X Mark's the Spot...eh, sort of

Venue: Mark's Gourmet Burgers

Location: 441 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY

Date of Visit: Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Burger: Bacon Blue Burger & Smokey BBQ Bacon Cheddar Burger

Average Score: 7.0
Price Range: $$$$$

 Mike: After a two-month hiatus, the Burgerlers have returned.  This time, to try a relatively new addition to Fort Greene, Mark's Gourmet Burgers.  Mark's menu has a variety of different "gourmet" burgers to choose from, yet they don't have a "signature" burger.  So, that left the three of us to go out on our own and pick what looked good to each of us.  The fan of the bacon and blue cheese combination that I am, I opted for the Bacon Blue Burger.  It's a 1/3 lb. Angus beef patty (or one could go with the 1/2 lb. "Big Mark" for an additional fee) topped with crumbled Maytag blue cheese, apple wood smoked bacon, sauteed onions, tomato, and mixed greens on a mystery bun that might have been a potato roll.  I ordered mine medium-rare with a side salad.

          When the burger came out, it looked about right; it had all the proper ingredients and the bun appeared to be nicely toasted.  When I took my first bite, I definitely felt (and heard) the crispness of the toasted bun, yet is was nice and soft on the inside.  Now this was how you properly prepare a bun!  I also got a mouthful of flavor from the bacon and beef.  The beef was flavored nicely but was a tad over-cooked, and the bacon was...well, it was bacon, but it could have been sliced a bit thicker for additional crunch.  The onions lacked any presence, but this could have been because they were intermingled with the strips of bacon; and there isn't much that can compete with the taste of bacon.  This early in the game, I began to wonder where the blue cheese had gone off to; for there was only a hint of the potent flavor in the initial bites.

          As I got about a third of the way through, it started to evolve into a different burger.  The blue cheese really started come through, the bacon started to dwindle away, and this side of the patty was cooked rare.  Now these were some pretty big problems; the meat wasn't cooked evenly and the toppings weren't evenly dispersed.  I guess they take things literally at Mark's; Bacon and Blue Cheese, medium and rare.  I thought the mixed greens lettuce was a nice touch, but it was a bit on the wilted side as far as freshness goes.  The same might be said for the tomato.  This, quite possibly, could have been due to the fact that both were stacked under the patty, which might have proven to be good, as the bun held up very well to the grease from the meat.

          All in all, I thought the meat was juicy and flavorful, and the bun was nicely matched.  If only they could have got the whole cooking and stacking thing right.  I'm not saying it was a total loss, but I don't see myself revisiting Mark's anytime soon.

Overall Rating: 6.8

           

Kenny:  Walking into Mark's Gourmet Burgers, you notice that this place is small and has only a few tables and a bar.  Mark’s feels more like a quick-stop diner than a burger joint.  After settling in, I walked over to the counter to order the Smokey Barbeque Bacon Cheddar Burger medium-well with some double fried fries, and a bottle of water.  After waiting for a bit, the burger arrived topped with Mark's own MGB barbeque sauce, two slices of bacon, a bit of cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, and tomatoes.   

          The burger looked pretty good, so I dove right in.  On the first bite, I only tasted the barbeque sauce, which was sweet and tangy, and the bacon.  Soon thereafter, the patty’s flavor started to emerge, which there was nothing special about it.  While the meat was cooked perfectly, and was pretty juicy, I don’t think they added any spices to it. This made it come across as a bit bland; but, the barbeque sauce had enough flavor for both of them.  Then, there were the onions, which didn't add any additional flavor to the burger.  Aside from the bacon, the bun seemed to be the shining star, as it was perfectly toasted.  There was a little char on the bottom of it, while the outside of the bun was soft and tasty.  As my burger decreased in size, it started to become harder to hold on to.  It was almost as if they bun and patty were on a slip-and-slide lubricated by barbeque sauce, and by the end, my patty just slipped out.   

          Lastly, there were the fries. I’m going to just say skip the double-fried fries and opt for their sweet potato fries.  They just weren't up to par and masked in tons of salt.   Overall, the burger was good, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

 

Rating 7.0       

Jeff: Having recently moved back into the Clinton Hill neighborhood, I was excited to try a place whose focus is burgers.

