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(2 votes, average: 7.00 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
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Crown Burgers http://www.crown-burgers.com/
Once we left THE GRAND CANYON, we made our way to beautiful Zion National Park in southern Utah. Of all the places we visited on this trip, this was my favorite. It was amazing and I would recommend to anyone who asks, to go visit and see for yourselves. We hiked the really cool Angel’s Landing trail which, at one point, required that we scale the side of a cliff with only chains to hold on to. Very cool. After a few days there we were a little road weary and were in need of a hot shower and a soft bed. Fortunately we have family in Provo and Salt Lake which was only a few hours North of Zion. Also fortunately for us, there are a few burger places that I have been wanting to try in Salt Lake. We made our way up Highway 89, which was a pretty drive through small towns that sit in a green valley. We made a quick side trip to Bryce Canyon and saw the odd rock formations. We didn’t stay long because there was tons of snow and it was freezing. Once in Provo, we enjoyed some hot showers, visited with family, and asked for some burger joint suggestions. After much deliberation we settled in on Crown Burgers in Salt Lake City. I had heard of this place as it was the only burger in Utah featured in ansök. hamburgeramerica.com/index.html”>George Motz’s Hamburger America . I was also intrigued by the concept of a pastrami burger. With the destination in mind, we set the Garmin and hit the road for the short drive to Salt Lake. We arrived around 9 o’clock at night and this place was still busy. That is always a good sign. The menu was a cross between a typical burger joint and a Greek and Lebanese restaurant. You could order gyros, baklava, burgers, sweet potato fries, etc. It was quite exciting.
So, if you didn’t know this about me, I love burgers… I also love pastrami sandwiches. Wouldn’t you know it, the special of Crown Burgers is… the Crown Burger featuring a 1/4 pound patty and and equal amount of savory, delicious pastrami. This was a no brainer. “One please”, I said almost without thinking. A drink and fries were also ordered although that part does not stick in my memory as strongly. While I waited. I admired all of the “Best Burger” awards and other memorabilia about the founders of Crown Burgers (see picture, top right).
With much anticipation, my order was ready. I grabbed my tray and made a quick stop to get ketchup and, of course, FRY SAUCE (You have to have fry sauce when in Utah)! I joined my wife in a booth in the corner and beheld one of the most appetizing (to me) sights! I really couldn’t see the beef patty but I definitely could see the pastrami. With both hands I dug in. This burger/pastrami sandwich was AMAZING! The seasoning and texture of the pastrami added so much to the overall burger package. The lettuce and tomato were good quality and added a nice, fresh touch to the burger. The bun was sufficient for the job at hand which was to act as the burger vehicle. The fries were crispy, like I like, but were nothing special compared to the burger.
What did I think of this meaty mash-up? I think it is quite obvious that it was great! If you like pastrami sandwiches and want to try it with something other than rye bread and coleslaw, this is for you. It is unique, it is memorable, it is worth having more than once. I will definitely go back the next time I’m in Salt Lake City (ski season perhaps?). This burger was a perfect break from the grueling road schedule we had been following for over a week. Now that the Crown Burger was sitting comfortably in my stomach, we made the sleepy drive back to Provo for a good nights sleep. We would need it b/c the next day we were off to Moab and more BURGER TYME ROAD TRIP ADVENTURES!
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
Blake’s Lotaburger http://www.lotaburger.com/
The open road. It still calls my name as I sit behind my desk, reminiscing of the sights, sounds, and burgers I encountered. Now finished at Lincoln National Forest, my wife, my sweet dog Pearl, and I headed to our next destination… THE GRAND CANYON!!! On the historic Route 66 we drove and admired the kitschy attractions along the way. There were many places to pull off and stay at old motels, purchase some Native American souvenirs, as well as see some beautiful (even though dry) mountainous terrain. So while on our way I noticed a place called Blake’s Lotaburger. There were a lot of them in New Mexico and it turns out that it is an original New Mexico Chain that started in Albuquerque in 1952. It was reminiscent of California’s In-n-Out or Texas’ Whataburger. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to try a burger unique to New Mexico, we stopped in Gallup, NM to try it for ourselves. We made our way up a hill in what appeared to be downtown Gallup to the 2nd street location. It was a “burger stand” style with only a couple of picnic tables outside for dining. There was a very distinctive sign of a long legged man (Blake?) guiding us in to the parking lot. We parked and I walked in. There menu was pretty straight forward for a fast food restaurant. They had burgers, hot dogs, and chicken fingers. They also had the New Mexico twist by offering green chile on everything. Being that this place isn’t called Lotahotdog or Lotafingers I wasn’t tempted by any option other than the Lotsa Combo, which includes the Lota Burger, large fries and a large drink. There was a pretty good line of about five people in front of me, so I took that as good sign. I patiently waited my turn and made my Lotsa Order to the lady behind the plate glass window!
