Previously on The Great Burger Hunt, the burger from Comstock Saloon was still on top as the best burger in the city. This week, I tried out Creator, Morton’s Steakhouse and Serendipity to see if any of them could be better.
1. Creator
Creator has been on my list for awhile. It’s the new restaurant fad in the city as it is a restaurant where a giant machine/robot makes the burgers and the staff is only in charge of the sides. I was worried it was going to be gimmicky, but I still felt like I should give it a try. They have a small selection of burgers and a few sides, but on a brighter note, all the burgers are $6. I decided on the Masala Burger with tomato pickle, bird’s eye chili achaar, mango chutney aioli, tikka masala seasoning, pickles and onion. I also chose to get the fried cauliflower and romanesco as a side dish. On a fun side note, you do get to watch your burger being made by the robot while you wait, and there’s quite an elaborate way the bun is cut and the toppings are put on top. But how was everything? The burger patty looked like it had a great char, and it did, but the meat itself was well done, which isn’t my favorite way of eating a burger. The toppings were fresh and the indian toppings really had quite a good flavor to them. The bun was nicely toasted and held up well. The florets were tasty and felt like a healthier side than having fries (although it was quite a small amount). My friends both had other burgers that had a few more toppings, and I was kind of envious at looking at them. One of my friends wasn’t that impressed and the other liked his better, but we all agreed that we would have preferred having the meat cooked more medium.
Masala Burger from Creator
2. Morton’s Steakhouse
Morton’s Steakhouse was the first burger I got to try out with my new burger club. (Yes, I’m very excited about it!) Morton’s burger is offered in the bar for dinner, and it was the choice of one of my fellow burgermeisters (yes I know that in German, it has nothing to do with burgers, but I like to think that we are the Burger Mayors). It’s one of the more expensive choices for burgers, coming in at around $25. However, the burger is also very customizable, with many optional toppings that are included in the price. It also comes with fries, but the fries can be upgraded to truffle fries or even onion rings. Because of this, I opted to add sauteed onions and mushrooms to my burger with blue cheese and upgraded my side to truffle fries. The burger arrived, and it looked a bit lackluster to be honest. I felt that the onions could be more caramelized. I also wasn’t impressed with the patty. For a steakhouse at $25, I really expected the burger itself to be really flavorful and meaty, but sadly, I’ve bought better patties from my local supermarket. The blue cheese was nice, but not enough to really make the burger great. The fries were also terrible. They felt like they had been sitting around all day and fried again before serving. They were some of the worst fries I’ve eaten.
The Morton’s Prime Burger
3. Serendipity
No, it’s not a rom-com starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, nor is it a delicious dessert restaurant out of New York City. Serendipity is a Food Truck in San Francisco specializing in American comfort food such as burgers, macaroni and cheese and tomato soup. I decided to give their Cali Burger a try, which is their basic house-seasoned patty with Jack cheese, bacon and avocado spread (which is different than guacamole apparently). For a few extra dollars, you can add a side, and I went for the cajun fries. The burger looked pretty good when it came out, so I was really excited to dig in. The burger itself was nice, but the texture was slightly off. With the house-seasoned patty, it seemed more like a mini meatloaf on a bun instead of a burger patty. The avocado spread was really nice, and the brioche bun was fresh and soft. However, the bun was a bit big for the patty as toward the end of the burger, I was left with mostly bun and very little patty. The cajun fries were pretty fantastic. To be honest, I kind of wish they had a burger topped with their prize-winning macaroni and cheese, as it would be a new and interesting burger.
The Cali Burger
Winner: Comstock Saloon
Again, Comstock Saloon comes out on top. Their delicious burger with that fantastic gravy really satisfies that burger craving. I feel like none of the burgers this week really did that. Creator was probably the best, and definitely the cheapest, but I would probably only recommend it for the gimmick of a robot created burger rather than a place to go to for a fantastic lunchtime burger. Will any burger topple the amazing one from Comstock Saloon? I’ll be on the hunt to find out! (And let me know if you have any suggestions in the comments!)
Ranking:
1. Comstock Saloon
2. Black Sands Brewery
3. Wayfare Tavern
4. Son’s Addition
5. Gaspar
6. Wes Burger ‘n’ More
7. Epic Steak
8. Umami Burger
9. City Beer
10. The Saratoga
11. ABV
12. 4505 Burgers and BBQ
13. Super Duper Burgers
