6/17/18 - BurgerFi's BurgerFi Cheeseburger

We started RateABurger in April 2016 with the SmashBurger. Had we started things differently, it would've started August 2015 with a place we found in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, named BurgerFi. BurgerFi is an unique venture that believes in bettering the environment and reusing resources. The biggest items they promote is they have their tables made of old milk jugs and their chairs are made of old Coke bottles. Their food is also given a different presentation as their toppings and patties are organic or even prepared different. We tried to find different locations that were near our home...which the Cleveland area was the closest...until now. Kristina and I were off to Chicago and we made a pit stop in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I grew up under an hour away from Fort Wayne, so heading there was not uncommon. We were stopping here to grab some breakfast before heading to Chicago...on our way out of town, we both saw an ad for BurgerFi with a new location in Fort Wayne. We decided we had to stop back. 

The toppings on this burger were American cheese and BurgerFi sauce. You are also given the option to add different toppings...in my case I added a hash brown. Flavorful toppings between the oozing cheese and the fresh hash brown. The sauce, had it not been there, would not be needed, but it added to the presentation.

The patty was two Angus beef patties. They were cooked to order and seasoned well. Probably the best patty I have ever had.

The bun did not take away from the burger. It's flavor combined with the charred BurgerFi logo just happened to enhance the burger.

Toppings: 9

Patty: 10

Bun: 9

OVERALL: 9

-Nick

nick@rateaburger.com

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6-17-2018 Burgerfi's the CEO.

This past weekend we stopped in Fort Wayne, Indiana, after spending time in Chicago. We found a restaurant that was enthusiastic about recycling, fresh food, and organic beef.  We had once stopped at Burgerfi in South Carolina and we're excited to see one closer to home.

I ordered the CEO burger. It is a double Wagyu and brisket blend burger with homemade candied bacon tomato jam, truffle aioli, and Swiss cheese.

The bun is a potato bun that has the BurgerFi logo branded into it. It is a soft and sweet bun. It held together well with all of the toppings. It reminded me of Hawaiian bread.

The burger was amazing. The Wagyu part of the burger is a Japanese cow. The meat was seasoned well and juicy.  It had a nice searing from the grill.

The toppings were pretty good. I added a hash brown to this burger. I liked that it was a formed hash brown that stayed together throughout the whole meal.  It was yummy! The candied bacon tomato jam was very sweet. A nice surprise for this burger. The truffle Aioli has also a wonderful addition.

Burgerfi is a wonderful "fast food" chain, and I would encourage you to stop by if you find one.

Bun: 8
Burger:8
Toppings:8

Overall:8

-Kristina
Kristina@rateaburger.com

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6-14-2018 Al & Zoe's Fat Boyz cheeseburger

A Thursday afternoon in downtown Toledo is fun! They set up Levis Square with a band, games, and a lot of food trucks. I was excited to see more food trucks then are typically around on a Tuesday at Promenade Park. I found a new truck to try. With a name like Fat Boyz, it's got to be good, right?

The burger came out and I took a big bite expecting to be biting into a food truck burger. The bun surprised me. It was an average store bun. I could have gotten past the bun if it wasn't hard. It probably really was a little stale as it had no sign of being toasted.

The burger was a nice, grilled, thin Patty. Unfortunately, I don't think they added any seasoning to the meat. It almost tasted like a meatloaf that needed gravy and thrown over top of mashed potatoes.

The toppings were nice quality. The lettuce was crisp, and my tomato was juicy and red. The cheddar cheese was melted nicely. The mayo was a nice thick layer.

Overall, this burger was mediocre. If you stop by the food truck I recommend the mozzarella sticks. They were delicious.

Bun: 3
Toppings:5
Burger:2

Overall: 3

-Kristina
Kristina@rateaburger.com

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6/10/18 Toledo Zoo's Carnivore Cafe Cheeseburger

Kristina and I went to the Toledo Zoo and both of us decided to have and review the Carnivore Cafe Cheeseburger. Click here for Kristina's review.

The toppings presented were shredded lettuce, American cheese and a tomato slice. They did provide packets of toppings at designated stations. Nothing to write home about. Not special, but the tomato slice was about as big as the patty and they did not skimp on the lettuce.

The patty was nothing special it itself. It was overly thin, but it had a decent flavor.

The bun doesn't look "supermarket" quality, but that is probably the best compliment I can give it. It was very spongy, sticky, and took away from the burger itself. The bun was so big, it was bigger than the patty and toppings combined.

If you are feeding X amount of people daily...what really is the expectation of this kind of burger? I would liken it as the burgers at the school cafeteria with the same mentality. Not necessarily bad, but it is obviously quantity over quality.

Toppings: 4
Patty: 2
Bun: 1

OVERALL: 2

-Nick
nick@rateaburger.com

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6-10-18 Toledo Zoo's Carnivore Cafe Cheeseburger

Zoo days are some of my favorite summertime memories. What's even better is when the zoo is free. This year we got zoo tickets as an appreciation gift from my employer.

It seems like when Nick and I go to the zoo, we usually stop at the Carnivore Cafe for lunch. It is great to see how far the zoo has come with the animal habitats. It is strange to think about the animals being kept in the small enclosed encounters previously.