Once my order was placed I took a step back and watched all of the action behind the glass. There were about five people bustling around, some taking orders, some preparing food. With all of the bustle the wait was still about ten minutes. I’m OK with waiting as long as the payoff is a good burger. So, after my ten or so minute wait I received my Blake’s Lunch bag and drink cup both featuring the long legged fellow with who I was now very acquainted. I went outside and took a seat at the picnic table in the shadow of the fifteen foot tall Blake sitting out front. As I began unpacking my bag ‘O food the first thing I noticed is that the fries looked fresh-cut! That’s always a plus. Unfortunately the rest of the meal was not so inspiring. The burger was rather unimpressive. While it was “large” it was dominated by the bun… and not even a very fresh one. I bit into it and the bun was a day or two beyond fresh. The patty was relatively thin and as such was not very juicy. I was able to save my meal by putting additional ketchup on the burger but that is more of a burger band-aid than a burger cure. The veggies were chopped onions, shredded lettuce and a slice of tomato. They did little to improve the burger. The cheese was cooked on to the patty well enough but really didn’t manage to stand out from the rest of the items on this burger. The fries were pretty good but could stand to have been a little crisper. Again, I did like that they were fresh cut.
Thank goodness I had a large drink. The best way I can describe this Lotsa Combo is ‘DRY’. The bun, the patty, the veggies were all lacking in moisture, not to mention any real flavor. Sadly this was a disappointing Burger Tyme on the road to THE GRAND CANYON. This place had so much potential with the iconic look of the burger stands, and the fact that this is a chain unique to New Mexico. Unfortunately I was only passing through and would not have time to give this place a second change. If it is any consolation, the fact that this place was busy the entire time I was there indicates that I may have had an anomaly of an experience and that typically, it is actually quite good. Perhaps some loyal Burger Tymers from New Mexico can fill us in.
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Munchies Pizza and Subs http://www.munchiespizzaandsubs.com/
Well Burger Tymers, our second stop on our great American Road trip was an interesting one. My wife and I made an agreement, that per the rules of road tripping, if there was a detour that we thought would be interesting, we would take it. Planned or not. So we were on our way to Lincoln National Forest we noticed that our route was going to take us close to Roswell, NM. You may have heard of it. It is famous for an alien spaceship crash landing there and giving us all of the technologies we enjoy today (Avatar fans, you’re welcome). Anyway, I’ve always sort of wanted to go there just to check it out. So we re-set our course and headed roughly 30 miles past the road we originally planned to turn on and made our way to Roswell. When we arrived we quickly found the main strip which contained all kinds of Alien themed souvenir shops, cafes, and even a furniture store. There were even lamp posts that looked like aliens. The most notable landmark was the UFO museum. While inside a souvenir shop purchasing an alien sticker, I asked the lady behind the counter is there was a good place nearby to get an “Out of this world burger”… She wasn’t amused either. She asked a younger girl that worked there and they both indicated that a place a few blocks away, called Munchies, had the best burger. I quickly thanked them and My wife, Pearl (our sweet dog), and I headed over to get our galactic Burger Tyme on!!!
Munchies was really close. It was a block from the UFO museum. This wasn’t a burgers only place. They had pizza, sandwiches, and burgers. After seeing the whole set-up I wasn’t really expecting too much. They seemed more geared for making pizzas. They even had a delivery driver. So I placed my order for a cheeseburger with fries and a drink. My wife went ahead and ordered the pizza. The weather was nice and they had some seating outside that we took. The wait wasn’t too long. About 10 minutes or so. When they brought our food out, I have to admit, I was surprised by how nice the presentation was. I was expecting a small basket with the food kind of piled in but it appeared as if they laid everything out so that it looked appealing. I had to give them kudos for that. The burger itself was a thin quarter pound patty on an overlarge, but nicely buttered and toasted bun. The veggies were abundant and while the lettuce was average, the tomatoes were quite nice. When I bit into the burger it was rather dry, begging me for ketchup. I obliged. The fries were adequately crispy but were nothing great. The same could be had at any place that uses frozen french fries. I liked that it came with a deli pickle. That might not be a plus for some people but I really like them.
