Spun out @ The Vortex. Again.

 The Vortex was consistent once again with delicious burger goodness.  A recent trip to the original Vortex location in Little 5 Points to devour the Coronary Bypass created with this ½ pound burger, four slices of cheese and four slides of bacon.  The wonderful meat sandwich was juicy and tasty.  Not to mention the ambiance and selection of beers that complete the full burger bar experience.  A definite stop when in Atlanta.

Burgers from Montgomeryville, Miami and Sandy Springs

Amercian Star Diner in Montgomeryville, PA was a destination hoping to improve recent burger adventures in the Lansdale area, but proved once again disappointing.  A classic diner location with a classic menu complete with a classic burger turned out pretty boring.  Definitely edible and only just that good.  Old school iceberg lettuce, a fair patty and well melted cheese, but only to be stamped with regular and far from special.

Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in the design District in Miami, Florida presented a much better burger.  Not even in the same category as American Star or diners in general.  This burger had high expectations to meet from a recent mention in the 25 best burgers.  Presentation was right on lined by a distinct variation with it's yellow tomato slice atop crumbled and melted Vermont white cheddar cheese.  The burger is very good and ‘genuine’ none the less, but a few ounces short of award winning or chalking up on a favorite list.

The burger at 5 Seasons Brewery in Sandy Springs, GA was good.  Tasty and hit all the staple requirements of the American burger sandwich but nothing was special about it.  A meal for sure, but the beer is much more of a draw.

BURGERFI...my new favorite

Oh BURGERFI.  I have driven by your burger joint at Commercial and AIA a few times over the past few months and reserved my visit for a random day.  The day finally came.

I now wish I stopped by the last few times I saw you metal roof in my rear view.

The menu was endless.  But, this is probably the worst thing I can say about BURGERFI. 

I ordered a double with cheese, a beer, cheese fries and split onion rings with my friends.  The best thing about BURGERFI was actually not the burgers or the hot dogs or the cheese sauce.  It was actually the service.  Stellar.  I felt as if I wasn't even in south Florida.  Where did these people come from?  Someone must have one hell of a glass half full, have ready Danny Meyer's book or is just a natural.  Service this good is not just a by product of a new restaurant.  The management is really onto something here.

The ambiance was cool but modern integrating classic burger joint stuff.  Old school light bulbs hung from polished ice picks.  Stools, benches and chairs were all over for the patrons.  A list of beers and custards complimented the options.

My cheeseburger bun had the logo burned on.  I'd sum up or classify the burger as superior fast food.  No temperature asked but all the right standards, cushy, pillowy soft bun, cheese melted to perfection, patties grilled some where in between medium, Shake Shack and the burgers you remember as a child that were just what you wanted.  Awesome.

I could not resist getting more food after round one tasted so good.  I just couldn't leave without eating more.  I ordered a Chicago dog and outside of my experience at Portillo's recently I don't know how to measure up a Chicago dog, but this is now it.

BURGERFI, I'll be back.

P.S.  Please keep the service level this high.

BURGERS & SHAKES

BURGERS & SHAKES in Miami Beach, FL

 
It has many of the right ingredients but just not all there yet. The set up is right on.  The menu is great.  But, the burger needs a little more time.

 

 

I was skeptical when I wasn't asked for a cooked temperature.  You know, mid-rare, medium, well, etc...  I opted for the B&S Burger with cheese, bacon and a fried egg.  The bun was good but not the best match.  My egg was fried and not sunny side up as preferred.  The patty ended up medium well.

Overall a good lunch but not worth a drive, but maybe a step away from the beach.

Enter Stage Left. Exit Very Happy

Foods, restaurants and definitely burgers rarely live up to how good you remembered them being from the last visit.

Consistency and high quality is part of the reason that Stage Left lives up to their burger reputation. The other reasons are the meat, cheese, bacon and the bun.

Go to Stage Left in New Brunswick, New Jersey and order a medium-rare burger to get a mound of a burger perfectly seared all around with the classic seal locking all of the best juices in. The size and shape of the resulting patty conclude that no amateur is pressing these parties on the grill top. The final product comes out with a super pink tartare like center while the outer edges are a medium-well crust.

The cheese is a wonderful 3 year old Vermont Tillamook to add the perfect tart and variation in between the sirloin and crispy bacon.

Strips of salty bacon peek out from under the bun's cap as if you were supposed to pull on them or maybe that is just the charm of the salt flakes around the rim of each strip.

This perfect sandwich is all put together with lettuce, tomato, red onion and surrounded by a great bun.

Stage Left is a phenomenal stop for the burger aficionado. Make sure to sit at the bar as burgers are not served in the regular dining areas.

ROK:BRGR

This is all you need to know about ROK:BRGR in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.

Good location,
Fully stocked bar,
And great burgers.

Recommendation: Morning Glory.  This hefty sandwich is stacked high with lettuce, tomato, onion, a hand packed, airy, perfectly cooked burger patty, two strips of bacon and a sunny side up fried egg.  An upgrade of sweet potato fries is worth it, too.  Go for the Glory and get extra napkins, you'll need 'em.

 

looking down

close up

A platter of fried pickles - the only room for improvement, the batter on the pickles.

The Clubhouse Too

My third stop for the best cheeseburger in the Lansdale, PA area was at The Clubhouse Too and has left me thinking:  "Is there a great cheeseburger in this area?" Almost the same as my last two local experiences - mediocre.

This picture was taken after I cut my burger in half.  It is actually served with the burger cap off to the side and whole.

Ray's Malt Shop

Ray's Malt Shop was my second stop on the hunt for the best cheeseburger while I am working in the Lansdale, PA area.  It had all the right signs.

