Athens and Atlanta - Catch 22

We went to Athens, GA, to visit with friends, then to Atlanta for a food festival, and to visit the aquarium and world of coke. (Note: we justified the following by telling ourselves that we walked a little over 4 miles at the food festival and about 2-3 miles touring the aquarium and world of coke.)

In Athens we went to the Varsity for a chili dog as soon as we got there. Later, for our actual dinner, my friend took us to Catch 22 Gastropub for burgers. They were packed and the owner ended up being our waiter and he was cool and gave us a free dessert. All of the food we had was great. Michaela got an “Animal Style Double-Double” burger that tasted just like an In-N-Out burger. Bert and I each got a “Chef’s Pick” burger. His was overflowing with bacon, swiss and portabella mushrooms. Mine was piled with pico del gallo and nacho chips. Erin got a great Cuban sandwich that she let me have a bite of; they do all their pork in house. Creative and delicious. Will definitely go back there.

On Saturday we went to the Taste of Atlanta Food Festival. It was really crowded, so I didn’t have my phone out taking a lot of pictures, but we did sample a wide range of really good food: shrimp and grits, lamb burger sliders, a "chicken sausage, mac and cheese and collard green"- stuffed biscuit (yea!), a spicy pork taco, a giant pretzel…the list goes on. This was essentially our breakfast, lunch and dinner, though we did end up getting late night pizza slices from Goodfellas across the street from the original Varsity, and it was very good.

For lunch on Sunday between the aquarium and world of coke tours, we walked across Olympic park to a place called Googie Burger and split an original Googie burger and onions rings. Not as good as Catch 22, but it hit the spot and the peach shake was excellent and refreshing.

Catch 22: bacon swiss portobello

Catch 22: Chef's Pick - Tex Mex

Catch 22: Double-Double

Googie Burger

Mississippi Burger Joints and More

I found an incredible, greasy burger in Waynesboro, MS.

Cooley’s Hamburgers: https://plus.google.com/100242857254565728002/about?gl=us&hl=en

They're off the main drag, but if you can find the post office, it’s behind those buildings with only dirt drive-ways to get you back there. It’s across the street from the police and fire stations, if you come in from that road.

And no, those four patties are not some quadruple burger or anything. I got a double cheeseburger, so I guess the regular comes with a couple small patties and the double comes with 4. It was just a little larger than a five guy's burger, but better.

Cooley's

Phillip's Drive-In in Laurel, MS: Classic walk-up/drive-thru with a tasty burger, shakes, onion rings, all the great junk foods.

Phillip's

Meridian, MS:

I checked in to the hotel in Meridian and we went back to Mugshots for another burger. I had the Will’s All-American burger. It was good, the bread is some sweet roll and is just excellent. The patty is pre-made. Whether that means it was pre-made and frozen or pre-made that morning, I don’t know. But it has the texture of overly handled ground beef. This is my second burger at Mugshots and while the chain has won numerous best of awards in Mississippi, and the burgers I’ve had have been good, I’m just not sold on them as a great burger. Good, but not great. Good beer options though, lot of local beers; Mississippi is brewing some good beer.

I passed by a little two room red building on my way into Meridian so on the way back I decided to stop by for lunch. I was the only white person in the room. I heard the guy in front of me order and I got the exact same thing. I got a rib plate, a cheeseburger and a coke. The sides were kicked up versions of your basic BBQ house standards and were pretty good. The small cheeseburger, while made fresh, was nothing special. But the ribs! They were excellent! Very good, very meaty, tender as can be, lightly sauced….I want more.

Ced's Rib Shack

Compiled this list for a coworker:

All of these have either won awards, “best of Jackson”, “best of Mississippi” accolades from some publication or association:

The fancier/classier/more expensive establishments.

Baba Burger

Babalu Tacos and Tapas

622 Duling Ave

Jackson MS 39216

Table 100 Burger

Table 100

100 Ridge Way

Flowood, MS 39232

The Hole in the Wall joints:

Cool Als (I’ve been here!)

