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.

Burger Quest 2014!

It's Burger Quest time again as the Koo's head back to the US!

First stop is Vancouver, but we need to go through LA first and what could be better than to make my first meal in the US a burger?

So here we are, at The Counter.

I've had a Counter burger before in Utah, and it was pretty good. But after a long flight I thought I'd go for something different.

So I ordered the Buffalo Blue.

The Buffalo Blue is a burger with 100% chicken breast, danish blue cheese, lettuce blend, ripened red tomatoes, scallions, hot wing sauce on an English Muffin.

The first bite was great. The grilled chicken was full of flavour. The ingredients were fresh. But as I went on, as much as I wanted to like it, it just didn't work.

All the elements were pretty good on their own, but they didn't quite gel.

You can find the menu here.

Taste - 3

Value - 3 - Not great at 11.50, but compared to Sydney Airport, a bargain.

Messiness - 3 Pretty messy

Atomic Burger, Arco

You never know what you might run into in America.

On the way to the Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho lies a little, nondescript town called Arco, and the chief tourist attraction of Arco is a Nuclear Reactor, the EBR 1. (It also hosts the conning tower of a decommissioned nuclear sub in the local park).

What makes the EBR 1 special? It was the first Nuclear Power Plant to generate electricity in 1951. Hence it only seems right that we sampled the Atomic Burger at Pickle's Place, the local diner.

How was the burger?

It was pretty good. It was big. The pickles tasted great. The meat was well seasoned. It was definitely better than what you'd get in a regular fast food chain.

But would I drive all the way to Arco to have it again? I don't think so.

Taste - 3.5
Value - 2.5. It was over $8 for the Atomic Cheeseburger with chips and an extra $1.50 for onion rings. That's pretty pricey for a small town diner in the middle of nowhere.
Messiness - 3.0

In-N-Out Burger, Utah

Finally. After 4 visits to Salt Lake City the time had come. Today we got to eat at a local In-N-Out!

The first In-N-Out in Utah opened in Washington, near St George in 2008, and the first two In-N-Outs on the Wasatch Front opened late 2009. But this was the first time I got to eat one locally and it was great!

The last time I ate at In-N-Out I was a bit underwhelmed. It was on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. But we'd battled traffic for hours, it was 2:30pm and we were sitting in direct sunlight and I really wasn't in the mood. This time was different.

It was only a short drive away and we sat in absolute comfort and the Double-Double was all I remember it to be.

What makes it special?

It just works. There's no tricks. There's nothing fancy about it. It's just fresh, tasty and well-balanced. And that makes it the type of burger you can keep coming back to.

Was it as tasty as the Shake Shack burger? I don't think so, but by the same token it didn't feel anywhere near as greasy and it's literally half the price.

How about Five Guys? I think the Double Double has some real competition here, but I'll need one more visit before I make up my mind.

Whatever the case, In-N-Out has to be at the top of my list of favourite fast food joints and I bought the T-shirt to prove it!

Taste - 4.5
Value - 5.0
Messiness - 4.0
I'd be a regular if there was one in Sydney!

www.in-n-out.com

Wendy's, Fruita

I wasn't keen to go back to Wendy's after the enormous disappointment the Baconator turned out to be. But here we were in Fruita, on our way to the Colorado National Monument, and it was lunch. So what could I do?

What I did was order their run of the mill burger - Dave's Hot 'N Juicy 1/4lb. Cheeseburger. Who was Dave? I don't know. But as to the hamburger - it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

It looked good. The ingredients were fresh. Fries were good and the Lemonade was great. But it just lacked something. It was kind of bland. Nothing really wrong with it, but nothing that would really get you back to have another one.

So I have to rate it -
Taste - 2.5
Value - 4.0. You get a lot of burger for your money.
Messiness - 4.5. Easy to eat.
Would I eat again? Not unless I had to.

www.wendys.com