          I ordered the Bacon Blue Burger medium and opted for the regular 1/3lb serving versus the Big Mark rendition which increases it to half a pound. The burger arrived in a timely manner, considering a bit of a lunch hour rush, followed shortly by the fries. The burger looked appetizing enough, but I was expecting more blue cheese and more bacon. Looking at Kenny's burger made me wish I had ordered his, as his was piled high with bacon and smothered in cheese. My first bite was very flavorful. The patty was served more rare than medium and I think a switch up from grill to table might have occurred as Mike ordered his bacon blue medium rare. This didn’t detract from the burger’s taste, and I’m not that picky where this would ruin my experience, so just keep that in mind if ordering in groups. The seasoning of the patty was balanced, and by seasoning I mean something more than salt and pepper. Actually, the patty was seasoned so well that I think all I needed was the bun and patty. I completely forgot about the bacon and onions after a couple of bites. Had the bacon been a thicker cut, or if more of it were present, it might have made an impression; but as it was served, the patty stood out front and center. There also wasn’t a lot of blue cheese on the burger either. I understand that blue cheese is strong and might not be for everyone, but for those of us who like blue cheese, there simply wasn't enough of it applied to warrant including it in the naming of this burger. I don’t know, maybe I’m greedy. The flavor of the patty was good, so it could be that too much of the blue would obscure the patty, but I’d rather take some cheese off than not have more to put on. Having the mixed greens and tomato on the bottom of the patty is a welcomed preventative measure against bun breakdown. The bun itself was toasted nicely on the underside while the outside of it was warm and soft. That’s a nice combination to have.

           Everything said, the beef tasted great; and when compared to other Myrtle Ave. spots, I feel it holds its own.

Overall Rating: 7.1

Hold the Mayo!

Venue: reBar

Location: 147 Front St, Brooklyn, NY

Date of Visit: Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Burger: The reBurger

Average Score: 5.8
Price Range: $$$$$

Mike: This week, we chose to go back to The Burgerler's roots, back to where the whole thing was conceived.  Those who follow our blog may know that Bareburger was the first to be reviewed; however, reBar, in DUMBO, was where the idea was born.  Going back, I had vague memories of the "reBurger." They were mostly of a fountain depositing copious amounts of harissa mayo that cascaded down a toasted bun onto a rat's nest of various toppings.  But we had also been drinking fairly heavily that day, so my memories could have been compromised.  

          The "reBurger" is a half-pound sirloin patty, which I ordered medium, atop an artisan potato bun.  It's topped with house-made pickles, hand squeezed Spanish onions, Roma tomatoes, shredded iceberg lettuce, harissa mayo, and a slice of American cheese.  It comes with the option of either a house salad or fries; I went for the salad.  As we waited for our burgers, we each recalled the first time the three of us visited the establishment and hoped that our memories of the mayo(some may choose to call them nightmares) were skewed, at best.  Only when the burgers arrived were our memories confirmed.

            As the server placed the food in front of me, my attention was immediately drawn to the upper half of the bun.  On it, sat a healthy(and I use the term loosely) dollop of the dreaded harissa mayo.  "Did they add even more of it than when we were last here?"  Good god!  I was extremely conflicted; the health conscious part of me screamed "scrape that stuff off!," while the dedicated Burgerler in me said, "it comes on the burger, it stays on the burger."  So I decided it would be okay, I left it on the burger.  If I didn't know regret before this, I certainly knew it afterwards.

          So I topped off the burger and went in to take my first bite.  It's a good thing I didn't hesitate, because in that first bite, I was actually able to taste the meat before the flood of mayo hit.  That was the last time I would be able to taste the meat; which was a shame, because  it was very flavorful and cooked to perfection.  The toppings were barely present, flavor-wise, thanks to the abundance of mayo.  I may have tasted the tang from one of the pickles once or twice, but they were the only thing with enough punch to cut through the mayo.  The tomato and American cheese were lost; and the only good the shredded iceberg did was help sop up some of the mess.  It was like putting sawdust on a pool of oil in the garage; but sometimes there's just not enough sawdust.

