FLIP BURGER BOUTIQUE

He says:
I didn’t think it could live up to the hype. I really didn’t. Soon after Richard Blais’s fabled run on Top Chef, the buzz surrounding his latest Atlanta project, Flip, reached hysterical proportions. When it finally opened in December of ‘08, the crowds were ready, and they were crazy. One of my coworkers had to drive over three times before she could even get a seat. Another stood in the parking lot for over 2 hours to get inside. And all this for a “glamburger”? Speaking from personal experience, gourmet hamburgers don’t usually hold a candle to greasy, old-school ones. They are too refined when they should be primal, too complex when they should be bold. Do I really want olive tapenade on my lamburger when a slice of bacon on a Five Guys Burger will do the trick?

As it turns out, yes, I do.

Flip is the real deal … a fun, trendy, and most important, delicious place to eat. It starts with the all white decor – white booths, white tables, white floors, white walls. Hell, even the TVs behind the bar are framed in white. Right off the bat, you know this place is not your usual burger bar. This place is different. And not in a zany, self-indulgent manner that afflicts restaurants like Two Urban Licks. It’s a good type of difference, one that suggests post-modernity, the deconstruction of the hamburger, and its reassembly at the hands of a sous vide ninja. Belying this stark minimalism though, Flip throbs with energy. Lively chatter bounces from the walls. Music videos blare from the TVs. The open kitchen bustles. This is a seriously fun place to eat.

She says:
Our adventure began with the liquid nitrogen milkshakes. The wacky flavors, ranging from krispy kreme to fois gras, reflect chef Blais’s imaginative bent on food. We appreciated his work early on at Element, where items like liquid nitrogen margaritas and carbonized octopus were the norm. I was definitely sad to see Element go. Happily, with Flip, Blais is still pushing the boundaries of fine dining.

The spicy chocolate mole milkshake is a rich and satisfying treat, the quality of the chocolate coming through with every slurp. The mole leaves the subtlest tickle in the back of your throat. As chocolate milkshakes go, it’s about as good as it gets. The nutella and burnt marshmallow milkshake is on another level. The sweet hazelnut chocolate ice cream is outstanding, particularly when coupled with the taste of a perfectly roasted marshmallow. (You know what I’m talking about… when the exterior is just barely burnt while the inside is soft and gooey?) A whole pile of torched marshmallows sit atop the shake like Marie Antoinette’s wig.

He says:
Indeed, the milkshakes began to undermine my tenet that simplicity rules in burger joints. My belief was fully shaken when I bit into the lamburger. So often lamb is overcooked and loses its flavor. Not this burger. Grilled medium-rare, the “lambiness” comes through loud and clear. Its fatty juices are balanced by the minced olive relish and fresh mint, which is in turn cut by the sweet raisin ketchup spread over the buttered brioche bun. Rich, salty, and sweet in perfect proportion, this is the finest glamburger I’ve ever had. It’s complex all right, and it works beautifully.

By the time I got to the fries with two dipping sauces, I was converted. Why dip such terrific spuds in plain old ketchup? Good God, man! Such simplicity is blasphemy! Instead, pair those golden brown fries with the smoky mayo for one of the best side dishes in Atlanta.

She says:
The tempura fried butternut squash are equally amazing. Like the fries, the squash is beautifully fried to get that satisfying crunch, plus it has the whole sweet/salty thing going on. The shrimp po boyger is executed more effectively than any real shrimp po boy I’ve had. The shrimp are chopped up and adhered together to form a dense patty that achieves a thick, burgery texture while maintaining the flavor of fresh shrimp. A slice of fried lemon and a slathering of mayo and Tabasco round out the dish.

The only thing that could possibly make this meal more perfect would be a sighting of the culinary wizard himself. You know, to brag to our friends about.

And then there he was, in a red t-shirt and his trademark spiky hair, delivering a plate of starters to the next table over. As soon as we saw him, Downtown Boy and I caught each other’s eye in excitement. A delicious meal and a celebrity sighting all in one lunch – does it get any better?

We say:
Believe the hype. It’s glamburger time.




Flip
1587 Howell Mill Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318-7648
www.flipburgerboutique.com

GEORGE'S BAR & RESTAURANT

He says:
When talk of the best burger in Atlanta pops up, the Vortex and the Earl are frequently mentioned. Hence when someone recently named George’s in Virginia Highlands as the best around, I raised an eyebrow. Was it true? Could the tastiest burger in a city renowned for its burgers be located less than a mile away from our house?

