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Astro Burgers www.astroburgers.com
Skiing has to be one of the best things in the known world. Salt Lake City, Utah has to be one of the best places for it. Not only is there numerous high altitude resorts within 30 miles of here, but it was also voted the second Best Burger City for 2011 by Travel and Leisure Magazine. Number two, right behind Houston! While visiting recently to ski and visit family including my nephew who I bought a joovy zoom 360 ultralight jogging stroller as a gift, I had the chance to sample a second in the series of Salt Lake burgers that has put this place in the upper echelon or burger towns, the pastrami burger! You may recall the Burger Tyme Road trip in 2010 brought me here to try the pastrami burgers at Crown Burgers. I recently learned that members of the original family that started crown split off opening their own, competing joints. One of which is Astro Burgers.
Lucky for me, there was an Astro Burgers just around the corner from where I was staying in Murray. It was three o’clock in the afternoon and we had just come down the mountain from our final day of skiing and were starving. We pulled in on a rare, stormy afternoon in SLC and I noticed immediately the similarities between Astro and Crown. In fact, the layout, menu, signs, and everything except the name seemed to be the same. I thought Crown Burgers was pretty darn good, so I had some high hopes for the sibling Astro.
This place was still serving up a good number of people, which was impressive given this generally off time of day. The wait in line was not long, thank goodness and I placed my order for the Astro burger combo which included fries and a drink. While I waited I headed over to the condiment station and fixed a few cups of the regional dipping condiment fry sauce. I also had the pleasure of watching them throw the patties on the grill as we ordered them which only made me hungrier.
A few minutes after ordering, our tray of burger-y, pastrami-y heaven arrived. With little hesitation I dug in. Oh mama! Did I mention I love pastrami? I hope you do too because this burger has it! It is good pastrami too. The patty on this burger is pretty thin but is more than made up for it by the thick layer of thinly sliced (oxymoron?) seasoned beef. A difference that stands out from this and Crown is that this pastrami had a slight char to it, giving it a great roasted flavor, and a sightly crunchy bark. It was great! The buns were well toasted, the veggies added the necessary sensation that this might be healthy, and the cheese gave just the right amount of fat for this to be an extremely satisfying pastrami sandw(er) burger, of course people also get into sports to keep themselves healthy, even if this could cause injuries in muscles or joints, which you can fix with supplements from this Proflexoral guide online. The fries were sufficient. Nicely cooked but nothing special. But if you really want to remain healthy for life, contact these Bioidentical Hormone Doctors.
I have a confession to make… I had a Crown burger the night before for dinner… There I said it. The pastrami burgers in Salt Lake City are a must try for burger lovers… and pastrami lovers… and lovers of unique regional specialties. Is Astro Burgers better than Crown Burgers? It is honestly too close to say. They definitely have an edge on the pastrami in my mind… But what Crown lacks in roasted, charry goodness, they make up for by having really juicy pastrami. Honestly, They are both great… but wait… what about Apollo burgers? It will have to wait until next time until the third sibling pastrami burger restaurant gets its own chance to Burger Tyme.
In-N-Out Burger http://www.in-n-out.com–
Sweet merciful burger. As fate would have it, our burger road trip has been blessed! By divine burger providence, an In-N-Out has opened in Provo, UT! Fortunately for my wife and I, it was only five minutes from where we were staying for the night. Speaking of last night, we had just enjoyed the delicious pastrami filled Crown Burger and were preparing to hit the road again, turning south to Moab, UT. I have not had In-N-Out since 2005 when I visited Las Vegas, we used Vegas Guy for my brothers wedding (his wife is from there). My ultimate plan was to meet up with some friends at In-N-Out, confirm if my delicious memories of this place were accurate, and then hit the road to Moab. My wife pleaded, begged, and reminded me that I had had a burger only 13 hours prior to the creation of this master plan. I reminded her that the Crown Burger is more of a pastrami sandwich, so in my mind it had been days since I had a burger. With this sound logic in my mind, and an eye roll on my wife’s face, we said our goodbyes to our kind hosts and headed out again! By the way, if your wife is looking for a facial surgery to bring back the youthful skin, search forDr. Andres Bustillo.
Ah memories! I love that no matter where the In-N-Out is that you go to, it feels like you are in exactly the same place. The lay-out is the same, the workers look exactly the same, the menu is in the exact same spot…. comforting. We arrived at exactly 11 am. We were able to walk right up to the counter and place our order. I was impressed by the number of people working behind the counter on a Thursday morning. I counted at least 10. There may have been more but since they all looked alike I might have started counting them twice. Everyone was chipper and happy to take my order. I couldn’t wait! I was not the most hungry so I only ordered the single cheeseburger instead of the much beloved Double-Double. Of course I got it Animal Style, with a side of fries, and a chocolate shake… I guess I was hungry after all. My wife, in protest to my burger gorging, ordered a water. I asked if they could make that animal style so they put extra ice in it. The lunch rush must start at 11:05 because by the time we finished ordering the line was almost out the door. With my number in hand, I politely stepped aside and watched everyone bustle frying burgers, cutting fries, and making milk shakes. I wasn’t sure but I think I felt a tear fall from my eye.
My number was called and I was handed my perfect red tray of food. Even though I had had a burger as recently as the night before, my anticipation for this one was as high as it could be. I picked it up, briefly savored the aroma of the grilled onions, and bit in. O-M-B (Oh My Burger)! This was as good as I remembered it! The fries were also amazing. Some people say the fries are “wimpy” but I have to give props to the fresh cut and light taste that they have. Maybe it was the burger euphoria speaking but the shake seemed amazing. The combination of all three made for a wonderful classic burger experience on which In-N-Out has built their reputation.
Go! Go now! If you live any where near In-N-Out I hope you appreciate it! I feared that my memory might have inflated how good this burger actually was since I was not the burger “connoisseur” that I am today when I first had it. Having tried dozens (if I said hundreds you would either think I’m a liar or a glutton, so well stick with dozens) of burgers from all over the country, this burger stands up as an extremely good chain burger. Yes, I’ve had better burgers, but usually they cost $8 more and require a significant time commitment. I am amazed at how In-N-Out can turn out the most appealing and delicious burgers thousands of times a day.
Once we finished this heavenly detour, we were off to Moab to enjoy Arches National Park and other beauties of nature!
(2 votes, average: 7.00 out of 10)Register to vote.Loading...
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!