          Glancing at the menu, the fact that it's a half-pound sirloin patty on a bun from a local bakery, and by using terms like "house-made" and "hand squeezed," one might think "my $13 is really being put to work."  However, the reality was that this burger is schizophrenic and it makes no sense.  Looking at the first half of the ingredients, it has the makings of an excellent burger.  Then someone made the "bold" decision to throw some American cheese on it; American cheese on sirloin?  Then, add the iceberg lettuce in all it's wonder.  Finally, to bring it home, they ladled some harissa mayo on there to completely saturate and mask all of the promising flavor and potential the burger might have had. 

          The only good thing that came out of this happened over a year ago, when the three of us came up with the idea for the blog.

Overall Rating: 5.8 

Kenny:  All three of us haven’t been back to reBar together since before we started The Burgerler; this was the place where we thought of doing a burger blog.  We all ordered the "reBurger" and proceeded to talk about it for an hour or more with a few beers.  Upon our return, we were here to judge the burger by the criteria we had come up with.  The "reBurger" has an interesting composition;  1/2 LB sirloin, house made pickles, hand squeezed Spanish onions, Roma tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, harissa mayonnaise, American cheese, artistan potato bun From Caputo’s bakery, hand-cut fries or a salad, and for three dollars more, chubi bacon.

          So, I ordered the burger medium with the chubi bacon, which turned out to be a good decision.  When the burger arrived, it was perfectly cooked; the thickly cut bacon looked even better, and the bun well prepared except for the giant glob of yellowish mayo.  So without wiping off any of the mayo, I placed the bun on the shredded lettuce and the mayo started to ooze all over the place.  With my first bite, I realized the meat had a great char and flavor, then I came across the bacon.  One word, delicious! However; halfway through the burger, the mayo had become too much and it was time to dismantle this burger.  The bun, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo were disregarded; and I finished eating only the patty and the bacon.  Overall, if you don’t like mayo, ask for it on the side.  If you do like mayo and don’t like over doing it, ask for it on the side.  If you are the person that likes lots of mayo, you are going to be in heaven.

Overall Rating 6.0

 
Jeff: This is where it all began. This is where Kenny, Mike, and I decided to start the Burgerler. It’s been a little over a year since then, so we decided to return and actually review the reBurger. From the menu, the contents of the reBurger sound great: 1/2lb sirloin, house made pickles, Roma tomato, hand squeezed Spanish onions, iceberg lettuce, harissa mayonnaise, American cheese and artisan potato bun from Caputo’s. Out of respect for the sirloin, I ordered my burger medium without the American cheese.

         When my burger arrived, I thought I received the wrong one, because what I thought was cheese on the top bun was actually a puddle of the harissa mayonnaise. Now, when I say puddle, I kid you not. I tilted the bun on its side and the mayo slid downwards as though it was syrup. I was tempted to swipe some of it off, but if that’s how they present the reBurger then that’s how I’ll eat it. Upon further inspection, the iceberg lettuce was finely shredded. Maybe this prep of the lettuce would help hold the mayo in place. I was mistaken.

         The first bite wasn’t much of anything to comment on. I got a bit of the mayo, the meat, sauce, lettuce, and tomato, but no pickle. The second bite was a tad more savory; but as should be expected, the mayo oozed out of the sides and rear of the burger. I thought maybe enough of it would ooze out so that I could actually taste what I was eating. The sirloin patty had an ok flavor and char but it didn’t really wow me. Maybe a bite of the sliced pickle would help out on the third bite, nope. There was simply too much mayo on it. It engulfed the lettuce, swallowed the flavor of the Roma tomato, and obstructed the flavor of the potato bun and beef. It didn’t make sense. Why put so much mayo on the burger? If I’m paying for sirloin, I want to taste the sirloin, not the mayo. The mayo should be a light spread on the bun. It shouldn’t be applied like frosting.

        I had high hopes for this because, individually, the reBurger's contents should have added up to a great burger, minus the American cheese and the iceberg. Instead, I was sorely reminded of my distain as I watched another table receive their burgers. They were wise enough to remove the mayo.

Overall rating: 5.5