Happy Spring! And there’s nothing like some more burgers in Spring to get the juices flowing! I’m still in love with the Smash Burger from Niku Butcher Shop, but I always hope that I can find something new to really wow me. This time I tried burgers from the three Bs: Belly, Bun Appetit and Burger Littles.
1. Belly Burger from Belly
This time I took a jaunt across town to give Belly a try. A lot of people online are really happy with them, so I decided to take the long bus ride to see how it compares. I obviously went for the Belly Burger ($13.45) with grilled mushrooms, onions, bacon, and American cheese. I opted for a side of garlic fries (I’m so into them lately). They also have a vegetable bar so you can grab any sort of toppings you may want. The burger definitely looked quite basic when it came out, but it turned out to be a really tasty burger with a bun that help up well to the juices. It wasn’t the best I’ve had, but it was much, much better than I expected. Definitely a solid burger and a place to go to if you happen to be in or live in the area.
2. Avocado Swiss Burger from Bun Appetit
After a big breakup, I was returning some personal items to their original owner (and it felt so right to break up with my Internet Service Provider), so I decided to meander over to Bun Appetit to celebrate as it was new and in the area. I arrived as they were opening and went for the avocado Swiss burger ($13.95) with avocado, Swiss cheese, crispy Maui onions, and chipotle aioli. Sadly, they didn’t have the buffalo cauliflower prepared, so I went with onion rings instead. They also only had enough chipotle aioli for the burger, so I got the spicy creme fraiche dipping sauce for them. The burger looked VERY sad when it came out, as the avocado was fairly hard and just cut in half and slapped on the burger with a small amount of onions. And that was basically it. However, this burger was so freaking tasty. It wasn’t the toppings though, it was the burger itself. It just had a perfect amount of seasoning and a real meaty taste to it. Honestly, I’d probably just go for the regular burger next time, but there will definitely be a next time. It’s an incredibly tasty burger and also fairly close to my house.
3. Burger Littles
Burger Littles is a new vendor to Spark Social, and the last time I was there I decided to give them a try. Their menu isn’t huge, with a hamburger, cheeseburger or fancy (with ketchup and mustard). There are a couple of sandwiches, a few types of fries and malted milk on the menu. I went for the double fancy ($11) with fries. The menu reads like a basic burger restaurant, and that’s pretty much how it came out. But it was a damn good burger. The patties were juicy and had good seasoning and you really didn’t need more than that. Imagine a way better In-N-Out. The fries weren’t amazing though (also imagine In-N-Out), as some were undercooked, so sadly that let it down a bit, but the burger definitely was top notch piece of meat.
Winner: Nike Butcher Shop
While I had three stellar burgers this week, none of them really hit the level that Niku does, but of the three, the one I’m still thinking about because it left that burger taste lingering in my mouth for a long time was Bun Appetit. I’m going to go back soon and try their regular burger just to make sure, but there was so much flavor packed into that meat I really thought about it for hours afterwards. My burger prospects are definitely looking up this Spring, so please give me some more ideas on where to try in the comments!
My current top five:
1. Niku Butcher Shop
2. Flash Crash $6 Burger
3. Bun Appetit
4. Barney’s Gourmet Burgers
5. Monsieur Benjamin
Honorable mentions:
Classic toppings/burgers:
Nopa
Epic Steak
4505 Burgers and Barbecue
Magnolia Brewing
The Showdown
Spruce
Frankie’s Java House
Wayfare Tavern
Fort Point Valencia
Flippin’ Burger
Burger Littles
Unusual toppings/burgers:
Copas
Sons Addition
ABV
Biergarten
Rock Club Burger
Multiple toppings/burgers:
Flipper’s Gourmet Burgers
Papa Mak’s
Brickhouse
Super Duper Burgers
Beep’s Burgers
Sides:
Wes Burger ‘n’ More
