Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, October 14th at 12p.
Members in attendance: Angela, Trevor, Wayne, DK, and me (Innie).
Special guest: Marissa
Special canine: Molly
I. Ordering
Bun and Blanket has a pretty extensive menu that includes a variety of smash burgers, stuffed burgers, and vegetarian/vegan options. The smash burger is offered as a single, double, or triple patty, and comes with American cheese, pickles, grilled and raw onions, and ketchup and mustard. The stuffed burger offerings consists of the Gogi-Gooey (bulgogi-stuffed), Quesabirria (braised beef), BBQ pulled pork, and Cali Juicy Lucy.
Trev and Angela ordered a double smash burger ($10.50) with lemon pepper fries (+$3.50 as a combo), and a Quesabirria stuffed burger ($15).
Wayne ordered a triple smash burger ($13.50) with plain fries (+$3).
DK and Marissa ordered a single smash burger ($7.50) with an add on of spicy jalapeno relish (+$.50), and Birria fries ($15).
I also ordered a single smash burger with spicy jalapeno relish and a side of lemon pepper fries.
Molly barked out an order of a single puppy patty ($5).
II. Burgers
The burger patties, at least on this day, didn’t have the lace skirt that we love to see on smash patties. DK had scouted this location a few times before the meeting and mentioned that they usually have a great sear and smash. In fact, it was one of the things that caught his attention during his previous trips, and had inspired fond memories of the legendary lace on the Region burger in Chicago. Maybe they were rushed on the day of our meeting, or (our preferred theory) the person manning the grill was feeling too zen and couldn’t muster the anger to smash the patties to lacy perfection.
The inclusion of mustard in the smash burgers was something that we all noticed and really enjoyed. We discussed how most mustard-forward burgers that we’ve tried tended to remind us of McDonald’s burgers in composition, and this one was no exception. The B&B smash burger tasted like a superior smash-pattied version of a McDonald’s double cheeseburger. We particularly enjoyed the abundance of pickles in this burger versus it’s McDonald’s counterpart. The generously dispersed pickles in the Bun and Blanket burgers were far more enjoyable than McDonald’s 2 miserly slices of, in DK’s poetic words, “late stage geriatric pickles”.
DK and I both added jalapeno relish to our single smash burgers, and we agreed that it had a great balance of spiciness and flavor. It was hard to discern what exactly the relish was made of (besides jalapenos of course), but DK thought it was akin to a salsa verde without the cilantro.
We all ordered some variant of the smash burger (single/double/triple), but we all were satisfied with our personal choices of meat to burger ratio.
The Quesabirria burger was a whole different animal than the smash burgers. It was a thick burger patty that was stuffed with braised beef that had been marinated with with ancho and guarillo chilis, and topped with pepperjack cheese, cilantro, onions, radish, salsa, and Mexican crema, and served with a side of consomme. Angela said that the birria was good, just underseasoned. The burger really needed to be dipped in the consomme/au jus to give it flavor, but that also made the burger soggy. The pepperjack cheese also tasted underwhelming and nondescript. What was impressive, however, was that the patty still managed to have some medium rare parts, and both Trev and Angela thought that stuffing the meat inside made the whole burger much less messy to eat.
Molly, who has been watching her cholesterol, brought some oatmeal to eat, and supplemented it with a puppy patty (5 oz of unseasoned ground beef). She was so happy with her patty that she had no words.
III. Sides
The texture of the fries generally held up well, and stayed crispy throughout our meal, although Wayne’s fries were a bit too well done, and were crunchy rather than crispy. We really liked the flavor and novelty of the lemon pepper fries, which bordered on the cusp of being overly salty, but were addicting in a potato chip kind of way.
The Quesabirria fries had some of the same issues as the burger. The birria was again underseasoned, and needed the consomme to be flavorful. In addition, the fries couldn’t really hold up to the heft of the toppings and became soggy very quickly. The cheese that accompanied the Birria fries was an improvement from the pepperjack cheese in the Quesabirria burger, and was a lot gooier and more savory.
IV. Miscellaneous
Bun and Blanket is a permanent food truck at the Paperback Brewing Co. The brewery had some tasty beers, although their offerings are heavily skewed towards IPAs (in case that is or isn’t your preference). The tasting room is a large hangar, with an insulated roof and large open doors. There was a decent amount of seating, but they filled up fairly quickly as our meeting progressed. As we left, our seats were quickly snapped up by waiting patrons. Because of the open doors and possibly the heat of the day, we noticed some flies hanging around. It also did start getting pretty warm towards the end of our meeting, despite the insulated ceiling.
The truck was scheduled to be open at 12p that day, but ended up opening closer to 12:30p. We didn’t mind much since we were in good company, but it may be something to keep in mind if you’re on a tight schedule. After ordering, the food came out in a very reasonable time. Parking is available on the street.
V. Value
Here are the value and ratings that were given by the crew:
Innie: 3.5, $10
Trev: 4.1, $8.99
Wayne: 3.8, $13
Angela: 3.1, $10
DK: 4.0, $11
VI. Verdict
We had a great time at Bun and Blanket! Your experience may vary depending on the company you keep, but the burgers were well-priced and satisfying, the beer was tasty, and the ambiance was chill. Great choice by DK!
Next Burger Crew meeting is scheduled for Saturday, 11/11 at Easy Street Burgers, with a special appearance by Sumana and Will!