So Roswell, NM. It was a nice detour on our way out west. Munchies was better than I expected but still not that great. I didn’t hate the meal. There were some really good aspects about the burger however, overall I cannot say that I enjoyed the burger. It was relatively bland and generic. Obviously they have a very broad menu, so the fact that they do burgers does not mean that they do them well. If I were ever looking for a burger in Roswell again, I would probably continue my search much like the Aliens who supposedly visited here. That’s right. My time in Roswell has led me to believe that Aliens are in fact Burger Tymers from outer space!!! Why else would they keep stealing our cows?
(2 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
Chris Madrid’s http://www.chrismadrids.com 1900 Blanco Road San Antonio, TX 78212 (map)
The open road. That’s where we were heading. My wife, my sweet dog, Pearl, and I were embarking on a road trip to see some of our nations beautiful national Parks. However, before we could witness nature in its harnessed beauty, we had to drive. And drive. And drive. It would be 14 hours from our home to our first destination, Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico. The first three of those hours would be bringing us to San Antonio, home of Chris Madrid’s. I could not wait to get back to this burger place. I had eaten here numerous times a few years ago when I was traveling for work. This was B.B.T. (Before Burger Tyme) so I did not take the opportunity to document my experience. I wasn’t about to let this slip through my burger eating fingers again. We hit the road bright and early on Tuesday and made our way West. The drive between Houston and San Antonio is not particularly beautiful or eventful (with the exception of stopping at Bucee’s). I watched with anticipation as the Garmin counted down the miles until we arrived at our first Burger Tyme Road trip destination. At around 1:30pm we arrived at the corner of Blanco and W. Hollywood. Chris Madrid’s is an interesting place. From the outside there is really nothing indicating that there is a restaurant inside the blandish, slightly run down structure. Another item is that it is not exactly clear where to enter the building. There is no door that is easily visible from the road or parking lot (that is across the street). You actually go around the back of the building through the outdoor patio area to go inside to order. Once inside, the place opens up. It is much bigger than you would expect. The next challenge is figuring out where to order. Hint, it’s all the way to the left, down a ramp, and around the side to the right… Clear? Right, when you finally make to the small ordering corner you are faced with some surprising burger options.
The lovely lady taking our order explained to us that Chris Madrid’s is known for their cheddar cheese. That was great news to me because I love cheese. Not so much for my wife who orders plain, dry burgers YUCK! On the top of their menu is their specialty, The Tostada Burger. I’ve thought many times “What could possibly make a cheese burger better?”. Well, Chris Madrid’s has the answer: add refried beans, tortilla chips, and fresh salsa. Without hesitation that is what I ordered. They have two sizes, the regular and the macho. Being that I am already married and do not need to impress any ladies I did not order the macho. We also ordered a regular order of fries to split. Once our order was placed we moved down the bar/line/pick-up area thing and got our drinks. We then moved a little further down where they had fresh salsas. We fixed a few cups and went and found a spot in the outside patio under some trees so Pearl could come sit with us and eat her cheeseburger (no joke) flavored dog food. The weather was not super nice but at least it wasn’t hot. The wait time was about 15 minutes when they finally called our number. With great anticipation I walked back in and picked up our tray. These burgers looked and smelled amazing. Even though these were not the “Macho” burgers they still were rather large. To say that they are proud of their cheese is an understatement. The bottom half of my burger was not visible due to the skirt of cheese it was wearing. When picking the burger, which required both hands, I noticed that this is a floppy burger. The first bite was great!!! The savor of the cheese, the patty combined with the earthy refried beans and the crunch of the chips made for a flavor and texture experience that few burgers have every achieved. To top it all off the fresh salsa added a comparable but much more enjoyable tomato element than ketchup. This was a messy burger. I had salsa and bean all over my hands but it didn’t matter. I didn’t put it down once until it was all gone. The fries were also very good. They were fresh cut and fried to a good texture. I like them a little crispier but that is hard to achieve with fresh cut. I will sacrifice crispy for fresh any day.
