Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at noon (DK’s pick).
Members in attendance: Angela, Trevor, Wayne, and me, Innie.
Member in attendance 24 hours later: DK
As highlighted by its prominence in the restaurant’s name, the unique feature of this establishment is their made-in-house flatbreads. According to their website, the flatbreads are baked to order from dough that is made on-site from scratch.
I. Ordering
The menu at BunGraze includes several different burger options. Trev and Angela ordered the BBQ Burger (bacon, bacon jam, onion ring, and BBQ sauce, $11) as a combo (+$5), Wayne ordered the Breakfast Burger (bacon jam, eggs, cheese, lettuce and tomato, $11), and I ordered the OMG Burger (jalapenos, mushrooms, roasted garlic, onion jam, and onion rings, $12). DK ordered the Smashed Burger (cheese, pickles, spread, and onion jam, $10).
II. The Burger
We have to hand it to the restaurant… They know to highlight the best feature of their burgers. The flatbread was universally loved by all the members, and was hands down one of the most praise-worthy buns we’ve had. It was soft, yet still had a satisfying chew and subtle crispness, reminding us of a good pizza crust. Some of us spied a conveyor type contraption in the kitchen, which was likely the oven that baked these goodies fresh to order.
That said, the meat patties of the OMG, BBQ, and breakfast burgers were a sad, tough, and dry counterpart to the delicious flatbreads. In addition to their textural issues, the patties for these burgers were also formed into an odd, thick puck that concentrated all the meat into the middle ⅔ of the burger. Structurally, this led to an uneven ratio of meat to bun throughout the burger, with no meat on the edges and a jaw-unhinging amount of patty in the middle. Tellingly, one of the members stated that the bites with just bread and toppings were their favorite parts.
Those of us who were in attendance on Saturday speculated that most of our issues with the burger construction would be solved by ordering the smash patties. We assumed that the flattening of the patty would result in a much better distribution of the patty and toppings within the burger. As luck would have it, DK ended up ordering the Smash Burger during his venture the next day, and he indeed did not have the same complaints as us. He reported that the smash patties were nicely seared and beefy, and had no mentionable issues besides the burger being a bit too mustard forward.
The opinions on the burger toppings ran the gamut from good to bad. The sauces in the burgers (as well as the optional sauces served tableside) were all flavorful and played well with each other. The onion rings in the OMG and the BBQ were a bit too bready, with the breading getting soggy quickly amid the sauces and with not a lot of onion in the middle. The bacon on the BBQ and the breakfast burgers were unanimously panned by Wayne, Trev, and Angela. They reported that the bacon tasted stale and was very chewy in a Wayne-NOT-approved kind of way.
Also, stock up on napkins when you eat here. The flatbread on the burger is utilized such that one edge of the burger is “sealed” (sort of like a pita wrap or taco). While this may seem like it would be helpful in keeping the eating experience neater, the edge acted like a funnel to leak all the sauces and juices to the sides. Eat with napkins handy. Or, perhaps we all just need to take a lesson from Joey to understand proper sandwich eating protocol.
III. Sides
Trev and Angela ordered a combo, and opted to choose garlic parmesan fries as their choice of side. These fries were amazing. They were well-seasoned, crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside. We were impressed with the uniform adherence of the garlic and parmesan to the french fries. In our experience, most garlic parm fries share a similar issue, where all the toppings immediately fall off during the delicate transfer of a loaded fry from basket to mouth. We give kudos to whatever fry seasoning technology Bungraze has.
IV. Miscellaneous
Bungraze is located in Little Tokyo, which means parking may be tricky and/or expensive. We met at lunch on a Saturday so we felt the full force of this predicament. From personal experience, be cautioned that the Japanese Village Plaza parking structure across the street may be tempting in its convenience, but may cost you an arm, leg, and/or your first born child.
Our ordering experience was a bit curious. We arrived and lingered at the register for a good 5 minutes in front of the (assumed) owner, without being addressed. While he wasn’t unfriendly, it felt odd to just wait there for a while in front of him. There was also an ordering kiosk at the corner by the door, so maybe this was a subtle hint to use it?
If you choose to order tap water to accompany your meal as I did, be prepared to either be thirsty or to constantly go up for refills, because the cup I received was TINY.
V. Value
The members were asked how much they would pay for their burgers. The prices given were $8.50, $10, $10, $10, and $13, so fairly close to the given prices.
VI. The Verdict
The ratings given by the members were 2.9, 3.2, 3.0*, 3.1, and 4.3.
[*Only because of the bun]
Due to me procrastinating this review, the following burger crew meeting has already happened! That review coming soon….