In-N-Out, Las Vegas

I'd been looking forward to this all trip. There were no In-N-Outs in Vancouver, Minneapolis, Denver, New York or Colorado Springs. But we were spending one night in Vegas and In-N-Out would be there.

And as things worked out, as we were driving back from the Grand Canyon, we had to have lunch, and where better to have lunch than In-N-Out!

The kids loved it, Pearl loved it...but how about me?

I ordered the Double-Double animal style and I surprised myself.

It was still incredible value. It was still fresh. But it wasn't as tasty as I remember it being and it was a bit of a mess.

The issues that were raised at Crave Real Burgers came back to haunt me...what am I looking for in a burger?

So I ordered a plain hamburger and split it with my son, and it was better. But I was still troubled by what I'd discovered.

Thankfully, on the way back from Death Valley there was another change to drop in to In-N-Out for lunch.

This time I just ordered a regular cheeseburger.

I definitely preferred it to Animal Style. I regretted not getting a Double Double. But I couldn't shake that feeling that my all time favourite burger had been usurped by the Smoke Shack.

Still a great burger. Still better than anything we can get in Australia...but the best? I'll need to re-examine that the next time I'm back.

The Cliff House - Manitou Springs

We went south to Colorado Springs for my niece and nephew's piano competition, and while we were there we also had the opportunity to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday.

So during some free time we headed to Manitou Springs and Cliff House.

The Cliff House dining room was really lovely and old-school and believe it or not, they had a burger on the menu.

The Cliff House Burger - Grilled buffalo burger, Chipotle molasses, Barbeque sauce applewood smoked bacon, aged cheddar, red onion marmalade.

Sounds pretty good doesn't it?

And it was.

You could really taste the pattie and everything worked pretty well together. The only real problem I had was finishing it!

Taste - 4.0

Value - Considering the luxurious surroundings I'd have to give it a 5.0

Messiness - 4.5

http://www.thecliffhouse.com

Crave Real Burgers

A few weeks before we headed off to the US I got this in an email from my brother-in-law...

'Here's a new burger for you to try when you visit. I ate it last night. Still suffering.....'

And here was the photo that came with it...

The Luther burger. Bacon, cheddar, egg and onion with two glazed donuts as the buns.

While I was in the states I saw that someone in Perth was doing something similar and of course some killjoy from the Australian Medical Association had to come out and say it's a 'heart-attack waiting to happen' - what isn't?

Details here if you're heading west.

But back to the Luther. It's one of the extensive line-up of exotic burgers at a small local chain that opened in 2010 called Crave Real Burgers who really go off the reservation to specialise in being creative when it comes to burgers.

Not only is there the Luther there's also the...

Fatty Melt - a bacon cheeseburger with tomato and pickle nestled between two grilled cheese sandwiches.

Nutty Professor - peanut butter, bacon, jalapeños and onion

Campfire - a buffalo patty with raspberry bbq, crispy poblano rings, pepper jack cheese, and coffee-duster onion rings.

And the list goes on.

But given this was our first visit here I decided to be conservative and order their award-winning burgers from what must be one of the great food events in the world - the Denver Burger Battle.

Firstly, the 2013 runner-up - Sin City - crispy tempura-fried sharp cheddar, bourbon-glazed onions, candied bacon, avocado and lettuce.

What was it like?

The meat was tasty and the whole burger was full of flavour. But the thing that really stood out was the candied bacon which was crisp and salty and sweet all at the same time.

And I also ordered the 2014 winner - Love Stinks - garlic cream cheese, crispy onion rings, candied bacon, roasted red pepper, onion, garlic mayo and red pepper aioli.

Once again, the candied bacon really stood out and the garlic cream cheese and mayo were very prominent. But I couldn't really taste the meat that well and all the toppings kind of overwhelmed the burger as a whole.

And this raised the question for me...what am I looking for in a burger?

I read one of the online reviews of the Love Stinks and the review nailed it on the head when it said that Crave Real Burgers are really about the toppings rather than the burger itself. But is that what I want.

I really liked Crave Real Burgers and would go there again. But their burgers almost belong in a different category.

So when it comes to Taste - they're good tasting burgers, but do they taste like a burger?