4654 McWillie Drive

Jackson, MS 39206

Beatty Burger

Beatty Street Grocery

101 Beatty Street

Jackson, MS 39201

Popular Restaurants with beer selection (we ate at the one in Meridian)

Mugshots Grill and Bar

4245 Lakeland Drive

Flowood, MS 39232

Mugshots

Burgers and Blues

1060 E. County Line Road Suite 22

Ridgeland MS 39157

A landmark restaurant:

Brent’s Drugs (Brent’s Soda Fountain, Brent’s Burger Restaurant, etc…Sara has been here.)

During the day: burgers and shakes. After 5 it becomes: “The Apothecary at Brent’s Drugs”

655 Duling Ave

Jackson, MS 39216

And of course there are many more:

http://eatjackson.com/blog/2012/07/31/18-burgers-to-try-before-you-die/

In-N-Out and Corn-fed Steer

From 2014:

I recently had to go out to Phoenix for work and my first stop, after hearing about them for years, was at In-N-Out Burger for a Double Double. I didn’t try the not-so “secret” menu on my first at bat. I ordered a Double Double with grilled onions – double meat, double American cheese, grilled onions, toasted bun, lettuce, tomato and their custom spread. It was very good. When comparing it to other fast food chains, there is no comparison. This burger is by far better than any burger you will find in a common fast food restaurant. As far as comparing it to the all time great burgers though, I’m going to have to say “No”, but still very delicious.

In anticipation of my trip to Phoenix, and because I had just purchased half a home-grown, corn-fed steer, a couple weeks ago I made my own “double double”. I thought it was great and Yes, the In-N-Out burger was better. But I think I can nail the technique and at least match them. (Or die happy trying.) I’ll rank In-N-Out Burger up there with Five Guys Burgers. Very similar concepts – fresh, quality ingredients plus cooked to order = better burger. On the way out of town I stopped back by and had a double double “animal style” and got a couple burgers to bring back with me. I think “animal style” is just more sauce. Kinda disappointing because of the build-up in my head.

While out in Phoenix I went to a place with numerous “Best Burger” write-ups. The place was called “The Grind” (http://www.thegrindaz.com/) and they have great burgers. I was conflicted as to which burger to order, then the server recommended I try the sliders. The slider order featured their three top selling burgers so I went for it. After watching the big, towering burgers as they went by, then looking down at the little sliders, I was a bit disappointed. But they were big on flavor though, and based on the best slider, I’m recommending the “sweet and spicy” burger with white cheddar. Candied jalapeños mixed with the sharp cheese on a great patty and toasted bun. Enjoy!

PS: One of the benefits of buying a steer….early afternoon burgers….Joe and just ate one. Have you had a burger today?

1st ever In-N-Out!

Order that I deconstructed and brought home.

The Grind

Homemade Double-Double

Afternoon snacks...

The Company Burger - New Orleans

From 2014:

The Company Burger – New Orleans

4600 Freret Street and yes, they actually have a parking lot! (closed on Tuesday)

I first heard about this place online, and I also seem to remember seeing them on a food show. I can’t remember the show, but I think Anthony Bourdain was involved. And I think Joe mentioned them, but it could have been me asking Joe if he had been there. But whatever….

The point is that these guys make a great burger! Fresh, never frozen, hand made patties. Fresh bread made every morning and sliced to order. Great meat and a lot of cheese. They are known for The Company Burger (pictured on the left)…two patties, two slices of American cheese, thinly sliced onions, and house-made bread and butter pickles. They cook it to medium and they don’t let you mess with it. No custom orders. They have ketchup and mustard on the table and they have a “mayo bar” (chipotle mayo, basil mayo, etc) for you to dress up your burger if you want, but it comes from them only one way. And I didn’t see any lettuce or tomatoes. It was a very tasty burger, really cheesy. I described it as a classic diner burger. It’s like a double at Jerry’s Drive-in, but on steroids (not literally, I think everything is “organic”).

