind of cheese she would recommend and she recommended the Cheddar cheese.  Glad to go with her recommendation because the Cheddar cheese was melted and gooey on the patties.  Probably would have preferred to pick either the jalapenos or the pickles (not both). Patties were juicy, and the buns held up well to all the cargo.
Fries/Sides	[Curly fries] Really good, standard, nice and crispy. Solid fries.	[Curly fries] They are awesome.	[Regular fries] Very good, super crispy, and really hot. Everything came out very fresh.	[Sweet potato fries] Wished they were salted a little bit more.	[Onion rings] Solid. Onions cooked through and were nicely fried.	n/a
Misc	Pepsi/no coke. Full bar. (Unusually) Fast service at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon.	“Question: Are we Chinatown adjacent?”	Shake came out way later. Nutella shake was not as nutella-y as it could be.	The root beer float took a long time coming out.	The bathroom is in the back. There’s room for big groups.	Already finished the meal for a while before the Oreo shake came out. Really liked the shake though.
Value	$8	$8	$6	$6.50	$8	n/a
Verdict	3.2	3.1	3.3	3.3	3.7	3.9

Overall Value:                     $7.30/burger
Overall Verdict:                  3.4 of 5.0

III. Future Agenda

Next meeting is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Comstock Saloon, 155 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, CA 94133.

IV. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

Submitted By:                    Sumana, Secretary of the Meeting

Burger crew meeting called to order on Saturday, June 29, 2019 at 11am.

Members in attendance: Angela d., Sumana S., Trevor Y., Wayne T., Dennis K., and myself (Innie C.)

Guests: Isabel G., Christian Y., and Marty d. (Apprentice member)

I. Ordering

Wayne, Angela/Trev, and Chris/I all ordered the Double Savory burger (mushroom, truffle cheese, caramelized onion, lettuce, aioli – $11.20).  Wayne added bacon to his, and Chris and I added jalapenos to ours.  Sumana and DK/Isa ordered the special item not on the regular menu, the La Hambuguesa (queso fresco, guacamole, roasted jalapenos, caramelized onions, and Yucateco mayo – $12.20), with double patties.

There are 5 regular burger offerings on the menu, plus a veggie option.  All (excluding the veggie option) are given the option of single or double patty. 

II. The burgers

Those who ordered the Savory burger were none too impressed.  The patties were intended to be smashburgers, but the necessary sear for a good smash-style just wasn’t there.  Wayne’s patties had a moderate sear on just one side.  Angela speculated that since we were the first guests of the day, the grill didn’t have a chance to heat up properly before some of the patties were placed.   The most common complaint of the Savory crowd was that there was no truffle flavor.  We all agreed that if truffle was not advertised in the ingredient list, we would have thought this was just a mushroom burger.  The cheese didn’t have a stand-out flavor, but nicely settled into the crevices of the patty, and added to the savoriness and gooey-ness of the burger.  Wayne thought his added bacon was just okay.  It was neither a thick cut nor a thin slice, and it was neither chewy nor crispy.  A true purgatory state of bacon.  The jalapenos that Chris and I added were of the pickled variety, and would have been a nice acidic addition to the cheesiness if there were more of them. 

The La Hambuguesa was a much bigger hit.  DK said the patties themselves didn’t have too much seasoning, but the queso fresco and guacamole really made up for it.  The queso fresco was thick cut and on point. Isa compared the taste to a torta (she clarified that this was high praise).  The ingredients all together made the burger very flavorful and enjoyable.  The patties for these burgers had a much better sear.

The beef seemed to be of good quality, and all members thought they had a nice meaty flavor.  The patties were very loosely packed.  So much so that the burgers tended to fall apart toward the end.  Most of the crew noted that while the burgers were tender, they would have appreciated more juiciness.

Buns were buttery and held up well for the most part (except when the patties fell apart at the end).  The double patties seemed to be the best choice in terms of satisfying ratio of meat to bread.

III. The Fries/Sides

Between the group, we ordered the garlic fries, the chili cheese fries, and the spicy garlic fries.  The chili cheese fries is one of the offerings on the regular menu, but the garlic fries (garlic butter, grama padano, parsley – $4) and the spicy garlic fries (sambal garlic, butter, grama Padano – $4.50) were specials advertised by the register.  The fries were thin cut, crispy, and seemed to be double fried.  Wayne commented that they were “airy” on the inside.  The chili cheese fries were solid – cheesy and satisfying.  Trev compared the chili style to be of the Weinerschnitzel kind (not in a bad way).  Between the garlic and the spicy garlic fries, everyone preferred the spicy garlic.  The garlic fries were flavorful, but the spicy garlic fries had an extra kick that everyone enjoyed.

