Smithfield

Post number 2 from New York is for a place called Smithfield. Now this was not on the list of recommendations I received, but I was just looking for a place close to my hotel in Chelsea to watch a game and grab a bite to eat. After looking at some reviews, I decided to checkout Smithfield. After asking around later, not many people I know knew this place even existed. I think it is more of a soccer bar, but it did just fine to watch some American football. The bar was pretty full and happening when I got there. It seemed to full of regulars and everyone seemed to kind of know everyone else around the bar. In what seems to be a theme from my trip, the fries here were also very good.

Now for the surprising part of the post. I think this might have been my favorite burger on my trip. They grind the meat in house. The blend is brisket, short rib and sirloin and it was delicious. I ordered the Black & Blue burger. As I said, the meat was very flavorful and really showed through the rest of the ingredients. The bun was a brioche style bun, but was not overly greasy. The bottom bun did get really soggy from the juices. The burger came topped with Maytag blue cheese, pickled red onions, baby greens and mini pickled cucumbers. All in all, this was a surprisingly good burger.

Spotted Pig

After going to San Diego, my next trip was east to New York. Being my first time in the Big Apple, I felt I needed to try a few of the burgers there. I got several recommendations, and did not get to them all, but I think I got a good representation of the burgers in the city.

The Spotted Pig is in the West Village. It is a pretty small place with a mix of interesting small plates to share and some entrée's you might not want to give up. The room is pretty dark and you might wait a while for a table, but the bar is cozy and the bartender will be happy to make you an interesting cocktail while you wait. I know this is a burger blog, but the shoestring fries that come with the burger were exceptional. I normally prefer steak fries because I like the potato flavor along with the fried flavor. They had a nice amount of saltiness and herbs that did not overwhelm the potato.

Speaking of the burger, this is as simple as burgers get. We are talking patty, bun and cheese. The meat had good beef flavor. It was not the best meat that I have had in a burger, but it was definitely good. The bun appeared to be either homemade or fresh from one of the bakeries in area. It was soft and chewy and absorbed the juices of the meat but did not get very soggy. They used Roquefort cheese, which is known as one of the more pungent cheeses. The cheese really wasn’t as stinky as I would have imagined, and added a good balance to burger. Overall, this was a good burger, but felt it was missing something without some onion or greens to add texture or maybe increase the meat flavor.

Crazee Burger

This is the final post on my San Diego burger tour. And why not save the strangest burgers for last? For the last one I went to Crazee Burger. Crazee Burger is known for their off the wall burger creations. One had all sorts of pig in it (bacon, ham sausage etc.). Others include venison, gator and whatever they can get their hands on. The restaurant is in the Northpark part of town, which has all sorts of restaurants and shops. It is a great place to hangout out and there is also plenty of nightlife too. There is also a second location in Old Town San Diego. The interior of the restaurant is pretty basic. It almost feels like a 70’s joint with some wood paneling. They have a bunch of good beers on tap and plenty of sides to go with the burgers.

I ordered the Dansk burger, which is their standard burger with blue cheese. They use a brioche style bun, which had nice chew and held together well. The meat is angus beef and is cooked either pink or done. I got mine pink which amounts to medium cooked meat. It was nice and pink inside and very juicy. The meat was good but not amazing flavor-wise. The burger was topped with lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickles. All of the veggies were very fresh and had nice crunch for add flavor and texture. The best part of the burger was the blue cheese. Usually blue cheese has a very strong flavor and most places put too much on the burger and it can overpower the rest of the flavors. This was not the case here. The blue cheese they used was on the mild side and was very creamy. It was a great compliment to the rest of the burger. Now that I have tried a more standard burger, the next I am in the area, I think I may need to go back to try one of the other burgers. I highly recommend you do the same.

Hodad’s

In my last post I wrote about one of the San Diego burger staples. Now I am going to write about the other. Hodad’s seems to be quickly becoming the official burger of San Diego. The original location is in Ocean Beach. They have also added a location in downtown and now even have a location in Petco Park, home of the hometown Padres. Since we wanted to check out a Padres game during my visit, we decided to go to the Hodad’s in Petco park. Since it was inside the ballpark , there was probably a little bit of a different atmosphere inside, but it had the old diner feel and was pretty busy considering it was a sit down place rather than getting your burger and heading to your seats.

