The Burgers of Birmingham

The Burgers of Birmingham

We ate four burgers during a recent trip to Birmingham, AL, which has turned into a sneaky good foodie town. Here are my thoughts about the burgers:

Fancy's on Fifth

I think these guys own all the food spots on 41st street near the Avondale Brewery, except for maybe SAWs. Fancy's is setup as a stylish bistro with a rotating menu of "chef's choice", except the menu I saw appeared to match every menu I saw online before the trip, so I'm not sure that's really true. However, they do have featured entrees and burgers that I'm assuming are changed up regularly. I got the 'Strange Brew' burger and it was very good. They've clearly measured this burger out to mix the flavors and amounts to exactly what they want them to be, and it works. Great flavors and everything worked together. I have to assume that all of their other signature burgers are the same, so now I want to go back again. And maybe again.

Jack Brown's

So, this place is at the top of a lot of 'best burger' lists in Birmingham, including Yelp. It's a dive bar with a list of signature burgers. We got the Dr. Gonzo and, well, I wasn't impressed. It was a smaller burger, which is fine, except for all the hyped up toppings (Guinness Fried Onions?) added nothing to the flavor. The meat itself was cooked well, but it also didn't stand out as anything special even though it's advertised as wagyu beef. To be fair, everyone in B'ham that we spoke to about this burger said we should have just gotten the cheeseburger, but I've got to be honest, I don't see us going back. The service at the bar really sucked and $28 for one burger, a side of fries and two beers is about $10 too much for what we got out of it. I don't like to write bad reviews, but it's my blog and Jack Brown's is nothing special.

Back Forty Beer Co.

After wading through the sea of small children at this brewery with their parents drinking at noon, we found a delicious burger. They have a delicious cheesy double-patty burger. Even through the beef and cheese, the fresh onions and house pickles popped. Solid burger here that hits everything I like in a burger, which is mostly beefy cheesy deliciousness. I liked their fries too, and of course the beer.

Chez Fonfon

Several Birminghamians told us the best burger in town as at the French bistro Chez Fonfon. We were even told how to go about obtaining this burger, which is later at night at the bar. So that's what we did. I would love to go back to this small French restaurant for a full meal, but I don’t think I would go back for the burger. Not because it wasn’t very good, but because it’s of the ‘fancy and expense’ variety of burger. High quality ingredients cooked with precision. We asked for medium-to-medium well and we got a burger on the lower end of medium simply because they didn’t want to overcook their (I’m assuming waygu) beef blend. It was delicious. But I think they probably have even better food on their menu, and the next time I go there I think I'll try that out instead of paying a premium for the burger.

 Birmingham Burger Rankings (from this trip):

1a. Back 40 – gets the bump for affordability and style that we like.

1b. Chez Fonfon – great burger but pricey, really good restaurant

2. Fancy’s – I’m guessing all their burgers are as well paired and delicious as the one I had, can’t wait to go back.

10. Jack Brown’s – way down on the list, nothing special, doubt I would go here again.

Till next time.....

Sammy Barker's

Sammy Barker's American Street Food

875 East Nine Mile Road

Pensacola, FL 32514

It's been a while since I've made a post. I should step it up. Here's some info you might not know about Sammy Barker's: They've got a great burger. I've known it was good since we first went and I've mentioned it a couple times as one of the better burgers around. Well recently Sammy Barker's won the Burger Battle by the Bay, beating some of the best burger makers in town.

The best thing about a Sammy Barker's burger is the ground in house beef, and they make two smaller patties so you get more of that delicious surface area char from the flat top. The award winner has fresh slaw, fresh slices of sweet red pepper, made in house bacon-onion jam, special sauce and smoked Gouda. It's only going to be available for a limited time, so you better get in there as soon as possible (like May 2019).

If you can't make it for the award winning special, my recommendation is the Sammy Burger. Two patties, american cheese, pickles, onions and Sammy Sauce. I sometimes grill the onions.

And if that's not style, you can make your own. I recently went with a bacon and cheddar because I watched a person order one and devour it only stopping to repeatedly say how good it was. I couldn't resist after that. I wasn't even hungry, it just happened.

Sammy Barker's also has some other tasty treats like kicked up hot dogs, sausages and a really good chicken and waffle.

So go give Sammy Barker's a try. They've got a few beers on tap and a hundred or so in cans.

I'll try to make more posts. Until next time!

Atlanta Burger Tour

I know what you’re thinking and you’d be wrong. This was actually Michaela’s idea and wasn’t planned. I, of course, did not argue with it.

Before we get started, none of these are “doubled” or “special orders”. This is just the burger on the menu, as it comes. Atlanta has a curious thing where every burger is a double meat and usually double cheese. Often the burger on the menu is listed as a “burger stack” or just plain “burger” with no mention that this is a double meat or double patty burger. Some descriptions will say “double beef”, some won’t. I have no idea how or when Atlanta’s burger world decided in unison to become exclusively “burger stack” and honestly, I don’t care. It’s to be enjoyed, not questioned.

