Big Ted Deluxe

BIG Ted Deluxe ~ voted “Best Cheeseburger in Paradise” by readers of Cincinnati Magazine ~ is a griddle cooked 6-oz hand-made burger topped with American cheese, and just the right amount of brown mustard, onion, mayonnaise, lettuce, catsup, tomato*, and pickle. *in-season … we use “home grown” 
$6.75
Cooking Style/Temp: griddled, all burgers medium well
Additions/Subtractions: none

Burger: 4.5
Hand formed patty, cooked to a juicy medium-well, had a slightly chewy texture, but it was tasty, perfectly seasoned and had a good crust from the griddle. The size was absolutely perfect, big enough to be satisfying but not so huge you felt gross afterwards. This was true for the burger as a whole as well. The main complaint was you can’t request temperature, but this is a bar burger, so it would be silly to expect otherwise.

Bun: 3.75
Fresh white bakery bun, held up for the whole burger, it would be amazing if they grilled or toasted it.

Toppings: 3
Not much in the way of variety, but what they do have is fresh and tasty. Im not a brown mustard fan, but this version was very mild and when mixed together with the ketchup and mustard they came together to form a nice sauce. The american cheese melded perfectly into the cracks of the burger and mixed perfectly with the seasonings on the meat.

Accoutrements: 2
This was my beef (no pun intended) with City View when I previously visited B.B.Q. (Before BurgerQuest). You get a side of Husman’s plain potato chips or Grippo’s BBQ chips. While you can’t beat a fresh bag of either, sometimes you want a basket of fries or onion rings to go with it.

Atmosphere: 4
City View Tavern is a nice sized bar on a hard to access street on the side of the hill in Mt. Adams, the cook/owner is brusque in a good way and the deck is cozy. They have good beers on tap and a pool table. It can feel a bit like a church basement or elks club with the wood paneled walls and linoleum floor. But the whole thing works and feels very comfortable and unique.

Overall: 3.45
The Big Ted burger was recently named the #2 burger in town by Cincinnati Magazine in it’s recent burger issue. I can see why it was voted so well, but I cant agree that it’s that high up there. Dont get me wrong, this is a near flawless burger, but there is also nothing exceptional about it. I would say when you want a very good burger with no fuss, good beer and a really good view, have at it. Just hope you get an outdoor seat.

One of the main issues with City View can be finding a parking spot on a totally cramped street, and as trivial as it may sound, that could be the true test, as a great burger would convince me to not give a shit about the parking situation. When presented with that challenge to go get a Big Ted, I would say that its a really good burger, but not so super good that I’d steal someone’s parking spot over it.