Crown Burgers

I'm down to my second last day in Utah and I have to admit that despite a morning's stroll in Neff's Canyon, my appetite is not what it used to be.

But even though I haven't had a KFC Double Down as yet, I still had to check out Crown Burgers.

I'd driven past it before but I didn't realise that it was a Salt Lake City institution till I watched the Salt Lake City segment of one of my favourite shows on the Travel Channel called Man versus Food, where the host travels from city to city to take on eating challenges which either involve an enormous amount of food or having to eat something ridiculously spicy.

Anyway, once I saw his segment on Crown Burgers I knew I had to go.

Here it is on Youtube.

What is a Crown Burger?

It's basically a big burger with an enormous pile of hot steaming pastrami piled on top.

How does it taste?

It's not bad. The burger itself is tasty enough, but I don't know if the Pastrami does it for me.

What the Pastrami does do though is increase the portion-size, and in the end the burger which is big enough by itself becomes huge.

The fries are nice though, and I think I'm addicted to Fry sauce but in the end I'd rather eat In-N-Out.

Taste - 3.5 (others might like it more than me)

Value - 4.5 - It's a huge serving - Burger, Fries, Med Drink - $8.20.

Messiness - 4 - Considering it's bulk, it's pretty tidy

Would I eat it again? Probably not. Though the other burgers on the menu might be a go

Roy Burger Bar, Roy, Utah

It's been a while since my last post and I've had a few Arby's burgers since then, but I had an unexpected and interesting burger experience yesterday.

Yesterday we visited the Hill Aerospace Museum in a town called Roy which was great. Got to see two of my favourite planes - the SR-71A Blackbird and the A-10 Warthog.

But after we finished on the recommendation of a work mate of my brother-in-law we went to the Burger Bar.

At first appearances it doesn't look like much but there are a few clues that it's more than a usual burger bar.

Firstly it's been open since 1956.

Secondly, it was about 2:30pm when we got there for lunch and there were still people lining up.

Thirdly, it's got no seating but the car-park was still full of people eating their burgers, and it was over 30 degrees in the heat.

Fourthly, they produce their own souvenir t-shirts.

Anyway, I ordered the burger they were famous for - the Big Ben, and it is big, but very flat.

On the inside there's a wide but flat patty, lettuce, lots of pickles and fry sauce.

The bread is very nice, and the fry sauce makes it taste quite different, but it didn't quite do it for me.

It's definitely fresher than your average fast food burger but needed more meat for my liking. Maybe I needed to order the double Big Ben.

They also have Buffalo and Elk burgers and my brother-in-law had one of those and thought it was pretty good.

Having said that the best thing that they served was their onion rings, their deep fried mushrooms and their fries which were all really, really good.

So how do I rate this place?

Taste - 3

Value - 4 - Comes with great fries for a very reasonable 4.75

Messiness - 4 - Not messy at all

Would I eat it again? - Considering all the hype this place gets online and the fact it's been on television, I'd like to give it another chance.

If you want to find it it's here:

5291 S 1900 W

Roy, UT, 84067

If you want to see them on TV try Youtube.

Eating the local wildlife

Just got back from a fantastic road trip which included a trip to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park. We saw all sorts of wildlife and on the 28th of June I got to eat some as well.

Here it is...

It doesn't seem like anything special but this is the 'Gunsight Notch Wild Game Burger', which you'll find at the Mural Room at the Jackson Lake Lodge.

It isn't cheap, it's $14.50 including a side dish (I ordered the Quinoa Tabbouleh).

But it's great. Let me tell you what's in it.

It's a dry-aged buffalo and elk burger with applewood smoked bacon, sharp cheddar and goat cheese ranch dressing on a ciabatta bun.

Now that all sounds a bit weird but it really works.

The burger was super-tasty and not gamey at all. The dressing not the least bit over-powering and the size was just right.

It's truly one of the best burgers I've had. It's a pity it's such a trek to get one. But if you're ever visiting the Grand Tetons then make sure you try one.

Taste - 4.5 (right up there with a double-double)

Value - 4.5 (could be cheaper but when you consider the ingredients and the view it's worth it)

Messiness - 4 (wasn't too messy at all)

Would I eat one again? Absolutely.

If you're interested you can find out more about the Mural Room at Jackson Lake Lodge here:

www.gtlc.com/dining/jackson-lake-lodge-the-mural-room.aspx

I'm Not Loving It - McDonald's Angus Burgers

Like it or not it's hard to travel in the US with children without visiting a McDonald's, and as a result I've been twice in two days.

On the menu at the moment is the US version of the Angus burger and what it offers is a better bun and a bigger 1/3lb pattie.

Had the Deluxe yesterday and the Chipotle BBQ Bacon today in Pocatello, Idahao, and while the Chipotle is better it's incredible how McDonald's is able to turn what is supposedly a premium beef pattie into a flavourless lump.

Very disapointing even though on paper it really should work.

Check it out on www.angusthirdpounders.com

Value - 1.5

Taste - 1.5

Messiness - 2.5

Would I eat it again? No. Especially since it's close to 800 calories.

Arby's Again

Was back outlet shopping so I had a chance to try Arby's again, and this time I tried one of the Arby's 'Roastburger Sanwiches'.

The one I had was called the Bacon and Bleu Roastburger and it was basically like a standard roast beef sandwich but on a different bun with pepper bacon, lettuce, tomato and onion, all smothered with blue cheese sauce. With a drink and curly fries it was $5.59.

What did I think of it?

It was very soft in an unnatural processed sort of way which I think is a trademark of Arby's and taste wise it was OK, but it was heavily overpowered by the blue cheese sauce.

Not great nutritionally - 430 calories and a whopping 1750mg of Sodium and not really one of my favourites.

Value - 2.5 (it might not taste great but it's still OK value)

Taste - 1.5 (less sauce would be better)

Messiness - 1.5 (the sauce goes everywhere)

Would I eat one again? No, but I would be willing to try something else on the menu.

I'm BACK!!!

I'm back in the good ol' US of A and it's burger time again!

The one burger that I've been looking forward to eating is the infamous KFC double down, but I'll wait until I get over my jetlag for that one.

But so far I got a chance to have a pulled pork sandwich at the dine

r at LAX while waiting to board the United flight to SLC, which w

as great. But the first real burger I've had is this.

This is the famous Hires Big H.

On the menu it's described like this:

Fresh-ground quarter-pound chuck hamburger from the Hires Big H kitchen garnished with Fry Sauce, lettuce, tomato and American cheese on a Big H bun.

I had mine as part of the Hires Big H Ring combo, which included the burger, some of the best onion rings you'll ever have and a huge cup of great root beer all for the incredible price of $8.75.

I was there with Pearl and she asked me how it was and I thought it was great. It tastes super fresh and I just love the fry sauce, but in the end it still doesn't beat an In-N-Out Double Double.

But having said that, I'd be more than happy to come back again.

No nutritional information but you can find out more here at www.hiresbigh.com

Value - 5 (the combo price is unbeatable)

Taste - 4 (great but not quite the Double Double)

Messiness - 4 (not messy at all, besides the occasional piece of lettuce falling out)

Would I eat one again? You bet!