So I think it is pretty clear what I thought if this first stop on our Burger Tyme Road Trip Adventure. It was great. The people there were really friendly and helpful. They even gave me a bumper sticker saying I ate the macho, even though I didn’t. There may be better burgers in the traditional burger sense, but if you want a unique burger, that is also delicious, go to Chris Madrid’s in San Antonio.
Stay tuned for more adventures on the Great American Highway!
Other Chris Madrid Reviews:
Texas Burger Guy
San Antonio Burger Blog
Chicken Charlies http://www.chickencharlies.com
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a big deal around here. Being from Louisiana my experience with rodeos was somewhat limited to small 4h type events. For the HLSR the entire Reliant Center is used for three weeks to host a BBQ competition, a carnival, livestock auctions, championship rodeo events, and every night there is a concert with some pretty big names in country and pop music. To kick off the rodeo a parade of cowboys and covered wagons rides from downtown all the way to Reliant Center. I’ve lived in Houston for four years and had not had the chance to go to this gigantic ode to all things Texan until last week. A friend of mine at work had some extra tickets that he wasn’t going to be using and gave them to me. Excited for the chance to finally see what all the fuss is about, I rounded up my wife and my parents who were in town visiting. We got to ride Houston’s light rail (which for 49 weeks out of the year is almost completely pointless) which drops you off right at the front gates of the rodeo.
Immediately we were met with a barrage of food, cowboy hats, boots, and animals! The rodeo is known for its wide array of deep fried novelties. From deep fried Oreos to chicken fried bacon to funnel cakes to fried Coca Cola (it’s true), you can get almost any artery clogging fix you can imagine. I had heard from a friend that there was a place that was offering a deep fried cheeseburger. That’s right, an entire cheeseburger that is battered and fried in grease. Sound delicious? Not really. Did I want to try it? Absolutely! We walked around for about an hour in search of this deep fried white whale only to find deep fried everything else but the burger. Finally I asked someone at the info station if he could tell me where I could find it. He didn’t know so he called it in over their radio. After some staticky chatter the name “Chicken Charlie’s” came through. So off we went. When we rounded the corner, leaving the main thoroughfare of food establishments, we entered a realm of carnival stands. These are basically dolled up trailers that sell food. After an hour of searching for the deep fried cheeseburger we finally found Chicken Charlie’s. I had to admit, I was getting nervous.
There in the window, among images of deep fried avocados and corn dogs was the sign “Totally Fried White Castle” – $4.95. This is it. Apparently they are using the frozen White Castle burgers you can buy at the grocery store. No matter. After all of this anticipation I still wanted to try it. I waited in line and much to the chagrin of my wife, was finally able to place my order, “One deep fried cheeseburger, please”. The girl asked if I wanted anything to drink. “I better get a bottled water”, I responded. The wait was like watching a parade of fried foods. Plate after plate of deep fried everything was being passed through the window to rodeo goers. Finally, my plate came through. What I saw resembled a biscuit covered in fried chicken breading sitting on top of some rather weak looking fries. Loaded with a few small cups of ketchup, I found a spot to sit and dove in.
Upon my first bite I realized why no one else is selling deep fried burger… The bun retained an amazing amount of the grease. This was by far one of the worst things I’ve ever tried to eat. I quickly gulped down half of my water. The only way to get the greasy taste out of my mouth was to eat as much ketchup and fries as possible. My wife just shook her head not needing to say “I told you so”. In spite of my initial horror with this abomination… I tried another bite. Again, terrible. So only two bites in, I gave up. This was such a fantastically terrible burger experience that I had to document it.
Folks, the rodeo was a lot of fun. This burger, although disgusting, was a fun quest. After the absolute failure of filling up on deep fried Burger Tyme, we headed back into the main area and had some good barbecue, fresh potato chips, and funnel cake. I also picked up a huge bag of my personal favorite, Fresh Popped Kettle Corn! This was a great experience that I was glad to be able to bring my family to and I would not hesitate to go back to again.