New Realm Brewery – Radegast Burger

We were told to go here by our local Brewmaster, Eric at Spahr. This place was started by the former Head Brewer at Stone and we tried every beer on tap (excellent btw). We got the burger here because we kept seeing it go by. We split the burger because Michaela wanted to try the mac and cheese. The burger was good, but it was shown up by the mac and cheese and beer. We would go here again, but for the beer and mac and cheese, and most definitely NOT to watch a football game. (pro tip: Lights Down, Tips Up)

H&F Burger at Ponce City Market – The Original

We came here Sunday morning because there was supposed to be a craft market with local artist. We were expecting some huge event that would dwarf our Palafox market. Instead there were only about 10 tables and we were a little disappointed. We also had big plans to have breakfast/brunch/lunch at one of the other award winning eateries here. Instead, we got sucked into H&F because we know how great it is and because we were not satisfied with the burger from New Realm. The H&F Burger was great as always and remains at the top of my list. This is also where Michaela said we should just go to all the burger places and split a burger, and from here on out, we pretty much did.

Fred’s Meat and Bread – Burger Stack

We “wrangled up a couple birds” (we heard some guy say this the first night and it became the phrase of the weekend) and rode them (illegally) along the Beltline to Krog Market. Fred’s is often listed on the best burgers in Atlanta lists and I will say that it was very good. The only downside is that they drowned it in mayonnaise. They just killed it. I will probably eat here again, but now I know to say, “No Mayo”.

Marlow’s Tavern – Royale with Cheese

Some things I did not know: 1.Marlow’s is a chain. 2.The “Royale with Cheese” is not a special, but a regular menu item. 3.The burger is made with Wagyu Beef. We first ever heard of Marlow’s when we went to Duluth a couple years ago. Not much was still open after the concert we went to so we ate at Marlow’s on their “late night” menu. I got some forgettable sandwich and Michaela ordered the “Royale with Cheese”. I remember it being very good and much better than what I ordered, but I otherwise forgot about it, but not Michaela. So when we drove past Marlow’s, she started flipping out about this burger. I kept thinking it couldn’t be the same restaurant from Duluth, but it was and we went and we got the “Royale with Cheese” and it was an amazing burger that I highly recommend.

YEAH! Burger – YEAH! Burger

A bartender told us this was his favorite burger in Atlanta, so when we ended up beside the place, we decided to try it out. They are a chain with a much more ‘fast-food’ vibe. The burger was pretty good, but it just seemed a bit ‘off’. I ditched the bibb lettuce for the last couple bites and thought that helped. It was the messiest of the burgers we tried because of the sauce and caramelized onions. All it all it was tasty, but since it has the same $10+ price as the restaurant burgers, I’m knocking it down a peg in my book.

Final Atlanta Burger Rankings:

1. H&F Burger – The Original (still the best)
2. Marlow’s – Royale with Cheese (delicious!)
3. Fred’s – Burger Stack (hold the mayo)
4. New Realm – Radegast (go for the beer)
5. YEAH! – YEAH! Burger (hold the greens)

  Until next time….

Epik Burger in Jacksonville

So, we needed to go to Jacksonville for a family event. This event would take a couple hours on one day and the rest of the three days was up to us. We made the best of that time to visit several breweries (thank you Aardwolf) and eat an absolutely wonderful burger!

Epik Burger in Jacksonville, FL has won many burger awards. In my research I found three publications that named them the 'best burger in Jacksonville' and they are a two time champion of Jacksonville Magazine's Burgers and Brew Competition. I had one of those award winning burgers.

The Epikurean Burger: from the menu: "Maytag Cave Ripened Bleu Cheese-Truffle Mousse, Pancetta, Mushrooms, Housemade Blackberry & Demi Glace Jam, Balsamic Mayo, Green Onions, Parmesan Cheese"

Simply put, this burger was amazing. The meat was delicious, fresh, perfectly cooked and juicy. The combination of ingredients that they have put together is incredible. Everything works together in ways that complement each other. The earthy mushrooms and truffle, the sweet demi glace, the salty pancetta and parmesan.... just wow!

My date got an Epik Burger sans pancetta and we finished our order off with some sweet potato fries and a milkshake. Wonderful meal! I highly recommend this place and will try to make sure I have time to visit here again whenever I'm in Jacksonville.

Other highlights in Jacksonville:
Aardwolf Brewery
The Candy Apple Cafe
TacoLu
Engine 15 Brewing Co

Emeril's Coastal Italian

Emeril's Coastal Italian

I've got to start off by saying that I'm a huge Emeril Lagasse fan and I'm very upset that this was my first visit to one of his many restaurants. It's truly unacceptable, especially given all the times I've been to New Orleans.

Anyway, we were over at the Grand Boulevard at Miramar Beach, just east of Destin and we got the chance to eat a great meal at Emeril's Coastal Italian. And were were incredibly fortunate that man himself, Emeril Lagasse, was in the kitchen!

Very friendly staff, excellent food, Emeril was there! He probably touched our food! It was fantastic!

We started by splitting an order of mussels, then I went with the Meril's Linguine and Clams and Michaela got the Fettuccine Nero. Everything was delicious! And the pasta entrees were only $13 and $14, so if you discount the bottle of wine, we could have been out the door for under $45! For the quality of food, that's awesome! Can't wait to go back!