There was a lamb burger (pictured on the right) on the menu and we decided to be adventurous, but while the lamb patty was great and the cheese was good, the roasted tomato-basil sauce-stuff that they covered it in was a bit overpowering. It was good, but not great. I would have liked the “sauce” to just be a little bit on the side, or perhaps just a kicked up tomato slice instead of a cup of sauce poured over everything. They hand cut their fries and batter the onion rings to order, so we had to try each and they were both good. Overall they are a little pricey. The pricier lamb burger accounted for most of it, but two burgers, two sides and two drinks cost us about $35. I think just ordering a company burger, fries and coke would still be about $15.

The Cooking Channel was there filming and we may end up on TV talking about our burger. While they asked me a couple of questions about the burger, when they got to Michaela it sounded like a commercial, “Tell me why this is the best burger in New Orleans.” It should be interesting, but I kinda hope I get cut.

Ormsby's in Midtown, Atlanta

From 2013 correspondence with a friend:

...but the best meal I've had in the last year was up in Atlanta at a place called Ormsby's. I was there with a couple of friends and we were just looking for a place to hang out and drink beer, the food was just an after thought, but it turned out to be great.

It's in West Midtown part of Atlanta in a reclaimed warehouse. There was a big bar and tables upstairs and a big bar with tables downstairs, but downstairs there were more rooms and two bocce ball courts, pin ball, darts and board games all along the walls. They had a pretty good beer selection, but for the meal we all got some appetizers, lamb sliders, pimento cheese fritters, fries and onion rings w/ pot roast gravy and bacon jam for dipping, and my entree was Sweetwater IPA steamed mussels with crusty bread to soak up the sauce. It was great.

http://www.ormsbysatlanta.com/

Glass Kitchen - Wichita Falls, TX

From 2013:

I'm not gonna say that this was the best burger I've ever had, but it was a very good and greasy diner burger.

While driving into Wichita Falls, TX, I sent and email to Sara and asked for her to find the best lunch/burger joint. She came back with Glass Kitchen. This hole in the wall has a 98% approval rating on Urbanspoon.com and solid reviews. When we pulled up about 10 minutes till 11, there was one other car in the lot with someone sitting inside and we weren't even sure we should unlock the doors. By 11 there were 4 cars lined up in the drive-thru window and 4 more cars in the lot.

Based on the reviews, I ordered the Hungry Man cheeseburger. It had two thin patties, two slices of cheese, toasted bun, lettuce, tomato, chopped onions and pickles. To finish it off I got a small order of tots and a regular taco. (it was a good taco) I was stuffed. I didn't need the taco.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/328/1334140/restaurant/Glass-Kitchen-Wichita-Falls

Until next time....

Kansas City

From 2012:

This burger is from Kansas City at a place called Winstead's Diner. An old fashion place that's been around forever. Reminded me of Jerry's Drive-in, but nicer.

http://www.winsteadssteakburger.com/index.htm

I had a double with cheese, onion rings and fries with a cherry coke. I'm very upset that I didn't include the cherry on top of the coke in the attached picture. I'll have to work on my photography skills.

The rest of my KC review:

It doesn't really matter where you stay, KC is driver friendly. If you wanted to go out on the town or something, take a cab, otherwise, get a rental car to get around.

BBQ: I had high hopes and was very disappointed. The only one I'll recommend is Oklahoma Joe's. It was very good and the only place that was reasonably priced. Gates had good ribs and the beef was good, but I hated the sauce and the sauce hated me and they put it all over everything. I didn't really find anything to like about Arthur Bryants. A lot of people were ordering a beef sandwich and fries to go, maybe I should have gotten that.

The cheesesteak is from a place called Grinders that was featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives.

Winsteads

Gates

Arthur Bryants

Okalhoma Joes

Grinders

Flip Burger in Atlanta

From 2013:

Today's hamburger comes to you from Atlanta, Georgia from a little gem called Flip Burger Boutique. I've since learned that there are two locations in Atlanta and one at the Summit in Birmingham. Our visit was in West Midtown in Atlanta.

