bridges, burgers & beer

bobby’s burger palace: cherry hill – crunchburger

brian — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:03 +0000

I’ve avoided this place. Well, not really. It’s more the fact that this place would never come up in discussion on where to grab a burger. One reason is because the Philly location is all the way out in University City, the opposite end of the city from where I reside. Another reason is because it’s a chain headed by a celebrity chef. I’m not saying that all celebrity chef chains are horrible, it’s just that the quality may not be up to the hype surrounding the celebrity chef. I visted my family in the burbs last weekend and I was feeling a burger. My father suggested Bobby’s Burger Palace and I figured, why not, let’s give it a try.

BBP has a list of 10 burgers and I thought for sure I was dead set on the Bobby Blue Burger with blue cheese and bacon. The only burger that had a red box around it was the Crunchburger. That easily got my attention. Also because it said “Crunchify” on the menu in several places. To crunchify means to add potato chips to the burger. Since it was everywhere, I figured this was the BBP thing to do. One medium-rare Crunchburger was ordered. In addition, a side of hand cut fries and my father’s burger, the Buffalo Style Burger was ordered.

The Crunchburger is a burger with double American cheese and a ton of potato chips nestled between a soft seeded bun. The burger was overcooked to medium. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. The meat was juicy and flavorful. The patty was appropriately sized for the bun, too. Potato chips on a burger though? I don’t know. When I was growing up, I vividly remember several friends who would add potato chips to their sandwiches and I thought it was odd. I’m still not a believer. The chips on the burger seemed to add a texture and saltiness, but I could have done without em. Perhaps if you were one of those potato chip on your school lunch sandwich type of people, this is right up your alley!

The fries were a smidge overcooked, but tasted good. The dipping sauce that came with the fries was somewhat 1000 Island-like, but was way too liquidy to be a dipping sauce, in my opinion.

I paid $6.75 for that burger and it was much better than a lot of the burgers I’ve paid almost $10 or more in recent weeks. Bobby’s Burger Palace serves a pretty satisfying burger (for your stomach and your wallet)!

Bobby’s Burger Palace
2000 Rt. 38; Suite 1160
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
856.382.7462

the boilermaker – cheeseburger

brian — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:57 +0000

Last week, I was invited to try some food and drink at The Boilermaker. The bar has a short menu consisting of small bites, sides, sandwiches, and rotisserie chicken. The beer selection, however, is quite the opposite. The downstairs bar features 28 non-local beers on tap. The upstairs bar has 12 local beers on tap. In addition to the beers, they serve boiler makers! Many of you are familiar the Citywide, consisting of a 16 oz. PBR and a shot of whiskey. That is offered here, too, as well as other beer and shot pairings.

It’s not surprising that I tried the Cheeseburger. The Boilermaker’s burger comes on a toasted brioche bun and is made up of two 4 oz. patties (cooked medium-rare), American cheese, and malt sauce. It’s accompanied by hand-cut fries, a spicy pickle, and a side of ketchup.

Despite the top and bottom burgers being cooked to different temperatures (top – medium-rare; bottom – medium), they were both juicy and delicious. The toasted bun offered a nice contrasting texture to each bite. It’s a simple burger without much additions; it definitely didn’t need any. The Yukon Gold hand-cut fries are pretty good and make sure you ask for a side of truffled creme fraiche!

ps. Their weekday happy hour from 4-6 features half priced drafts! I may have to add this into the rotation.

The Boilermaker
216 S 11th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215.922.3427

molly malloy’s – all beef burger

brian — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:00:44 +0000

I was stuck in the office yesterday and needed a burger to lift my spirits. I didn’t want to travel far and remembered that Molly Malloy’s in the Reading Terminal Market has a burger I haven’t had yet.

The All Beef Burger sits between a brioche bun and comes topped with Boston lettuce, beefsteak tomatoes, and your choice of cheese (I went with cheddar). I added caramelized onions and bacon for extra. The burger was overcooked to a medium, but was juicy. Unfortunately, I felt the meat itself lacked flavor. Most of the savoriness of the burger came solely from the bacon. On the bright side, the meat was the proper size for the bun and the house cut fries were tasty.

The add on options sound pretty awesome and I bet they’d be a great addition on the burger when it’s seasoned more. Just to name a few: pickled onion, tomato jam, apple onion compote.

Molly Malloy’s
Reading Terminal Market
1136 Arch St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
267.525.1001

appalachian brewing company – switchback burger

brian — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:00:36 +0000

I was stuck in Harrisburg in need of a place to watch multiple NHL playoff games while having dinner and a beer. Multiple people suggested I check out Appalachian Brewing Company and sit at the bar. Without many other options, me and my friend checked it out.

To start off, I had the Trail Blaze Brown Ale and a Brewer’s Cheddar Ale Soup, which was made from their Water Gap Wheat Ale. I also gave into the urges to have another burger on my trip. They offered four different kinds and I went with their “Best Burger Grill Off” winning one, the Switchback Burger.

The Switchback Burger is made up of an 8 oz. Angus beef patty topped with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, provolone, capicola, bacon, caramelized onions, and BBQ sauce (made from their house root beer). It’s sandwiched between a brioche roll and served with house made chips.

This burger was huge. It was easily one of the tallest burgers I’ve had in a long time. The burger was cooked to a slight medium and wasn’t as juicy as I’d hoped. Luckily, the toppings tasted so good that it made the burger quite enjoyable. The house made chips were pretty good, too. The burger went down nicely with a glass of their Hoppy Trails IPA.

I had a great time here. The bartender was really friendly, and she already had all the TVs at the bar tuned into hockey! I’m sure no trip out to Harrisburg in the future will be without a visit to Appalachian Brewing Company.

Appalachian Brewing Company
50 N Cameron St.
Harrisburg, PA 17101
717.221.1080

lancaster brewing company: harrisburg – prime burger

brian — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:00:47 +0000

Since I was going to be in Harrisburg for almost a week, I did some research on some places to check out. I don’t remember Lancaster Brewing Company having a spot out there a couple years ago, but they certainly had one this time.

The Prime Burger comes on a fresh bun with cheddar, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. It’s accompanied by house cut fries and a slice of a house pickle. Like most of my other recent burgers, it was overcooked to medium. It wasn’t bad though. The burger had a pleasant char from the grill and tasty bacon. The burger was also appropriately sized for the bun.

The main reason I went to LBC was to have some brews! I started off with the Double Chocolate Milk Stout. Following that, I ordered a sampler which I split with a friend. The sampler came with 12 beers, 3 of which were special blends. The 9 beers were: Country Cream Ale, Milk Stout, Strawberry Wheat, Gold Star Pilsner, Celtic Rose, Fest Beer, Lancaster Lager, Amish Four Grain Pale Ale, and Hop Hog IPA. The 3 special blends were a Chocolate Covered Strawberry (75% Milk Stout, 25% Strawberry Wheat), Strawberry Rose (50% Strawberry Wheat, 50% Celtic Rose), and Hog’s Milk (Milk Stout, Hop Hog IPA). My favorite was easily the Double Chocolate Milk Stout.

Lancaster Brewing Company
469 Eisenhower Blvd.
Harrisburg, PA 17111
717.564.4448