Burger Crew Meeting called to order on Sunday, May 3, 2026 at noon.
Members in attendance: Angela d. (that’s me!), Trevor Y., Wayne T., Dennis, K. and Innie C.
Guest starring: Marissa G.
I. Ordering
Given the name of the establishment, Trev and I had to get All In Combo – locally sourced prime cut beef patty, original recipe farm to table mushroom patty, house sauce, leaf lettuce, beefsteak tomato, diced onions, pickles, bacon, avocado, American cheese, on a fresh brioche bun ($21) that included a drink and fries. Trev also called an audible since they had a limited time offer of a double Poppychee for a low low price of $5.99.
Innie got the double poppychee – Our locally sourced prime cut beef patty, house sauce, pickles, caramelized onions, American cheese, on a fresh golden poppyseed bun ($5.99). After all those singles, she finally learned that double is usually the best way to go. She also got an order of onion rings ($5.25).
In true Wayne fashion, he ordered his food ahead on Door Dash. He got the Double Poppychee Combo witha Jarritos and changed the onions to grilled onions ($13.01) *shout out to Wayne for his excellent book keeping (I kept bugging him as I was writing this the day before our next meeting).
DK got 3 beef sliders – Locally sourced prime cut beef patty, house sauce, pickle, Hawaiian roll; and curly fries. Marissa rounded out their order with a Poppychee as well.
II. The Burgers
There was a lot of variability in these burgers. Let’s start with the sliders. DK said they were good, but could easily be made at home. They were single patties on Hawaiian rolls. Trev has made better sliders for us! Maybe it’s time for another burger crew home edition. DK said the sliders would have been better had they had more than 1 patty and used the intense amount of poppyseeds/sesame seeds as seen on the Poppychee.
Next up was the All In. As someone who loves mushroom patties on burgers (I’m looking at you, Shake Shack), I was sorely disappointed that a place called Mr. Mushrooms Burger Farm had such a terrible mushroom patty. It didn’t have that deep umami flavor that I was looking for in the mushroom patty. And all the rest of the toppings really worked hard to cancel out all the flavor in the burger. I should have followed my gut and never order a burger that has lettuce. Why would I want to add water to my burger?!?!
And I saved the best for last. Instead of Mr. Mushroom Burger Farm, maybe it should have been called Mr. Poppyseed Burger Farm because the poppyseeds and the sesame seeds on that bun were amazing. The double was the correct meat-to-bun ratio and the caramelized onions were chunky, the cheese was cheesy, and the sauce was very good. The pickles were very sweet bread and butter pickles, but the burger benefitted from that hit of sweetness. I miss when the default bun was a sesame seed bun instead of the glossy brioche buns we’ve gotten used to. This bun brought me back to better bun days.
III. The Sides
The fries were described as “long coated fries” and they were in-fact long and coated. They were more like steak fries that had been roughed up. They were crispy on the outside with a nice texture, but fluffy on the inside. The best steak fries we’ve had! To be fair, you don’t see steak fries all that often.
The curly fries were good! Standard, seasoned curly fries executed well. They spurred a spirited discussion on the difference between curly fries and curled fried potatoes.
The onion rings were fried well, but didn’t have much onion flavor to them. It definitely needed a dip. Good if you just want fried dough dipped in ranch, but pretty forgettable.
IV. Miscellaneous
The drinks are all in a fridge (so no fountain sodas). I love that they had Jarritos as well as Ito En teas (my fave). It’s Pasadena so street parking is limited, but there’s also a structure nearby for $12. Also, be careful on the ramp to the bathroom. Trev claimed it was slippery, but no one else had that issue. Maybe it’s time for new shoes 🤔
V. Value
I ask the members how much they would pay for their burgers. We would pay anywhere from $10 to $14. So that limited time deal for the Poppychee burger is a steal! Get it while you can!
VI. The Verdict
It was fun getting out to Pasadena (many of us hadn’t been in a while). The poppychee was a winner. I’m going to keep thinking about that bun. But don’t get any other burger on the menu! The ratings (these were only ratings for the Poppychee burger. Trust that you don’t want to see the ratings for the other burgers we ordered): 3.9, 4.2, 4.2, 4.2, and 4.4.