Flip Burger is a unique place. First of all, they experiment with the burger. They figure that anything can be a burger as long as it is ground up and put on a bun (my friend got a chorizo burger). Second, they experiment with the method, like liquid nitrogen milkshakes (I got the s'more, my friend got the captain crunch). They also have a relaxed retro style that's upscale without being off putting.

For my lunch, I chose the 'barnyard' - "white oaks grass fed patty, farm lettuce, grilled onions, smoked mayo, green ketchup, pork belly, fried egg." It was excellent. The meat was cooked perfectly and if anything, it was a little lean, but the pork belly more than made up for that as it pretty much poured juices from the time I picked it up. Between the egg, pork belly, mayo and ketchup, I made a mess, but it was worth it. Great flavors.

We rounded out our meal with fries and vodka battered onion rings. It's a more pricey joint, with burgers in the $7-11 range and an extra $3-4 for the sides. They also have a gourmet burger called the d'lux that features angus beef, foie gras and truffles that'll set you back $21.

(Side note on this area of Atlanta: I had a great time at a place called Ormsby's it's a bar/restaurant with seating upstairs and downstairs where they have rooms that shoot off with bocce ball courts, skeeball, board games all along the walls, darts, pinball, etc. Great food and a good beer selection, it was one of the best meals I've had in a while. I was also told about a place called Bocado that's on this same road that is suppose to have a great burger and across the street from Ormsby's is Yeah Burger that is also suppose to be good as well. What can I say, I didn't have enough time to fit them all in.)

Until next time...

Callaghan's Irish Social Club

From 2011:

Today's hamburger comes to you from Mobile, AL, from a little place called Callaghan's Irish Social Club. This little hole in the wall has been here forever and features an extensive beer list, but only a hand full of food items are on their menu. And what did 9 out of 10 people in the place have in front of them? The cheeseburger!

This cheeseburger has received write ups from just about everyone and was featured on the Alabama Tourism Department's "100 Dishes To Eat In Alabama Before You Die." It was great. Fresh ingredients, great bacon and cheese, mayo and mustard, lettuce, a thick slice of tomato and a nice crusty bun with enough structural integrity to hold it all together. And it was cooked perfectly with just a little pink showing all the way across. I couldn't place the seasoning on the meat, but it's in every bite, just lots of flavor. I'm pretty sure this thing was cooked up on a flat top because it had a nice little sear on the edges. It is an excellent burger that I highly recommend.

And you can't beat the atmosphere. When I went to Callaghan's, I had the opportunity to see Sugarcane Jane performing. This couple is great. They could both sing and the harmony was perfect. He was blowing the bar away with his guitar playing and they were even accompanied by a snare and they just made such a great sound come out of that corner of the bar room.

So if you're over in Mobile, stop by Callaghan's, grab an Abita Amber, or a Harp, or a Guinness, sit down in front of this delicious cheese burger and enjoy the sounds of the local music scene.

Manci's Antique Club

From 2011:

Today's burger comes to you from Daphne, AL. I'm not going to rate this as one of my favorite or best of all time, but it was very good and the atmosphere was great.

The place is called Manci's Antique Club and is in Ole Towne in Daphne. Manci's has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and is known for po-boys, seafood, burgers and bloody Mary's.

I was torn by which burger to get. I'm a fan of bacon and cheese and grilled onions, so the Gwen burger was looking good. I thought about the fully loaded "Hurricane" burger, but decided I didn't want to have to deal with that one on the drive back home. And the slaw burger caught my eye as something my brother would cook up.

In the end I settled on the "Jazzy" burger that was featured on triple D and added bacon and cheese. The burger comes with "Jazz" sauce, which you'll just have to try. It was sweet, it was spicy, it was good and it was everywhere. Have plenty of paper towels at the ready.

The meat was good, cooked to medium. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and the bacon and cheese I feel are a must.

The homemade chips seemed like they might have been left over from the lunch hour rush, so I can't speak very highly of them, though I will mention that fries, cole slaw and fried okra are all available side items with all sandwiches.

http://www.manci.net/

Jazzy Burger

Manci's Antique Club

Manci's decour