I look at your burger pics on Instagram and say to myself “I’m going to get me one of those burgers when I go to …” whatever restaurant you went to. I go to said restaurant but I never order a burger. Here’s why…
Let me back track a bit, I ALMOST never order a burger. I make them at home for lunch or dinner a few times a year and I really like them. Sometimes when I’m out with my family and we’re looking for a fast casual place to eat we might stop at Five Guys or Burger Fi, I think we’ve been to local burger joint The Counter once or twice. They’re all fine, I’m not mad at them but I’m never really excited to eat a burger. If we go to a restaurant that has burgers and anything else is on the menu I’ll order ANYTHING else.
When Shake Shack came to Atlanta my family and stalked out a table in the crowed restaurant for a taste of this burger that has people RAVING. Shake Shack constantly has long lines EVERYWHERE it opens so it MUST be delicious…RIGHT? It was fine. Not bad, but I’m left wondering what the fuss is about. What makes people rank this burger over many others? I just don’t get it.
Then I hear about a restaurant that has a really great burger and I think to myself “I should try that”. Let’s take the 10 o’clock burger at Holman and Finch for example. Now a regular item on the menu, once upon a time this legendary burger was only available if you happened to be lucky enough to snag one of only 24 burgers prepared at 10pm that evening.
I never got one of those secret menu burgers at Holeman and Finch. When they have such amazing items on their menu like terrines and pate I find it really hard to order a burger. Holeman and Finches’ Chef Linton Hopkins recently opened H&F Burger at Ponce City Market and I though to myself “Man! I’m going to get me one of those H&F burgers now!” I’ve been to the market three times now and I STILL have not tried one of these burgers!
Now, I like hamburgers, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t LOVE them as much as many people seem to. This makes it really hard for me to order one when there are so many other fantastic things to try. So, on my first visit to Ponce City Market I ordered fried chicken at Hop’s, another of chef Hopkins restaurants. I chatted with him earlier in the year about his fried chicken venture so I had to try it as soon as I could. On my next visit to the market my husband and I dined at Dub’s Fish Camp, chef Anne Quatrano’s fantastic seafood house. I mean just look at this AMAZING oyster po’boy I ordered! How could I choose a burger, no matter how delicious, over THIS!
Now, don’t get me wrong…I’m not knocking H&F Burger (or any other burger) I really want to try it, but when I have to make a choice between burgers and almost ANYTHING else the always burger loses.
My third trip to the market was over Spring break and I really intended to order an H&F burger. I took the kids to Ponce City Market as part of our staycation, I’ll tell you more about that in a later post. We did a food tour of the market and sampled quite a few venues: El Super Pan, Simply Seoul, Dub’s Fish Camp (again), Lucky Lotus Juice Bar and Honeysuckle Gelato There are just too many amazing things to eat for me to order a burger even if it’s one of the best in the country.
Left- El Super Pan Cubano Mixto sandwich, top right-buns from Simply Seoul, bottom right calamari from Dub’s Fish Camp
I look at this article from Atlanta Magazine touting the best burgers in Atlanta and I think to myself ” These restaurants have AMAZING menus…why would anyone order a burger?” I just feel like a hamburger is never the most delicious thing on the menu.
I’ve promised myself that on my next visit to Ponce City Market I will try the famous H&F Burger. I need to know if this burger is a amazing as I’ve heard it is. Is it really that much better than any other burger? I’ll let you know when I get one.
Are you a burger lover? Are you a chef with an AMAZING burger on your menu? Let me know if I’m missing out. What’s the best burger you’ve had? Please let me know in the comments below.
Candace
May 5, 2016 at 8:23 pm (8 years ago)I rarely order burgers out! I have a few spots that I go to just for burgers, but that’s about it!
Demetra Overton
May 7, 2016 at 11:01 am (8 years ago)I hear that, Candace. I just never really find it hard to choose a hamburger over something else. I don’t mind grabbing a quick one if I’m out with the family but if I have options I’ll choose almost anything else. Thanks for commenting!
LaKita
April 26, 2016 at 9:00 pm (8 years ago)I just realized that I am right there with you and I hardly (if ever) select the burger when I am dining out at a restaurant. To me that is way too easy and I tend to be a little picky about how my burger is made…and Ponce City has way too many options anyway 😉
Demetra Overton
April 28, 2016 at 1:11 pm (8 years ago)Exactly LaKita. With so many fantastic options its really difficult for me to pick a burger. I feel like there is a limit to how good a burger can be
Tanya@myforkinglife.com
April 20, 2016 at 8:44 pm (8 years ago)I used to always order burgers at any restuarant I went to because it was the safe choice. Then I realized most burgers at fancy restuarants just aren’t that good to me. My favorite burger is from Steak n Shake, lmao. Crazy I know but the Jamaican Jerk burger on their menu is delicious.
Demetra Overton
April 21, 2016 at 12:17 am (8 years ago)I totally get what you mean about ordering a safe choice. I get like that when I’m really hungry, I don’t want to take chances LOL! I didn’t even know about Steak and Shake’s Jamaican Jerk Burger, that sounds interesting. Thanks so much for reading!
Melissa
April 20, 2016 at 2:30 pm (8 years ago)H&F is THE burger to end all others. Gimme gimme. Like you though, it’s rare when I order one because everything else looks so good. So I finally made a list of five and set out to write a feature on THOSE five. I have three down and two to go! H&F is my burger hero, and the one other that compares uses H&F buns. I think they all do now!
Demetra Overton
April 20, 2016 at 4:46 pm (8 years ago)I’m definitely going to try the H&F Burger, I just have to walk through the market with blinders on LOL!! Thanks for reading, Melissa
Ty
April 19, 2016 at 3:23 pm (8 years ago)Seriously!?!?!? This is the dumbest article ever. Not ONCE did it explain WHY this woman don’t want burgers lmao. That was a waste of 5 mins of my life. Thanks
Demetra Overton
April 20, 2016 at 7:11 pm (8 years ago)Hi Ty. So sorry you didn’t enjoy the article. It was just a fun way of me saying that even though I like burgers I find it hard to order them when there are so many other delicious options. I feel like a burger could never be the most delicious thing on the menu. I hope that clears things up and again I’m sorry to you didn’t enjoy the article.
Joyce Brewer
April 19, 2016 at 1:48 am (8 years ago)OMGoodness I went to Ponce City for the first time today and had the catch of the day sandwich (cod) from the Fish Camp and it was amazeballs!
But I admit I’ll order a burger when I’m out.
I just went to Houston’s to meet a friend where I enjoyed the veggie burger. It blows my mind!
Demetra Overton
April 19, 2016 at 2:27 am (8 years ago)Isn’t Ponce City Market CRAZY fun Joyce?! The fish camp is amazing, I’ve been there a couple of times but I still want to go back for the lobster roll. That really shows my problem because I’ve promised to try the H&F burger but when I go back to PCM I don’t know if I can when lobster rolls exist. I think I can understand getting a veggie burger when you go out, those are more complicated to make at home. If you find a restaurant that does a good one then I can see ordering it. Thanks so much for commenting!