As it turns out, not so much.

The chili cheeseburger I ordered was messy and yummy alright, but it fails to reach the sublime heights of its burger brethren. The beef patty wasn’t very juicy or fatty. The chili tasted generic. This is not to say the burger isn’t good, because it is. In fact, it’s very good. It’s simply not great.

I did enjoy their mozzarella sticks, which are of the supermarket freezer variety I love so much.

She says:
Unfortunately, my black bean burger wasn’t up to snuff. Like most black bean burgers it was pretty mushy, and although the waitress warned me it was spicy, it was really bland. One of our friends also tried the veggie burger and said that it was mushy too.

Besides the disappointing veggie options, George’s other fatal flaw is that they don’t serve milkshakes, which is a big disappointment at a burger joint. That said, their onion rings were awesome… large, fat rings coated in just the right amount of crisp batter.

We say:
George’s might stand out in a city with a less awesome burger scene, but in Atlanta it’s just a typical burger joint.

He says:



She says:



George’s Bar and Restaurant
1041 N. Highland Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
http://georgesbarandrestaurant.com/

ATLANTA'S BURGER KINGDOM

He says:
Here is an article about Atlanta's burger scene, courtesy of Creative Loafing.

Atlanta's burgers are VERY good, as anyone who has read this blog knows. However, I haven't found a local establishment that can topple Bartley's in Boston just yet!

RED MILL BURGERS

He says:
It seems every major city has at least one legendary burger shack, and in Seattle that place is Red Mill Burgers. Red Mill occupies a cozy, two-room space on Phinney Ridge, where the only decoration in sight (aside from the first-aid poster on how to help choking victims) is a famously bad painting of a red windmill that looks like it was salvaged from a junk yard. Like most of the best burger restaurants in America, Red Mill doesn’t worry too much about its decor. That’s because their food more than makes up for any deficiencies in interior design.

The double bacon deluxe cheeseburger I ordered was sublime. The two quarter-pound patties were greasy and delicious, with the salty crunch of pepper bacon, the ooze of American cheese, and the smoky flavors of the “secret” Red Mill Sauce all coming together in a gastronomic union far exceeding the sum of its parts. To top it off, the bun is toasted; it’s a small touch I always appreciate.

The only drawback, in my opinion, is that the burger patties are thin and thus not cooked to order. I asked for my hamburger rare and it came out medium. The patties were still plenty juicy though, so this is a minor quibble.

She says:
The trip to Red Mill Burgers, if you couldn’t guess, was for Downtown Boy’s dining pleasure. (Don’t worry – we have an equitable relationship… following Red Mill, we toured Seattle’s fabulous new chocolate factory, Theo Chocolate.) There’s just not that much to say about veggie burgers… they’re either disgusting, or pretty good. There’s not a lot of “gastromonic union” happening with veggie burgers. So the verdict on Red Mill’s veggie options – pretty good.

I will rave about the milkshakes. Thick, creamy, and made with real ice cream, my chocolate milk shake improved this dining experience ten-fold.

He says:
My Oreo shake was delicious as well. The onion rings are too donut-like for my tastes, but they round out an artery-clogging meal quite nicely.

She says:
Good burgers, but not nearly as memorable as the chocolate factory.



He says:
Head to Red Mill Burgers for some of the greasiest – and best – burgers in America.



Red Mill Burgers
312 N. 67th Street, Seattle, WA 98103
http://www.redmillburgers.com/index.htm

ANN'S SNACK BAR

He says:
Ann’s Snack Bar is the home of the Ghettoburger, a humongous double cheeseburger accompanied with grilled onions, chili, lettuce, tomatoes, and a liberal dusting of chili salt. It has a strong following, and in fact the Wall Street Journal recently named it the #1 burger in America. In my opinion, however, it doesn’t warrant such a lofty rating.

