Tag Archives: burgers

Honeymoon: San Francisco, CA – Umami Burger (FINALLY!)

20 Aug

 

We had spent a good amount of time in San Francisco on a prior trip, so we really only spent a few hours in the city before our flight back home.

The only place we made a point to stop at was Umami Burger.

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All my California friends sing the praises of Umami burger constantly, but we were yet to get one in NYC (that all changed just a few weeks later). So this was our chance.

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Umami burger has a regular menu but then also has specials that align with the individual location. This being San Francisco, the specialty burger was the Bacon-Wrapped Scallop Burger: hand-chopped scallop patty, crispy pork belly, sweet chile sauce and yuzu-garlic aioli.  We went without the chile sauce due to my allergy, but we certainly didn’t miss it.  This was one flipping fantastic burger!  The scallops were so sweet and so flavorful and everything on it just made for a decadent and flavor rich mouthful.

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We also tried the Truffle Burger which came with house-made truffle cheese and truffle glaze.

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Do not let looks deceive you. This burger looks simple but the taste was outrageous. Super truffly and the burger patty itself was packed with rich flavor.

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We also got a side of the truffle fries which were fantastic.

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And we couldn’t stop there when there was a homemade ice cream cookie sandwich to devour!

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I can’t remember the flavors, but I remember it was awesome.

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I absolutely see what all the fuss is about and I cannot wait to try the one in NYC!  Great burgers, great flavors, original ideas.  Awesome.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

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The Counter

11 Oct

Right in the heart of Times Square, there is a newish Build Your Own Burger restaurant called The Counter.

At The Counter, you are given a checklist of all the burger things you could possibly want. You can select the size patty you want, the type of meat (or non-meat), the bun, etc.   They have the usual toppings but, in my opinion, you go here for the more obscure options, like grilled pineapple, fried eggs, basil mayo, dried cranberries, and black forest ham, to name a few.

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We ordered a combo of sweet potato fries and parmesan fries.  Delicious.  But how could this really not be delicious?

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I ordered the veggie burger.  I was also an idiot and forgot to ask about peppers.  There were, in fact, peppers in this, but they were mild so I only had some itching and no burns.  It was tasty enough to get through the pain.  The burger is made with full pieces of beans and corn and a good amount of rice.  I topped mine with grilled pineapple and gruyere cheese on a toasted onion roll.  It was very, very tasty.

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I look forward to going back to try the real burger!

As far as Times Square “fast food” goes, this place is tops and has something for everyone since you can customize so much.  It can get VERY busy during lunch time, but if you were to get a seat at the communal table, it’s worth a stop.

 

 

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Bar 89 Original Variation

21 Jul

After a great outing to the Soho Nike Store to make sneakers (I love my job) we were all hungry.  We stopped into Mercer Kitchen (I was willing to give it a second chance after the not so good Winter Restaurant Week experience), but it was about a 45 minute wait, so we went back to a place our host knew had great burgers, Bar 89 (on Mercer Street between Spring and Broome).  I liked the dual levels and mirrors above the bar.  There was also a cool, very large skylight shaped like a boat (unfortunately just out of the top part of this photo).

While the burger was recommended, we all went with other sandwiches, mainly pork.  I went with the creatively named “Pork Variation II” which was grilled in teriyaki and topped with grilled onions and pecans with sliced apples and bleu cheese dressing on an Italian Roll.  I tried to be a little healthier and substituted the fries for the fruit salad (which was fresh and scrumptious).  The pork sandwich, however, was really quite good.  Excellent mix of flavors and great teriyaki sauce.  I only wound up eating half and the other half made for a great leftover lunch.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

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