IV. Miscellaneous 

Service was very friendly, and the eating area was clean.  The fountain drinks were self-fill and consisted of Coke products.  Ketchup and mustard were “Sir Kensington” brand.  Trevor, the reigning ketchup expert on crew, declared them to be “the most okay” of the non-Heinz/Hunt brands. 

Cups/straws look and feel very much like plastic, but are made of compostable plant material.  Definite win in terms of satisfying both environmental friendliness and straw usability (wimpy paper straws are the Edmure Tully of the straw world – well-meaning but incompetent).

If you want to use the bathroom at this establishment, be prepared for a bit of a walk.  To use them, you’ll have to go over to a nearby building, take the elevator to the basement, and access them via key cards.

V. Value

The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered.  The range was between $9 and $12 for the double burgers, so most of us considered the burgers to be more expensive than what we would have liked to pay.

VI. The verdict

The Savory burger had ratings of 3.3, 2.7, 2.7, and 3.0. The La Hambuguesa had ratings of 4.0 and 4.4.

Next Burger Crew stop: Burger Shack, San Francisco, CA.

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Friday, June 28, 2019 @ 10pm.

Members in attendance: Angela d., Sumana S., Trevor Y., Wayne T., Innie C., and me! Dennis K.

Guests: Christian Y., Isabel G.

I. Ordering
There is only one burger on the menu, the self-titled Black Sands Burger, which includes two smashed patties, American cheese, shredded lettuce (which they call “shredduce”… no comment), pickles and onion, all placed inside a toasted brioche bun. As of the time of this review, the burger and a side of fries or salad was $17. Bacon and fried egg add-ons are +$2 each, and I could tell you how much extra it is to make it a veggie burger but I’m fairly certain you didn’t come here to read about that.

II. The burgers
Brioche buns are a dime a dozen these days. The reviews were mixed: some members thought the aggressively toasted buns were nice whereas others thought the buns were forgettable. I think we all agreed that the buns did their job, so to that, two lackluster thumbs up.

The two smash patties were seasoned well and had good flavor, although they didn’t have that truly meaty quality we’ve found in other burgers. The hypothesis is that they don’t grind their beef same-day (not too surprising from a beer-first establishment). It would have been nice to see a little more sear and a have little more juice, but on the plus side, we were impressed the patties were cooked to a perfect medium-rare considering they were smashies. The cheese was overpowering for most (each of the two patties had their own cheese overcoat) but I thought the ratio was awesome and the umami flavor really stood out.

Moving on to the veggies, the crew—to be precise, particular members of the crew—are shredded lettuce haters. Not a deal breaker (obviously) but it sometimes waters down the flavor of the burger when there’s too much of it, so to that end, we were happy there wasn’t much “shredduce”. It was there but most of us didn’t notice (hey, sounds like me!) The pickles were sliced so thin they were translucent and cut long ways like a hot dog. It wasn’t until we tasted them separately that we realized they were bread & butter pickles, aka the inferior pickle, but prepared this way, they weren’t bad at all. Angela thought they were surprisingly nice but Sumana thought it still would have been better with a dill pickle. Pickles can be so polarizing.

III. The sides
The number of people who chose salad over fries: 0. And good thing too because the fries were a hit! They were salty, crispy, and get ready for this: they tasted like a higher quality version of McDonald’s fries, aka the Michael Jordan of fries, the gold standard. I hope this recipe never changes.

IV. Miscellaneous
The place was crowded and loud, not surprising given our visit fell on a Friday night @ 10pm. It was a miracle we found a table that fit all of us but the burger gods were with us that night. Service was really quick too, so a big thank you to our server at Black Sands that night (forgot your name, sorry!) Beerwise, there were only six beers on tap and most of them were IPAs. This is a small shop; don’t go in expecting pages and pages.

V. Value
The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered. The range was between $5.50 and $14, the latter being an outlier by a wide margin, so the $17 price tag was higher than what we would have liked to pay.

VI. The verdict
Out of 5.0, the scores were: 2.0, 2.5, 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 4.6.

Next Burger Crew does SF stop: Popson’s, San Francisco, CA.