For starters, the Ghettoburger is so large that it falls apart as soon as you lift it to your mouth. Messiness when eating a burger is one thing, but entire hunks of beef and lettuce breaking apart at a touch is something else. Another problem is that the proprietor and sole cook, Ann, doesn’t ask how you want your burger cooked. She prepares them all well-done, which is a *serious* burger transgression as far as I’m concerned. There are also the excruciatingly long lines to deal with. Ann’s Snack Bar only seats eight at a time, so you’ll probably spend a good 30-60 minutes waiting on the concrete patio furniture outside. (That is if you get in, of course. The first time we arrived at Ann’s, we were turned away even though it was an hour before closing!) Finally, if you’re like Uptown Girl and don’t eat red meat, you are totally out of luck – the menu doesn’t extend beyond hamburgers and hot dogs.

This is not to say that Ann’s Snack Bar is without its charms. Ann is a gracious lady, and the bar itself screams authenticity – it’s little more than a kitchen and a long Formica counter. There aren’t any hokey road signs or sports memorabilia in this place. The burgers are pretty good, as are the fries. But they don’t compare to the offerings at Vortex or The Earl, and they’re definitely not in Bartley’s league. The best burger in America? It’s not even the best burger in Atlanta.




Ann’s Snack Bar
1615 Memorial Drive, Atlanta, GA 30317
404-687-9207

THE VARSITY

He says:
“What’ll ya have!? What’ll ya have!?” This is what the servers scream at you as you approach the order counter of the Varsity, the famous Atlanta grease-pit and world’s largest drive-in restaurant. I guess all the yelling is supposed to add to the Varsity’s rugged charm, but it’s rather disorienting for a first-time visitor. Besides, there are 8 types of hot dogs, 9 types of burgers, 9 different sandwiches, and a bazillion combo platters on their giant menu, so it’s hard enough deciding what to order without someone demanding every 3 seconds what’ll I have.

The Varsity is the apotheosis of your cheap, neighborhood diner: a multi-level, multi-room expanse of white Formica tables, napkin dispensers, and speckled black and white tile. Let’s just say if I were a teenager, I would be here every Friday night until 1 AM, probably talking about video games.

She says:
Not that my expectations were very high, but the Varsity’s food is just bad. I can best describe both the chicken fingers and fries I ate as miserably dry and shriveled. I alternated dousing each in honey-mustard sauce, BBQ sauce, and ketchup, but nothing seemed to help. The chocolate milkshake tasted artificial, certainly not chocolaty, and definitely not creamy. Most of it ended up in the garbage.

He says:
At the Varsity, you get what you pay for. The chili in my $1.85 chili cheeseburger was obviously from a can, tasteless and soaked through in neon orange oil. A thin slice of barely-melted American cheese sat on a tiny beef patty. My $2.05 chili cheese dog was equally bland. The one surprise of the meal was the onion rings, which were crunchy and greasy in all the right ways.

We say:
What’ll ya have? Better food, please.



The Varsity
61 North Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30308
www.thevarsity.com

BARTLEY'S

He says:
I'm not a religious man, but for several years now I have been worshipping at Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage, the high church of hamburgers located just off Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA. I used to visit Bartley's every month when I lived in Cambridge, and our recent trip there allowed me to introduce Uptown Girl to the best hamburger joint in America.

Bartley's has cramped quarters, hectic service, and no bathroom. It does have a bitchin' menu though. Where else can you find a Swiss cheese burger with mushrooms called "The John Kerry" (he voted this the best burger before he voted against it) or a double burger called 'The Arnold Schwarzenegger" (this is no girly burger)? The 20+ burger combinations at Bartley's are not only amusing, but delicious too. The first bite of a medium-rare burger is a miraculous moment -- the beef juices literally explode into your mouth. No other burger I've ever had does that. The meat itself has a perfect texture, tender with just the right amount of give, and the plain bun does an admirable job of sopping up the oozing grease.

She says:
I agree that the menu is very witty. I had "The Bill Clinton" (don't inhale) substituted with a veggie burger pattie. The burger was, well, it was a veggie patty covered in cheddar cheese and BBQ sauce. Tasty, but worth worshipping? Nah. You have to be a beef eater to worship a burger joint.

That said, the fries were crispy and delicious, much better than their flaky, barely-there onion rings.

He says:
I love Bartley's onions rings! They're sliced razor-thin and lightly breaded; I can eat a whole basket and not feel full. And the Oreo vanilla frappe is arguably the tastiest milkshake in America.

I will admit that Barley's can be maddeningly inconsistent. Burgers ordered rare may come out well-done. You'll have soggy fries one day and perfectly crisped ones the next. You may have to go to the bathroom, and you'll find yourself running down Mass. Ave in search of a public toilet while a stranger watches your table.