Value is exceptional given the serving sizes and the service - I'd give it a 4.5

Messiness - the burgers are big and messy so it'd probably get a 2.5

Have a look at their menu and the website is definitely worth a visit as well.

Random Encounter - Burgers Plus

The quest for burgers is a bit like photography. There are times when you plan and prepare, you do your research, work out the best location and time, prepare your gear and then take your photo. But there are other times when you just happen to be in the right place at the right time and you just take a snap.

Finding this at the factory outlets at Castle Rock in Denver was a bit like that.

'Our customers say we have the best burgers in town'...that's a pretty big claim and something I needed to put to the test.

So I put in my order for a cheeseburger which was on the pricier side for a no-name food court vendor at $6. But they made if fresh on the spot and here is the result.

It was frankly a bit underwhelming. It was OK. But the best burger in town? I don't think so.

It would need a bit more of everything to achieve that.

But still a solid burger and not a bad choice if you just happen to be shopping.

Taste - 3.0

Value - 2.5

Messiness - 4.5

Five Guys again

After the revelation that was the Smoke Shack I thought I'd have to give Five Guys another chance. The last time I had one I thought it was pretty good, and definitely above average for a chain store.

So back I went during a break from the Museum of Modern Art.

I also thought that this time I would order the bacon cheeseburger, thinking that the addition of bacon might give it a better chance against the mighty Smoke Shack.

So how did it go?

It was good. It was also big, almost too big. But in the end there was too much going on.

Maybe I added too many extra toppings (I asked for everything bar the mushrooms).

Maybe I should have asked for the little cheeseburger with just one pattie.

But while it's a good burger, it's not a great burger.

Taste - 4.0. Still meaty and above average.

Value - Going to lower this to 4.0. Given how much In-N-Out charges I think my previous assessment of 4.5 was a bit generous.

Messiness - 3.0. With all those toppings it really is a handful.

All Hail the King!

What do you think of when you think of New York?

Hot Dogs? Pizza? The Empire State Building?

I had a couple of hot dogs.

On the first day I arrived I went to the famous Gray's Papaya, and the dogs were cheap and above average - $4.95 for two dogs with a drink.

The other from Shake Shack...the Shack-cago dog, which was kind of disappointing.

But the burger I had from Shake Shack...was one of the best in my life.

And here it is in all its glory...

The SmokeShack.

What is it?

It's a cheeseburger topped with all-natural applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry pepper and Shack sauce.

The first bite was like a flavour-bomb. The bacon was crunchy and salty and smokey. The meat was full of flavour. The bun was soft. After the first bite I knew that this was something special. And that was true for the second, third and fourth bite as well.

It was one of the those moments when you knew that you were experiencing something special, and I was...for 6.45.

I'll definitely try to have another before I go back to Denver.

The details are here.

Taste 5.0 - I couldn't imagine wanting any more flavour.

Value - 5.0 - It's at the premium end, but worth every cent.

Messiness - 4.0 - the single is no way near as messy as the double I had last time.

Smashburger

After some time in Vancouver and Minneapolis, we finally arrived at the place we'd be spending the most time in - Denver.

And one of the most famous tourist destinations in Denver is the 16th Street Mall.

It's basically one big long mall with buses running up and down it's 2 kilometre length.

But not only does it have shops, it has eateries as well and we decided to stop off at Smashburger.

What is Smashburger?

It's yet another hamburger chain and its specialty is burgers made with never frozen 100% certified Angus beef.

Here's a video showing how they're made - click here.

So what are they like?

I ordered the Regular Classic smash, even though it was only an extra dollar for the Big and it came out looking like this.

All the ingredients were very fresh and it was a reasonable size.

But what does it taste like?

The meat has a good flavour, but when you put it together it's nothing special.

Better than average, but nowhere near as good as a Five Guys or an In 'N Out.

Might have to try one again, maybe their Truffle Mushroom Swiss, but I won't go out of my way to try one again.

Taste - 3.0. Nothing special.

Value - 3.5 - $4.99 for a Regular, $5.99 for a Big.

Messiness - 4.5 - Not the least bit messy at all.