• A "Malt Shop" sign
• A diner appearance
• Old school mini juke box music machines at each table

Unfortunately, it didn't pan out.  The strawberry milkshake was pretty good, but the burger wasn't really that special.  Similar to my last stop in town - nothing wrong, just not really worth going back.

One thing that was stellar was the cheese sauce I asked for for my fries.  They don't kid around in the greater Philly area with cheese whiz cheese sauce.

The Sumney

My first of my three stops so far in the Lansdale, PA area for a great cheeseburger was at The Sumney on Sumneytown Pike.  The hunt must continue.  This burger at The Sumney was not bad, but nothing to get the burger fanatics to come out to Lansdale for.  As shown, it came with the standard components.

Honeymoon Pics

I printed out a few snapshots of my wife from our honeymoon this past weekend and have posted them next to my desk.  It's turning out that it may have not been the best idea as I continue to reminisce about the wonderful places that we traveled to.  I miss those honeymoon destinations and want to go back.  After leaving from Detroit last June where we got married we traveled to San Diego and Santa Monica in California, then flew to French Polynesia and hopped from Bora Bora, to Moorea, to Tahiti.  And then we finally ended up going home through Hawaii too - story below.


I quickly picked a few images to share.  Each has a note below to help identify them.

Bora Bora from the air

Headed to our over water bungalow hotel room via boat shuttle - the Bora Bora Airport is on an island a few miles away from where we stayed.

We rented bikes to get around in Bora Bora - go figure

The over water bungalows at our hotel in Bora Bora

The floor in our room in Moorea

My wife taking a picture of me through our glass floor in Moorea

Looking out from our lunch table in Moorea

A snapshot of the infinity pool at our hotel in Moorea - you can see Tahiti in the background

A pic from the ferry ride from Moorea to Tahiti

Downtown Tahiti - one wouldn't even know they are out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

The local beer, Hinano, which was good

A little bay adjacent to our over water bungalow room in Tahiti

A picture in meat department at a grocery store in Tahiti - note that it was mostly Tuna and Marlin

Teahupoo Mile Marker 0 - Home of the big surf competition

We also had a crazy experience towards the end.  The Tahiti Airport Union workers went on strike the day we were supposed to fly back to the U.S.  So we ended up getting stranded in Tahiti five extra days.  It sounds glamorous but French Polynesia is probably one of the most expensive places to be and each day was a new episode of trying to find more information about when the airport was going to open back up.  All in all it made a great story and we figured out how to handle ourselves really quick, by checking into a cheaper hotel, keeping our rental car, heading to the grocery store, and finding the airport ticket office downtown.

The Vortex Bar & Grill

I went on my annual away game trip to Tuscaloosa, AL this past weekend only to watch the Gators get beat pretty bad. Since we were flying back south from Atlanta airport we tried to bring some life back into our deflated weekend by trying out The Vortex, a burger recommendation I received a couple of weeks back.

The guys I was with opted for The Vortex location closer to the airport in Midtown. I bring this up because apparently the other location in the Little 5 area is the original. Upon arrival, this restaurant's character starting shining through right away. The entire inside of the Bar/Restaurant was filled wall to wall with cool signs, souvenirs, antiques, and knick knacks. Not like the layout and assembly that you might find at a T.G.I.Friday's either. The closest place that I can resemble it to is one of the three Barney's Beanery locations in the L.A. area.


I scanned the menu for their burgers and found a whole page long list. You can look up some of the others on their site. I am just going to tell you about my meal: the Coronary Bypass. I was going to go for the regular burger before I scrolled my eyes to the bottom of the menu and located this beast. It came with a half pound tasty sirloin patty, topped with a fried egg, three slices of American cheese, and what looked like 6 pieces of nice bacon. The bun was a sesame seed, with lettuce, tomato, and onion presented on top. I opted for the side of fried plantains and asked them to leave the mayo in the kitchen. I'm sure this may seem a bit weird for some of you a bit farther north, but for me, this is an tasty side often available in the Miami area.

As soon as it arrived I carefully placed the condiments atop the fried bacon and then folded over the bun top in order to get to work. I grabbed for my knife, stabbed the center of the bun, and cut it in half. I stuffed the edge of burger in my mouth immediately instead of wiping the drool from my face. The burger was great. Perfectly cooked, and tasting better than every component that my eyes just ran across.


I am so happy that I followed up on the recent recommendation. The Vortex Bar & Grill is a place I'd recommend as well. It looks like a great watering hole too.

Matchbox

I am the DC area for work this week and met up with a friend in the Chinatown area (not much of a town, really just an archway) for dinner at Matchbox. We went there for some pizza and I inquired about the 3.6.9 on the menu and learned that you can order 3, 6, or 9 mini burgers as an appetizer.

The picture I have is horrible as I forgot my camera. But the burgers were awesome. The presentation was really cool with a heaping of onion strings in the middle. Each of the buns was sprinkled on the top with cheese too.

Matchbox was a great spot to meet up and eat.

Theater Square Marketplace

I had eaten at Theater Square Marktetplace in Louisville, KY a few times but didn't try the burger until recently. Note that I have been sitting on this picture for a few weeks so my commentary is quite short and no longer fresh.

About all that I can report is that the burger, restaurant, presentation, and server were all quality - I do remember that much. A great burger for lunch but not a top 10 in the country or anything to drive to Kentucky for. The place is more of a nice restaurant and far from a burger stand. Quality ingredients and quality staff. Did I mention quality?




These pics are over a month old and were taken from my iPhone.