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.
