Local 149

July 1st, 2011 by Richard Chudy

The food at Local 149 can described as uneven; this after multiple attempts, a couple of very good burgers, and a couple less than stellar. The people behind The Biltmore in Newton take on a similar vibe in the new Southie spot, a very ambitious gastro-pub of a menu, that isn’t always triumphant. At it’s best, the Local Cheese Burger is a delight; with grass-fed sirloin, cheddar, pickled green tomato and seaweed salt fries. Trust me, this is as normal as the menu gets, which isn’t to say I don’t appreciate at least reading the menu, the flavors are often presented as bold and unique, but my taste buds don’t always agree. The Patty Melt is less successful; two all-beef patties, sauerkraut, Muenster and 24 hour ketchup. Yeah, there’s a lot going on, individually the components work, but never fully unify to become the great burger they could be. continue reading »

Aquitaine

June 21st, 2011 by Richard Chudy

You can try to play the role of a great burger, but if you can’t even cook it right, there’s just no hope. The Aquitaine burger looks like it could be a winner; bacon, cheddar, truffle mayo and pommes frites. But oh, that dreaded Brioche. But ah, that the brioche actually works and the beef does not is the real surprise. The truffle mayo is flavorful, say what you will about the authenticity of truffle oil, I enjoy the flavor even if it’s not the real thing. The bacon ceases to be crispy, despite evoking a good smoky flavor it’s chewy and lackluster. And that beef, with a fair amount of char and modest salt, is over-cooked and relatively dry. I long for the days of juicy burgers, cooked right, and seasoned to my absurd taste. It’s a straight-forward attempt, but never carried out in the execution department. continue reading »

Grafton Street

June 11th, 2011 by Richard Chudy

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It can be easy to forgive a few things; a slightly over-cooked burger, a less than perfect bun or a mediocre pickle, as long as the complete package works in the end. The reality is that it’s all about the flavor; bonus points for complete execution and a few carefully crafted “cheffy” tricks here and there. But to be solid, all you really need to is season up some beef, melt some cheese and call it a day. But the Grafton Street burger can’t do it, it’s simple, but to a fault. As Harold from Best Damn Buger and I soon discovered, the beef has little flavor and is way beyond the specified medium-rare. But it’s one of those burgers that probably would have been underwhelming either way, there just isn’t much character or personality in this burger. And as we all, know personality goes a long way. continue reading »

The Blue Room

May 31st, 2011 by Richard Chudy

Photo courtesy of Christine Liu, http://cmliu.com/

I’ll never complain about the lack of cheese on a burger again. At least not in the case of The Blue Room, a little hideaway of a place in Cambridge. Accompanied by my buddy Christine, this was not a restaurant I had heard all too much about, best case scenario it would be another Fireplace situation. A great burger in an otherwise unsuspecting environment. They really put the cheese in cheeseburger, no question about it. The cheese is a Bouche du Poiton. Don’t worry, I hadn’t heard of it either. It’s basically a goat-meets-brie-meets-blue kind of cheese. And they are not shy about it, a huge hunk, rind and all, sits atop the burger, just about larger than the patty itself. It’s not melted at all, but I’m not even sure that it could or needs to be. It is warm though, and it is delicious, but shouldn’t it be more about the beef and less about covering it up with a very strong (yet flavorful) cheese? continue reading »

5 Napkin Burger

May 14th, 2011 by Richard Chudy

Has there ever been so much hype revolving around one burger? Trust me when I say it affects me and it definitely affects you. 5 Napkin Burger opened with an incredible amount of fanfare. I’ve never been asked by so many random people if I had been and what I thought of it. The bloggers, the media, and general burger lovers everywhere were coming out of the woodwork for this one, and for the vast majority all were signing praises to the Burger Gods. It’s humorous to me me how predictable people are; all I’ve been hearing are great things about 5 Napkin, if I write a favorable review I get nothing but confirmation, if my review is less than generous I’ll hear all about how overrated it is. The average blogger will go immediately when the restaurant opens just so they can say that they went. The problem is they don’t know if it’s any good or not, they just think it’s supposed to be great, hence all the buzz that follows. Here’s what I know: 5 Napkin makes a good burger, but it’s flawed, and something billed as the greatest before most have even been makes it more of a flaw. Phew. continue reading »

Rialto

April 26th, 2011 by Richard Chudy

Some places are destined to have great burgers, some are not. Rialto was never meant to have a great burger. After all, Jody Adams is a woman of many culinary talents, but perfecting the classic American sandwich is probably not up her alley, at least that’s the conclusion I’ve come up with. I have to give credit to Rialto for at least trying to put their own spin on things, as you will not find the jaded version you see everywhere else these days; Vermont cheddar, out of season tomato, iceberg lettuce, repeat. At least it looks good on paper at Rialto; Buffalo Mozzarella, prosciutto and a Focaccia bun. But we’ve come across many “looks good on paper” burgers before, and remember the rule; don’t fall in love with it until you’ve taken a bite. (that’s what she said?)

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