The Whip Makes a Hamburger. And Fries.

The Whip. This one was supposed to be a ringer. I've eaten burgers here before and have always been impressed. Always.

The menu hasn't changed in ages. Not just in content but the actual menu hasn't changed in ages. The edges were dog eared and all those spots are grease and stains and spills which is a bit off putting but I wasn't there to eat the menu.

I was there to eat that simple, honest, maybe a bit expensive burger. Beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and house sauce. Nothing complicated. Not over thought. I like that.

So there it is, fancy little curled up pickle on top, brioche bun, green onions mixed in with the fries, and garlic mayo on the side to dip your fries into.

Here's the problem, it's that bun. Beautifully golden and glazed like it might be a jewel but the bread was stale and had too much body and the burger wasn't greasy enough to overcome the dryness of eating too much bun. That's the other problem, not that burgers need to be overwhelming, this one was a bit thin. Extra lean beef sounds like a good idea when making a burger but the extra fat in a lean grind vs the extra lean makes for a crispier, juicier burger that handles the bun and mixes with the dressing better. This burger would have been better fattier. Maybe the kitchen was having a bad day. Maybe they bought too many buns a couple of days ago and are pushing through the stale ones. Maybe it's just not a good burger anymore. It used to be an amazing burger, it used to be a burger I craved and didn't mind paying a little extra for, today not so much.  Oh yeah, burger and fries, and two pints of beer came to $30 before tip. That doesn't make me happy either.

The fries were brilliant though. Absolutely brilliant. Some of the best I've ever had.

La Brasserie

What do the French know about burgers? Well, there's French fries, the ubiquitous side dish for burgers so they are half there, no?

I don't know, but a number of people think La Brasserie might make the best burger in town. So I gave it a try.

This is what they call a burger:

Taller than it is wide, with a fucking cornichon pegged to it with a toothpick. A burger, with a French pickle, I guess that makes it a French burger.

I'm reviewing this a couple of weeks after I ate it so the details aren't super clear but I do remember the onions being more memorable than the meat. That's not a good start. I mean, look how many there are? I pealed off a few, ate a few by themselves, and as they are they are fine. Good even, but when you pack your mouth full of them expecting delicous fried ground beef they become a distraction. I would suggest it's not good to distract from the star of a burger, the beef patty.

The patty itself didn't have a good sear. It was cooked but without any crunchiness from the frying. The result was something with  a bit of an odd consistency, mushy, not particularly juicy. The grind on the beef was a bit too consistent, too fine perhaps, and not fatty enough. You won't get the crusty exterior if there isn't enough fat in the burger, it won't stew in itself on the fryer. Sometimes the best cut of meat for a burger isn't the best cut of meat, if you get what I mean.

Did it taste bad? Well, no. It was actually a pretty good burger. But it was $19 with fries. For the price you might expect more. It was probably overthought a little, or a lot. A cheaper cut of meat and fewer onions, and a real pickle would help a lot, and dropping the price to $17 would allow the customer to rationalize buying a burger just over $15 which is acceptable vs. buying a burger that's almost $20 which had better be a pretty amazing burger. It wasn't an amazing burger. It was an alright burger. Barely an alright burger.