The burgers are also pretty standard burgers style-wise. They come on a sesame seed bun. The patties are 1/4 pound beef patties with a hamburger stand taste. The thing that sets this burger apart is the bacon. Now if you read my blog, I am critical of places that use bacon or other toppings that overpower the meat. At Hodad’s, they have special process for cooking the bacon and for a sort of bacon patty to go on the burger. Whatever they do, it is the right way to put bacon on the burger. The patty still shines through and you get the good salty, smoky bacon flavor. The burger comes with mayo, mustard, onion, ketchup, pickle, tomato, and lettuce. All of the toppings were very fresh and added some nice texture and flavor to the burger. Overall, this is a very good burger. It may not be the greatest burger you have ever had or make you change the way you think about burgers, but it is very good and if you are in San Diego, I highly recommend it.

Rocky’s Crown Pub

In writing this blog, I get many people giving me suggestions on places to try. Pretty much every time I ask where to go in San Diego, Rocky’s was the choice. It is located in the Mission Beach area close to Sea World. It is a tiny place with bar seating and just a few tables. You have to be pretty aggressive to get a table as they are first come first served. I highly recommend getting friendly and trying to share a table with some people not in your party. They have some good beers on tap, TVs around to watch a game, but most people are there for the burger.

The burger is pretty standard, but I can see why people like it. There is only one burger here. You can get it either with cheese or without. The patties seem like they are hand formed as they were not the standard circular shape you usually see. The meat was good, but not a ton of flavor. They let the meat speak for itself. The burger comes with iceberg lettuce, fresh tomato, red onions and lots of pickles. This burger is really good and juicy. It kind of reminded me of a burger you would make at home and enjoy in your backyard with your friends.

Alchemy

This is the first in a series of posts from a trip down to San Diego. I had a lot of fun and had some good burgers down there.

The first place I went to was Alchemy. It is a sort of gastropub style restaurant with a tapas like feel. It is located in the South Park area of San Diego. I highly recommend this area as there are lots of cool little restaurants and bars and its less touristy than the Gaslamp district. They had a good selection of beer and wine and some of which were quite small but everything looked very good and some things that I may have to go back on a second visit to try. They also have a cool event called “Dining with Six Strangers”, where you get to try a three course meal with 5 people you don’t know. What better way to meet new friends than over a delicious meal?

On to the burger. The overall presentation of the burger made it very appealing. You could tell the toppings were very fresh. The meat was cooked perfectly. It was incredibly juicy. They use Paso Prime grass fed beef, which I think limited some of the flavor since grass fed beef is usually a bit leaner. The bun was a brioche style bun but was cut with too much bun on the top so the bottom got very soggy. The burger was topped by tomatoes,bibb lettuce, housemade pickles, onions and mahon cheese. Like I said before, the veggies were very fresh and the pickles were very good. The best part was the mahon cheese. It was the first time I have had this type of cheese, let alone on a burger, and it was a perfect complement to the rest of the flavor of the burger. This was a very good burger and great way to start my burger tour of San Diego.

Bleeker Street

Several people have recommended Bleeker Street since it opened a few years ago. It is a New York style restaurant inspired by Greenwich Village. The interior feels like a cross between an outdoor café and a gastropub. The place is located in the Village Walk in Tarzana. It is a great area with all sorts of shops and restaurants. The one thing I will say is that the restaurant seems to be a little over priced. Most items on the menu feel very similar to a gastropub but are priced like a fine dining restaurant.

 On to the burger. The meat was Angus grass fed beef. While it tasted fresh, it did not have that great meaty flavor and was a little over charred as well as being cooked to more of a medium well than a pink medium. The bun was one of the better buns I have had in a while. It was a brioche style bun and had good chew and held together nicely. The burger came topped with organic greens, vine ripen tomato, smoked gouda cheese, crispy onions and roasted garlic aioli. First off, the smoked gouda did not add much to the flavor of the burger. It did not melt on the burger and I got none of that smoky flavor. The greens and the tomato were very fresh. I wish there were more of the onions because they were very flavorful. Overall, I was a little disappointed because it came recommended and it was overpriced for what you got.