BurgerClub

can a snooty bistro out do a ratty pub?

Not sure I agree with BurgerSeeker on the snooty factor here, but that's really beside the point.

Gradiing this burger was difficult for I am finding it increasingly challenging to remove the Burger from the fries, and the restaurant itself. Lucky Strike seemed to have a problem conjuring the med rare patty BC prefers. We have run into this issue before and it can drastically alter the appreciation of the sandwich. But, aside from the doneness of the pattty, the burger was chewy but juicy and had a nice touch of pepper. Unfortunately, it lacked the tenderness neccesary to reach the ultimate burgasm. Lucky, you got to faten that thing up man. Throw some butter into that surloin or somethin!

Unlike PJ's bun/lettuce problem, Lucky served a nice leaf of butter lettuce with a crispy English Muffin. Although it might not be an unconventional choice of bread, I liked the E. Muffin for its flavour and texture. The Gruyere cheese I selected complemented this bistro style burger nicely even though some burger purests might snuff at this gormet option.

Pile on the Fries though Lucky, they rocked. Next time Ill get the Steak Frites, and make it RARE please.

Now, here I am. Tooth of wisdom poking through my gums mocking me and jolting little pains that cause me to clench my jaw as I sat salivating watching all the Burger Club aficionados, chewing away, oohing and aahing, comparing the pink to well done meat, ketchup and grease oozing down their hands. For crying out loud, someone give me a piece will you?

So, luckily for Baby Burgessa, Laura was kind enough to let me nibble off a chunk. And here's what I garnered from my little perfect bite and slow chew.

First the English Muffin factor. Having lived in London and being a grand fan of the English Muffin from the age of 6, I do not believe it belongs as topping and bottom to the dressing of an American burger. I don't care how much gruyere, fancy sharp cheddar you put on it. A real burger, needs a little more imagination. After all, doesn't it just remind you of those people who try to get a quick pizza fix by throwing tomato sauce and cheese on a muffin and calling it a pizza - NOT! Bad bad bad

Meat, dry. I agree with Burger King, put some butter on that, a little salt and pepper too might be nice. You don't have to marinate it for a few hours or anything. But a little TLC goes a very long way.

Having said that, nice to see that some places still know how to care for their lettuce and tomato at least. Although I don't like to drown my little beef patty out with all that fancy leafy stuff or red tomato (ketchup is enough already) it was nice to see that picture perfect redness and the crsipy sound of lettuce being munched.

On to the NEXT!!! I say Bloody Mary's and Pastis Burgers on a Sunday... now, that would be a good morning indeed. Who knows it could be the next hangover cure no?

Oh and how about a SUPERBOWL BURGER??? Then we can really test out the delivery quotient and order a slew of burgers from different places to see who has the chemistry and physics formula right for the perfect delivery burger - the elusive Loch Ness in a sea of posers.

Kiss, Ciaoooooo

SML

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PazzinaBurgessa
Sr. Rare Carnivouretta

When the burger was served I thought it was a winner just based on appearance. I admit the looks of the bistro burger charmed me and made me think less of the pub burger before I even took a bite!

However, after a few bites I realized the beef was of a lesser quality than PJ’s and more chewy. Even though my burger was a bit more greasy than PJ's (I could have used another napkin), it was not juicy - I would even say it was on the dry side. I think this was partly due to the fact that the burgers were all cooked more than we would have liked. The medium rare burgers were medium and the medium burgers were medium well.

The butter lettuce was interesting but it belongs in a salad with a nice vinaigrette and not on my burger. The english muffin bun was a great touch because it is made for toasting and does a lot to absorb the burger’s juiciness without falling apart mid-way through the meal. The best part is that this burger is a nice manageable size that does not leave you feeling overstuffed and that is one of my favorite qualities in a good burger.

I will definitely go back to Lucky Strike but I might try one of the other items on the menu next time.

I think this is the first time i see so many divergence over the bun choice....this is still a weak point for most burgers we tried, looks like. Best bun might still be Donovan's at the end.
I'm seriously disappointed i missed the gruyere-burger...I call for an extraordinary BC board meeting at Coffee Shop ASAP.

my title of this topic was not ment to suggest that i feel this place is snooty Dr. Sannwich, as it was also not a suggestion that previous BC reviews where all at ratty establishments... it was simply an attempt to highlight the difference from previous venues. Pub vs. our first non-Pub.

i've been to Lucky Strike before and can't say i have tried the burger before now. most times i've been there it's been steak frites all the way... good frites. this time it was all about the burger.

if i may, i'd like to start out by highlighting all the positives this plate of food presents:

it's a good looking plate. this burger has all the bells you might expect in a tastee friend... a nice toasted bun, english muffin which is always good, melted cheese, and red onions-classy. the frites/fries were great, as any bistro serving steak frites should be. it held together well and had a nice red color once cut in half.

BUT... no, not butt.

when this handsome burger was first bitten into, the initial thought my anxious tongue had was this burger is over cooked. having bitten from the outer edge, i took another bite from the center which had a slight pink color... nothing but the same disapointing feeling. as other BurgerFans have mentioned, this burger was over cooked. BUT, my feeling is that cooking time had nothing to do with my disapointing taste experience. this patty is down right not good enough. and no matter how good a burger looks, how good the bun is and how good the toppings and the side of fries are... a flavorless piece of meat is just that in the end.

it's not all about the presentation. as a matter of fact, presentation and everything other than the patty is and should be secondary to a true burger review... forget about PJ needing bun school, this burger did about as good as i did in school. average.