A Tale of Three Burgers

For some reason, the past year has seen San Diego come under the spell of a high-class burger craze. Chefs across town have taken it upon themselves to elevate the humble hamburger to a meal with higher culinary aspirations. I feel divided about this trend.

On the one hand, hamburgers present a near-ideal canvas on which to paint. Hamburgers have always thrived under variations, both in toppings and preparation. The low quality of beef usually used presents an immediate possibility for upraising; if nothing else, better beef should, intuitively, make a better burger. On the other hand though, I'm just not sure that burgers need updating or dressing-up. Until it closed, the best burger in San Diego was at the first kitchen at NuNu's. Hardly a work of art, it was cooked by a fellow so surly that he was eventually fired (from NuNu's no less, hardly a bastion of delicate manners), and it was good, good, good. Deliciously greasy, perfectly melted cheese, and the texture I've experienced in a burger before or since. The other noted San Diego burgers (El Sol, Hodad's, Rocky's, Liar's Club [and Luigi's has a surprisingly good burger as well]) follow this pattern -- burgers that are unashamed of their place in life and recognize, a la Theodore Dreiser through Clyde Griffiths, the risks of a false upward mobility.

That said, the trend deserves response. In that spirit, I offer my take on three of the most prominent proponents of the upscale burger here in San Diego. Crazy Burger, so far as I can tell, is the local progenitor of the trend. Burger Lounge, in La Jolla, and Neighborhood Restaurant, in the Gaslamp, are etudes on the theme, emphasizing (with differing levels of success) the upscale experience.

First to Crazy Burger (4201 30th Street), the most downscale of the upscale places. The room is divided into two sections, the first dominated by a bar facing onto several televisions, invariable tuned to sports, the second covered, nearly floor to ceiling, with locally-produced paintings of variable quality. The split between the rooms is broadly reflected in the spirit of the restaurant itself -- it can't seem to decide what it wants to be. Orders are taken at the bar, but are then brought to your table for your, the worst of all possible service arrangements (barring rendition or some such). I'm on the wagon, but the beer selection is quite nice, emphasizing unusual German brews (Trumer Pils and Optimator Doppel Bock, for example)

Ah, and the food! Look, given some of the unusual meats on the menu, including a crab, buffalo, and alligator version of the classic hamburger, it makes sense that this is what would get the publicity. But the actual hamburgers are delicious. I don't mean to disparage the variations, especially the crab, escargot, venison, and turkey varieties, but the actual burgers are where the action is for my money. The toppings, which range from simply but tasty cheese choices to tzatziki sauce to sauteed onions and a sweet chili sauce, serve to differentiate the burgers and enhance them, but do not dominate the meat itself. This is a good thing. The bun choice is thoughtful, neither overwhelming the patty nor crumbling during consumption. Most impressively, to my mind, is the lack of leaking; the chef is classically-trained and has fortunately realized that burgers, like all meats, need to rest before being served, so that juices released during cooking can redistribute. This keeps the moisture in the meat, moistening it, rather than on your plate, annoying you (or, usually, me).

If only the cooks at Burger Lounge (1101 Wall Street in La Jolla) had taken their cue from Crazy Burger, they might be onto something. As it is, while their menu construction is thoughtful, their execution is, in a word, terrible -- so far as burgers go, and so far as burgers go only. My burger had not rested, leading to a deluge onto my plate. Sadly, the juice had company on its way down and out; the burger was drenched (and I mean drenched -- at least a half cup on my burger) in 1000 Island dressing.

This is too bad. The meat flavor that valiantly fought its way through was terrific, big and beefy. The restaurant advertises the meat as Tallgrass meat, organically and ethically raised. I'm still not sold on the branding on meat, but in this case, the beef was clearly superior to what you would usually get in a burger, for the better. If only I could have enjoyed more of it.

I suspect that this due to the fact that Burger Lounge is a small chain. The less execution is left up to the workers, the better the results. The chicken tenders were very nice, although a bit salty, as were the onion rings. The ranch and barbeque sauces accompanying the chicken were tasty as well.

Finally to Neighborhood Restaurant (777 G Street), in the Gaslamp. I don't usually enjoy eating in downtown; I find it expensive, unadventurous, crowded, and snotty. Of course, while these are vices for me, I also suspect that these are virtues for most of the crowds; the Gaslamp is like San Diego's version of Little L.A. But I did enjoy Neighborhood Restaurant, even despite the fact that one of its primary virtues, its beer selection, is sadly lost on me. But for beer-folks, Neighborhood Restaurant competes admirably with Hamilton's and the older incarnation of The Wit's End; a wide, excellent selection, including an emphasis on local craft beers that successfully avoids the San Diego obsession with big hops and double IPAs. My Coca-Cola was of the newly-popular import variety, served in a glass bottle and lacking corn syrup in favor of actual sugar (did you ever think that we, as a civilization, would consider pure sugar nutritionally preferable to anything?); this attention to detail typifies the restaurant.

The food is surprisingly good. Concentrating on a limited menu, with a few burger selections, a few salads, and a daily special. I opted for the primary burger, which came with well-carmelized onions and a nice gruyere. I would have liked just a touch more cheese, but I was otherwise impressed both with the concept and the execution. The beef was tasty, with a good solid beef taste (and, arrived with just a touch of red in the center, as requested), which played well with the onions and spices. I didn't particularly care for the potato chips which came on the side, except as a vehicle for the small heap of extra onions provided alongside the burger. Both the sweet Carolina fries and IPA potato buds (a dressing-up of tater tots, with the addition of jalapenos and cheese) more than made up for the chips. The Little Lady spoke admiringly of the vegetarian sandwich, which, while advertised as a burger, had no patty, and was instead a nicely-grilled collection of seasonal vegetables accompanied by a hummus which served both to flavor and to cement; usually, grilled vegetables have an unfortunate tendency to fall apart, but here, the hummus helped maintain structural integrity throughout.

The decor is upscale sports bar (if you've ever been to one of these, you'll know what I'm talking about). Large windows face out onto G Street, providing an alternative view from the multiple television lining the bar. Table seating is limited, but available, and service is surprisingly friendly for the neighborhood.

All of this, of course, comes at a price. Dinner at Neighborhood Restaurant was pricey, at around $50 all told (including my Coke and the Little Lady's glass of wine, and two sides too big to finish). You could probably get away with dinner for two, sans drinks, for around $30ish, but some people may well not want to drop that kind of money on food presented as burgers. But as burgers have gone upscale, so have the prices; you'll save little money by going to Crazy Burger (just under $10 per burger) or Burger Lounge (ditto). Also, none of these restaurants include fries with their burgers, although all of them offer them on the side. Get them at Neighborhood, avoid them at Crazy Burger, and get them instead of a burger at Burger Lounge.

I suggest thinking of Neighborhood Restaurant as a nice bistro, less fancy than Cafe Chole, but in the same general vein. Crazy Burger is closer to a traditional burger joint, but both tastier and more expensive than traditional. And as for Burger Lounge...well... If you can afford to eat regularly in La Jolla, your life differs enough from mine that any advice I can give you probably won't be useful.