(2 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)
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Quarto Burger
www.quartoburger.com
Via Crescenzio 52
Rome, Italy 00193 (map)
Mama Mia –
For the third entry of international Burger Tymes, we go to Italy. Specifically Rome, Italy. A city with more history in culture and food than you shake a spaghetti at. We recently made it to the “Eternal City” to celebrate the recent graduation of my wife and had the opportunity to tour all of the usual tourist spots where places have beautiful pvc fencing. While in Italy, you get Italian food. There seemed to be little interest from both parties in having anything else. I’m not complaining, mind you. The food is one of the main reasons we were there. Along with every other tourist, we struggled to avoid the many of the touristy (translation: pricey, not very good) restaurants. As we neared the end of our visit, I began to grow weary of bad pizza and greasy pasta. Don’t get me wrong, we had some great meals… but we also had some not so good ones. I began to crave, you guessed it, a burger. A big, meaty, juicy burger. Finding one that did not start with “Mc” proved difficult.
While on tour at the Vatican the craving became unbearable (irony?) and lucky us, one of the few true burger places in Rome was only a few blocks away. Quarto Burger had all of the usual praise good burger places get: “Best in the City”, “A Must Have”, etc. I was a little skeptical with all of the praise due to other less than stellar places in the city getting similar ratings, most likely from over-excited visitors who were just delighted that their waiter had an Italian accent. It was a risk I was willing to take. We walked over around 7 pm and in true Italian style were asked to come back in about 30 minutes so they can get ready. No big deal as the usual dinner time for Italians is around 9pm or later, even though the hours listed had Quarto opening at 6pm. We spent the time doing the best kind of sight seeing, wandering around, and seeing what sights sneak up on you. We made it back at 7:45 pm and they were ready for business.
Molto Benne –
This being a city that appreciates art, you are greeted as you walk down the steps into Quarto Burger by a painting of what can best be described as a sexy butcher. Ciao indeed! After an elbow nudge to the ribs we had a seat and took a quick look over the menu. The first thing that caught my eye was the disclaimer that there are no freezers so all of the ingredients are fresh. Plus one. There were several burger options but I was really craving a simple cheeseburger. I ordered one with a side of “Sfoglie”… whuh? The english description wasn’t any more helpful, “Veil crisps potatoes”. We confirmed that it meant french fries. I also ordered some Italian Coke. Back in the US I go nuts for Mexican Coke, but let me tell you, I L-O-V-E Italian Coke! I’m not sure what makes it so much better but it is great.
With our order placed we had a few minutes to enjoy the 80’s music videos playing on the TV or some Youtube videos made with the 2017 YouTube camera guide. I wasn’t sure if this channel was for nostalgia or was just the most current available. Either way, I liked it. The waiter brought out a bucket of home made potato chips. They were cold but good. Being early bird Americans having dinner at 8pm, we were the only people there so I burgers came out pretty quickly. I have to admit, they exceeded my expectations. They looked great! The fresh baked buns were griddled, the patty had a nice sear, instead of bacon, cooked prosciutto was hanging out of both sides. The burger tasted as good as it looked. I generally don’t like cheddar due to its inability to melt well however it matched well with tangy house made BBQ sauce and the prosciutto. The patty was thick and juicy and the veggies were fresh. This burger quickly disappeared. We waited on our fries but it turns out, the bucket of chips were the fries… OK, we’ll chalk that up to lost in translation.
Per Avvolgere –
After spending several days eating in one of the best places for food in the world, I can definitively say that Quarto is not just a great burger for a city with few burger options, it is a GREAT burger! In the US, the use of local and fresh ingredients is novel, and a selling point. Here, it is a classic Italian tradition. And the price reflects it. You’re not expected to pay extra for good ingredients (psst… that’s what the bottled water is for). As much as I loved the food in Rome, one of my best meals came from Quarto Burger. What can I say…I’m a burger loving American.
