Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Burger Time!



Hello once again, friends! I apologize for neglecting you, but I have been so busy eating all the delicious things and working on sharing them with you, as well as mingling with other burger lovers in the Philadelphia area such as Bridges, Burgers and Beer - and the infamous Burger Club Philly (who hold meetings on the last Wednesday of every month to enjoy delicious meat between two buns). I visited over a dozen different burger spots from the end of March to the end of May. And in case you didn't know, May was National Burger Month, which gave me that extra nudge to put a dent in my burger quest. I won't overwhelm you with all my burger picks right now - I know we're just getting back into the swing of things - so we'll take it slow with two.


Let's start with the March edition of the Burger Club Philly meeting at Grace Tavern, sponsored by Google Philadelphia (which was pretty awesome. Free burger & beer - can't beat that!). I ordered the Kelly's burger and while at first skeptical about the charred exterior and small-ish looking patty  presented on the bun, I was pleasantly surprised! I ordered it medium and it was perfectly pink on the inside - a sign of a well seasoned chef! Considering the kitchen was trying to accommodate all 25 of us by bringing out our burgers relatively at the same time, and cooked to order, it was pretty remarkable to see that despite the grill marks, it was exactly what I was expecting on the inside. 


I also made several pilgrimages to one of my favorite burger spots in the city, Sketch. An unassuming, colorful storefront at the far end of Girard Ave holds the key to one of the best 8 oz patties in the city. Their walls are covered in patron-provided burger-themed sketches (See what they did there?) and each table has a stack of paper and crayons so you can relive the day of waiting for your food at casual dining restaurants during your childhood. I've ordered their Cyclops burger, which is topped with bacon and a fried egg, and fallen in love with it on multiple occasions.

As you can see, I've gotten it both sunny side up & over easy. On my first visit, I wasn't really sure how the egg thing worked. The waitress asked me how I wanted my egg and I said, "Um, cooked?" She told me "No no - you don't want a scrambled egg on top of your burger. Get it over easy. Trust me." So I did. There was no turning back. When my burger appeared, there was a delicious fried egg on top with delectable looking bacon peering seductively out at me from underneath. On first bite, the yolk broke, blending - NAY - melding in the warm, delicious, perfectly medium burger sandwiched between two lightly toasted brioche buns. I was in heaven. If the clock had struck midnight and the world ended that evening, at least I would have died knowing I had just sampled the best burger I'd ever tasted. 


Grace Tavern's burger was decent, giving me definite backyard BBQ vibes. Rating?: "B"
Sketch gave me the ultimate mouthgasm and ousted London Grill as my #1 burger crush. Rating?: "A+"

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