Even if Bartley's does miss the mark every now and then, all is eventually forgiven when you take that first bite of burger perfection and wipe the hot grease off your chin like the happy fool that you are.

He says:
Bartley's has the best burgers in America. Period.



She says:
How can a burger joint get five forks? For a cramped and crowded burger place with fine (vegetarian) food ...



Although I might add a fork just for the milkshakes.

Bartley's
1246 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
http://www.mrbartley.com/

THE EARL

He says:
The Earl is a grungy bar in East Atlanta, the type of place where hipsters on laptops and 300-pound bikers in head-to-toe leather sit in adjacent booths. The paint-chipped walls are covered with the sort of tchotchkes you'd find in your crazy uncle's garage: plastic Mr. T busts, rusted tricycles, decapitated dolls ... you get the idea.

I had heard the Earl had one of the best burgers in town, and I wasn't disappointed. The Guacamole Burger was a simple yet superb creation: the creamy avocado and zingy cheddar blended perfectly with the juiciness of the Angus beef. What I like about the Earl is the attention paid to the small details. The toasted hamburger bun with a light spread of butter. The wondrously crunchy beer-battered onion rings, large enough to fill you up but not so large they feel like donuts. The waiter noticing how Uptown Girl and I were halfway through our Cokes and bringing out a fresh pitcher.

She says:
And the tasty cranberry dill sauce that came with my sweet potato fries. It's a great dipping sauce--Downtown Boy couldn't stop raiding my plate.

The black bean burger I had was fine, but nothing special. At least it wasn't mushy, which is important in a black bean burger. There were two other vegetarian options that could be worth a try someday, but honestly, I think I'd rather just go to the Vortex.

We say:
The Earl isn't trying to reinvent bar food, but it does get the little things right.

He says:



She says:



The Earl
488 Flat Shoals Road, East Atlanta, GA. 30316
http://www.badearl.com/

VORTEX at Little Five Points

He says:
What can I say about Vortex that hasn't already been said? This Little Five Points burger joint is a true Atlanta institution. For some reason I end up there every few weeks, sometimes on a lazy Wednesday afternoon, other times during the Friday dinner rush, and my experience is always the same: I get a fantastic burger and a bottomless glass of Coke served by a waitress dressed for an S&M party. With food this good, the wait staff can dress however they want.

The Vortex's aesthetic can best be described as Hells Angels meets the NYC subway system circa 1976. It's a grungy warren of tables set so close together you'll bump elbows with a tattooed neighbor several times over the course of your meal. Trust me, he won't mind; it's a casual place.

She says:
So true. The last time we were there, a guy in a leather vest came around with invitations to the Clairmont Lounge to celebrate his tattoo parlor's anniversary. This kind of wackiness makes Vortex a fun place to bring out-of-town visitors. They have a great selection of beers, including local brews like my new favorite, Sweet Georgia Brown. With the memory of walking in through a giant glowing skull, reading the no-nonsense rules on the front of the menu (such as no whining, no idiots or jerks allowed, and "tip or die"), your friends won't soon forget this place.

He says:
For starters you can go for the onion rings or fries, but I would recommend the tator tots. They're the best I've ever had -- perfectly crunchy on the outside, delicate in the middle, and infinitely superior to those sorry dregs I ate back in public school. The chili and Caesar salad aren't bad either. The Vortex has so many hamburger choices on their menu that it's hard to know where to start. Do you keep it simple and go for the straight-forward Original Burger? Or do you order the Black and Blue (a burger blackened with Cajun spices and blue cheese)? It doesn't matter. I've tried enough of them at this point to know they're all awesome. The Chili Cheeseburger is a delicious mess that will have you licking beef fat and turkey chili off your fingers. The Coronary Bypass (fried egg, American cheese, bacon) will give you a heart attack, but only after you've gone to burger heaven.

She says:
And if beef isn't your thing (definitely not mine), substitute it with a turkey, veggie, or black-bean patty, grilled chicken breast, or even an ostrich burger. I always opt for the veggie burger, as they're better than most. I just wish Vortex served milkshakes. But I swear I'm not whining.

We say:
There are better burgers in America, but none as good in Atlanta.



VORTEX
438 Moreland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30307
http://www.thevortexbarandgrill.com/TheVortex/index.htm