Fuddruckers. A blast from the past.

We moved on from New York to Washington D.C. and were met with one of the most worst heatwaves on record. The day we arrived it was 104F or 40 degrees celcius, and it was basically like that for our whole stay.

Luckily Fuddruckers was air-conditioned!

I hadn't been to a Fuddruckers since it closed at the top of Macquarie Centre back in my Uni days and going to the one in D.C., which was in Chinatown, brought back some memories.

They claim to have the world's greatest hamburgers, and they could be great, if you knew what you were doing, because you basically have to make it yourself.

I ordered the half pounder and then when it arrived I had to add my own fillings and condiments.

I added pickles and salsa and lettuce and tomato and had all sorts of sauces to add to the mix, and while the burger was enormous and filling, it was strangely disappointing and bland.

Was it me? Was it the burger? It's hard to tell. The meat definitely wasn't as tasty as Shake Shack. But everything was fresh and there was no end to the way you could construct your burger.

Maybe too much choice can be a bad thing at times!

Taste - 3.0. Better than a regular burger, but didn't really grab me.
Value - 4.0. You get a lot of burger for $5.50.
Messiness - 4.0. It's really up to you how messy your burger is.
Would I eat it again? It'd be worth another try I think.

http://www.fuddruckers.com

Five Guys

By this stage of the trip, I was as sick as a dog. Sore throat, cough, jet lag, general malaise...but I still had room for a burger and Five Guys was supposed to be one of the best.

Unfortunately we soon discovered that their much vaunted French Fries were cooked in peanut oil and that meant sushi for Tomas. But he still got to have a go on what I think was the most advanced and sophisticated soft-drink dispenser I had ever seen. Endless variety and touch-screen as well!

Anyway, I ordered a cheeseburger 'All the way', which included Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, Lettuce, Pickle, Tomatoes, Grilled Onions, and Grilled Mushrooms.

The verdict?

Pearl loved it. Thought it was better than Shake Shack.

I loved it as well, the burger as a whole really worked well, though I thought the meat tasted better at Shake Shack. But having said that, given my illness, I think I'll need to have another one in SLC (there's one right near by) because you need to be objective when you're reviewing burgers.

Nevertheless at this stage I would give Five Guys,

Taste - 4.0. Right up there.
Value - 4.5. $5.99 for the burger. Great value for something of that quality.
Messiness - 3.0. Quite messy given all the extras.
Would I eat it again? Definitely. I'll go and get one when I get to Salt Lake City.

For all the details,
http://www.fiveguys.com

Not really a burger...momofuku má pêche

It was coming to the end of our time in New York and there were a few more things that we needed to do.

We needed to go to the 'Met', which was amazing.

We needed to visit FAO Schwarz.

And I needed to try one of David Chang's celebrated pork buns. So off we went to momofuku má pêche.

We got there pretty late, so only the bar menu was available, and the service was pretty slow. But the food was great and the buns were the highlight.


The pork belly was melt in your mouth and everything, the cucumber, the scallions and hoi sin sauce just worked beautifully together. And to top it all off it was only $10 for two!

Having said that, we didn't end up paying outside of giving a tip. We'd told them that Tomas was allergic to dairy and they gave us a dish with dairy by accident, so they covered our bill! I guess that's one way of avoiding a law suit.

http://www.momofuku.com/restaurants/ma-peche

Shake Shack...I'm Back!

It's another two years and the Koo family are back in the US of A, and this time we're starting on the East Coast. So what else can I do but got and have a burger and where better than Shake Shack?

I asked a native New Yorker before I left where I'd find a good burger and he said I had to go to Shake Shack, so the day after I got off the plane I did.

We went to the American Musuem of Natural History, which was great, and met up with some great friends who were also in New York from Sydney, the Chans.

So what more could you ask for - a fantastic museum, good friends and burgers!

The burger itself was pretty good. The meat especially was especially tasty. I really liked it, though there was a general consensus that the bun was a bit soft and greasy.

But putting that aside, I think this burger is up there.

It's 100% Angus and ground fresh daily.

I ordered the Double Shake Shack, which was a bit pricey at $7.10 and not very large, but in the end I thought it was worth it.

How do I rate it?

Taste - Right up there 4.5
Value - 3.0
Messiness - The super soft bun doesn't help 3.0
Would I eat it again? Sure. It was great.

We went to the Shake Shack on the Upper West Side. You check out the menu, including dog treats, here:
http://www.shakeshack.com/location/upper-west-side