hop angel brauhaus – burgermeister meisterburger

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I’ve been spending a lot of my time in the Fox Chase area of Philadelphia lately and more particularly really close to Hop Angel Brauhaus. When I first saw it in the vicinity, I remembered that they had this wild looking burger on their menu. This past weekend for Sunday brunch, I had the Burgermeister Meisterburger.

This burger definitely looks deserving of its meister title. It’s huge. The 10 oz. patty is made from next door neighbor, Reiker’s Prime Meats‘s ground beef. It’s served on top of HAB sauce and a bed of crispy fried onions then topped with shredded smoked gouda, ham, and a fried egg. All of this is then sandwiched between a Holmesburg Bakery bun. The Meisterburger is accompanied by a healthy serving of tasty housecut fries and a side of ketchup.

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There were some good and some not so good things. The burger looked awesome when it came to the table. I couldn’t wait to dig in. It’s huge and this burger certainly won’t leave you hungry. As I started to eat the burger, I noticed my medium-rare burger was overcooked to medium-well. There was very little pink and a slight lack of juiciness. I felt the toppings were great additions to the burger. The HAB sauce was similar to a thousand island and the fried egg was perfectly runny. The ham was something I haven’t quite experienced on a burger before but it seemed to work. I loved the texture and taste the crispy onions added. Unfortunately, the tasty locally baked bun was too fragile to hold up to the large burger, as the last quarter of the burger fell apart in my hands onto the plate. Fortunately, the burger to bun ratio was perfect. Every bite had a good amount of burger in it!

I’m sure I’ll be back again as I enjoyed my experience. Their menu offers other great sounding sandwiches, German food, and beer!

I should also mention, if you live in Center City and are looking to check this place out, it’s only a block from the Fox Chase train station!

Hop Angel Brauhaus
7980 Oxford Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19111
215.437.1939

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perch pub – california cobb

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A few weeks ago, friends chose to go to Perch Pub for pre-theater drinks and eats. I wasn’t quite in the mood for a burger (seriously), but when half the party decided they were getting a burger, I couldn’t resist.

Perch Pub offers four different burger combinations in addition to a build your own. All the burgers are served with an 8 oz. beef patty on a toasted sesame seed bun alongside a green salad with housemade bread and butter pickles. Fries could be added for an additional $1.50. I decided to go with the California Cobb, a burger topped with avocado, arugula, pecan-smoked bacon, tomato, and Point Reyes blue cheese dressing.

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Let’s talk about the upsetting parts first. Where was the sesame seed bun? The bun used was a toasted brioche bun. Where was the housemade pickles? I was really looking forward to trying these! I was too hungry to ask where the pickles were and why the bun was different. Has their menu changed without being updated? Do they still have housemade pickles and serve the burgers on sesame seeded buns?

Now on to the good. The burger was large and looked like it had been put together with care. The dressing wasn’t just dressing. Several times that I’ve had blue cheese dressing on a burger haven’t been good. The cheese gets lost in the amount of dressing that is used. This was not the case at Perch Pub, as the crumbles of blue cheese are definitely apparent and give the burger it’s complimentary tanginess. I ordered it medium-rare and it was close, if not spot on. The size of the burger was perfect. There were no burgerless bites as it was just slightly over the edges of the bun on all sides.

Perch Pub is a great option if you’re looking for a good burger close to the theater.

Perch Pub
1345 Locust St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215.546.4090

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city tap house – lamb burger


Even though a previous burger experience here wasn’t the greatest, when you need a burger and you happen to be at the same place, you sometimes want to give it another shot. This past weekend I found myself at City Tap House once again, wanting a burger, however, I went with the Lamb Burger.


The Lamb Burger is topped with feta yogurt, smoked paprika aioli, kalamata olives, and a fennel salad. It is served on a toasted seeded wheat bun. Like the Tap House Burger, the burger to bun ratio was perfect and it was very neatly prepared. It also had some good flavors. Since I thought about my last experience here with an overcooked burger which was ordered medium-rare, I ordered this lamb burger rare. After a couple bites, I noticed my burger was cooked to a perfect medium-rare! It was much juicier this time due to its lower cooked temperature. Sure, you shouldn’t have to order a rare burger in order to receive a medium-rare burger, but I had a hunch this decision would work out in my favor this time around. The only other downside in addition to anticipating an overcooked burger was the wheat bun. It felt a bit too wholesome. I’d like try the Tap House Burger next time, ordered rare!

City Tap House
3925 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215.662.0105

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slow bar – slowburger


The next burger on the Portland itinerary was the Slowburger from Slow Bar in Southeast Portland. The Slowburger consists of a 1/2 lb. Painted Hills beef patty, gruyere, onion rings, butter lettuce, and pickle relish. It’s served on a toasted, soft, sesame-seeded bun alongside handcut fries.


This experience wasn’t the greatest, but I could see its potential to be an awesome burger. All the ingredients made for a really tasty burger. I enjoyed the tanginess from the relish and the crunchiness of the onion rings. The handcut fries were also very good. What killed it was the meat which was just cooked to well when I asked medium-rare.

By no means is this burger bad. It just has some temperature issues. If I lived out West, I’d definitely like to give the Slowburger another shot.

Slow Bar
533 SE Grand Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
503.230.7767

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o’neals – o’neals burger


When it comes to Irish pub/sports bar food, my expectations are generally pretty low. The food I’ve had at these establishments have been great…when intoxicated. When sober on the other hand, just okay. Last week I figured, hey, I might just have surprisingly good food from an Irish pub.


O’Neals serves a burger called the O’Neals Burger. It’s made from Angus beef and comes topped with Cajun spice, cheddar, bacon, BBQ sauce, fried onions, mixed greens, and tomato. All that is placed on a kaiser roll.


After the first couple bites, I thought it wasn’t so bad. The meat was about medium and there was some flavor. The more and more I ate, however, the flaws became more apparent. I’m not crazy about the use of a kaiser roll. I’ve had a couple kaiser roll burgers in the past and I don’t remember enjoying any of them. The roll just seemed to be too dry and overwhelming. By the time I got to the middle of the burger, the meat had shifted to the edges of the bun. After a couple more bites, it was pretty much all on the plate. Lastly, the burger was kind of dry and tasted rather, meatball-ish. You know, that taste where it seems like maybe bread crumbs had made it in to the ground mix? Not saying that happened, but it tasted like it.

There was something good about it. You have the option of getting tater tots as your side!

O’Neals
611 S 3rd St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215.574.9495

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