The bun for this burger was an average, seemingly store bought bun. The bun was cold/room temperature. No toasting or warm up. It did surprise me how dense the bread was. It almost reminded me of a pretzel bun. It was chewy.

The burger was grilled and was extra done. I am sad to report no juices were left on the inside of the burger. It appeared to be seasoned with salt and pepper.

The toppings were shredded lettuce, cheese, and a tomato slice. The cheese was cold on top of the burger. The lettuce was wilted. The tomato was almost see through. I do appreciate the condiment packets. This allows you to put on as much as you would like. I used a lot of mayonnaise.

Before I get hate mail for not loving the zoo's food, I know that the likelihood of someone mass producing great burgers is hard. I genuinely love going to the zoo. On a side note though, the food trucks are able to do it. Next time I probably will just order the chicken tenders.

Toppings: 4
Buns: 3
Burger: 3

Overall: 3.5

-Kristina
Kristina@rateaburger.com

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6/8/18 Dark Horse's Italian Burger

Dark Horse is a nice homely restaurant in Findlay, OH, slightly hiding on North Main Street. Kristina and I have stopped here before a couple of times, but we hadn't stopped in since they remodeled the location as well as not rated a burger on here. Here's Kristina's review of the Rail Splitter. Today, I am reviewing their Italian Burger.

The toppings were provolone cheese and their "meat sauce". At first, I was disappointed that I was presented with an open-faced burger (typically reserved for a "sloppy" burger) and there was little sauce. This was not presented as a pizza burger, rather an Italian burger. Pizza burgers you want to have a good amount of sauce. For this burger, the sauce was hiding under the cheese like it was tucked into bed. Not sloppy, but not entirely absent either. Their sauce does have a good flavor. It is not quite your normal spaghetti/marinara sauce, but I could not see this sauce with a pasta and didn't overly compliment the burger with its flavor.

The burger patty was a nice, quarter pound, quality patty. Many places tend to focus on their burgers and do not actually have a quality patty when Dark Horse did have a flavor-full, juicy burger. Very good.

With this being an open-faced burger, I was presented with one bun. It was a spongy bun that was there to do it's job. A step above "supermarket bun" but many steps below a quality bun.

This was a nice change of pace for my reviews, but it did not capture my imagination for a specialty burger. One bun and little sauce can be viewed as a cheap burger despite advertising an open-faced burger. This trick really only works with a double patty burger.

Toppings: 3
Burger: 7
Bun: 2

OVERALL: 4

-Nick
nick@rateaburger.com

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6-8-2018 Dark Horse's Rail Splitter

Nick was working late tonight which meant I got out of cooking. We decided to grab burgers from Dark Horse tonight.

Dark Horse is, what I consider, an under rated restaurant in Findlay. It's prices are fair and it's food solid. Thy are most known for their prime rib. I ordered a Rail Splitter Burger. It is an open face sandwich covered in fries, chili, and cheese.

I appreciated that the bun was toasted and buttery. If the bun has not been nicely toasted. I don't think this sandwich would have worked at all.  The buttery flavor of the bun added something special to the burger. Something was, however, over salted, and I could not tell is it was the bun or chilli. The bun cut fairly easily after having set for a minute.

The toppings in this burger were almost overwhelming. There is such a thing as too many chili cheese fries. Dark horse flirted with the line, tonight. The fries were salty and crispy. The chilli was sweet and chunky. The mild cheddar cheese over the top of everything was lost. Most bites I did not realize if there was cheese in it.

The burger was slightly lost in the toppings. It was a nicely pressed patty. The Patty was modestly seasoned. This helped to balance the whole plate well. The burger meat was a very nice quality. It was juicy and not greasy. This burger is defiantly a comfort food. 

Toppings: 6
Bun:6
Burger:5

Overall:6

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-Kristina
Krisrina@rateaburger.com

6-5-2018 Jeanie's Paleo Burger with Cheese

Burgers are probably the best summer food. You can dress them up with such a variety of toppings and have so many different sandwiches. Today is food truck Tuesday.

Jeanie's is an adorable food truck based out of the Toledo area. They won't be hard to find as their truck resembles an ambulance. There prices are very reasonable as well. Today, I ordered the Paleo burger with cheese. I love cheese so much that I needed to add it to this burger.

Their is not a typical bun for me to rate as the bun is lettuce leaves. The leaves were fresh but pliable. The lettuce had a good flavor and not sour. The deep green lettuce adds such an appeal to the burger.

The toppings are some of my favorite parts of the burger. The tomato was a nice thick dark red slice. It is probably the reddest and juiciest tomato I have had all season. It taste like it came fresh out of the garden. The avocado was ripe and delicious as well. The sisters that run the food truck know how to pick their produce. You could also have pickle, onion, and mayo put on the burger if you wanted. There were additional toppings and sauces you could place on your food on a table outside of the truck. The cheese was a lovely addition.

The burger is a wonderful hand pressed patty. It is packed in a way that your burger stays together, but almost melts in your mouth. It is seasoned well. It is a perfect summer treat. There is not a lot I would change about this burger.

Toppings: 8
Burger:7
Bun:7

Overall: 7.5
-Kristina
Kristina@rateaburger.com

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