Coast Burger

Empire State Burger: The Classic + cheddar, american, bleu, swiss, or pepperjack

Our burgers are fresh (never frozen) 100% natural beef & cooked medium well done. Served with shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, onions, sliced pickles, sweet relish, ketchup & mayo. substitute veggie or turkey on any burger.

Cooking Style/Temp: griddled, medium +

Additions/Subtractions: american cheese, no relish

Burger: 3.5

The meat was surprisingly good, and cooked to more medium than medium well which was great. I could taste the freshness and it had a nice griddled crust.  6oz is the perfect size for a fast food style burger.

Bun: 3

Standard sesame seed commercial style bun. Tasted fresh, and was perfectly toasted.  

Toppings: 4

I got the basic burger topping selection, but they were all executed perfectly. Shredded lettuce, krinkle cut pickles, perfectly sliced tomato, just the right amount of ketchup and mayo, the onions weren’t overpowering and the cheese was perfectly melted.

Accoutrements: 3.5

Exactly what a simple burger stand should be. The fries were ok, nothing special. I wish I had seen the onion rings, I would’ve gotten those. Good fountain selection, even coke zero. The variety of different kinds of burgers you can get are solid.

Atmosphere: 3

Technically, its a mall food court, but it’s the second fanciest mall food court I’ve ever eaten at with only a couple of upscale chain places, the rest of the food stands seem like one offs. There was one place that sells whole roast turkeys. Fancy indeed! They also have music videos playing on flat screen TV’s that you can pick the next video by sending a text. And the music selection wasn’t completely terrible. Neat.

 Overall: 3.4

This was an unexpected Burgerquest. I was just starving after a long night on the town in Chicago and none of the other food court options were appealing to me, so what the heck, burgers are a solid hangover cure. I was pleasantly surprised with the whole thing. The burger was a near perfect execution of a fast-food style burger. I could’ve gone for maybe an 8oz patty, but that’s a small detail, as the price was decent, especially for the quality of burger that I got. Coast Burger serves its station perfectly as a quick burger spot with just enough twists on the menu to make it worth going back a couple of times if you’re downtown and need a fix.

HAMBURGERS AND VEGGIE BURGERS 
Burgers are 1/3 # and char grilled. Served on a char grilled bakery bun with mayo, lettuce and onions. Tomato available upon request at no charge. Served with a side of fries.

Ronda’s Way… Spicy Chipolte Cranberry and Pepperjack Cheese

Cooking Style/Temp: char-grilled, no choice

Additions/Subtractions: none

Burger: 2

Small patty, square shaped (I thought it might be a JTM, not sure if it was, but the inside didnt seem like it was) not much flavor besides char on the outside. 

Bun: 2

was toasted, but still really chewy. might’ve been a bit stale. not a fan. 

Toppings: 3.5

the chipotle cranberry mayo was good, the pepperjack couldve been melted a little more. the lettuce was fresh and i liked how thin the red onions were sliced.

Accoutrements: 2.75

The fries were decent, kind of reminiscent of Burger King’s fries, but better. Came with a housemade ketchup that had an italian kick to it. Potato salad was available too.

Atmosphere: 4.5

Arnold’s is one of the best bars in Cincinnati. They have great beer on tap, a sheppard fairey mural in the adjoining alley, a chill atmosphere and an awesome back patio. I always have a good time when I come here, whether I’m there for lunch, a couple drinks or all night.

Overall: 2.95

The lunchtime burgers are not really worth getting, you’re better off going for almost any of their other offerings at lunch. Apparently they’re supposed to be known for their Italian food (who knew?) Either way, don’t let this burger review stop you from visiting this Cincinnati landmark. Great place, weak burger.

Paula’s Cafe is pretty alright for a good lunchtime burger.

Paula’s 7 Minute Burger
Paula’s description: some clever saying about the wheat bun, plus lettuce tomato, pickle and onion, gives other topping options for cheese (50¢) to egg and bacon (95¢)
Cooking Temp: 7, 8 or 9 minutes. I got 7 but should’ve asked for 6 or 5, just to see if they’d do it.
Additions/Subtractions: got it as listed on the menu, plus sharp american cheese, no mustard

Burger: 4.75
If they allowed for burgers to be cooked to your choice, this burger would’ve been perfect. The meat tasted fresh, it was perfectly griddled with a nice caramelization and had amazing seasoning, subtle and not overpowering in the least. It was a perfect size and thickness, big, but not so much that i felt gross after eating it. Even though it was cooked medium+ it still was nice and juicy.

Bun: 4
a Shaddeau Wheat Kaiser Roll. I couldn’t tell if it was toasted or not but I think the consensus was “very lightly toasted” It was good, and it didn’t have an overly “wheat bread” taste, which I was worried about going in. It didn’t disintegrate while was eating, which earns big points. It allowed for a good meat-to-bun ratio.

Toppings: 2.75
I like my burger toppings a certain way, and Paula’s does them all pretty much the exact opposite way that I like them, the paper-thin white onions aside. Cheese-not melted, and on the bottom side of the burger, causing all of our burgers to slide and fall apart as soon as you pick them up. Leaf lettuce - another element that allows slippage. Thick tomato - while I appreciate the fresh and delicious tomato, it was about a half inch thick, when combined with the sauces and natural burger juices it makes the whole thing a wet mess. I also appreciated the generous amount of pickles.

Accoutrements: 2.5
Comes with Wavy Husman’s chips, with an option for fries. I saw some fries on other tables and they didnt look like anything special, typical lunch counter fries.

Atmosphere: 2
Paula’s Cafe is a small busy lunch spot downtown, with limited seating and a wait at lunch time. The staff is a bit gruff, and you’re surrounded by businesspeople. It’s more a place that you want to eat and then GTFO. Pepsi products, and a heapin’ helping of hot and cold sandwiches. I hear the Cuban is good.

Overall: 3.2
This burger loses points because of its surroundings and toppings, but it is tops for the actual burger meat and bun. If you’re downtown and want a real burger, hit this place up, because it cant be beat. A good sign of a great burger is if, while you’re eating it, the juices run down your hands and you need to set it down to roll up your sleeves. This one scrapes that realm, though if you set it down, it’s likely to fall apart. Keep reaching for that sun, Icarus! It’s also a bit expensive, my bill was about $10 with just the burger and a soft drink.

Mayberry - Downtown

The Burger

12oz Certified Angus Beef, Scott Farm Pepper Bacon, Onion Marmalade, Poached Egg

Cooking Style/Temp: medium, griddled

Additions/Subtractions: as listed

Burger: 3 this thing was huge, the patty hand formed and seasoned. But it was overcooked. If this wasn’t the 4th time in 4 burgers that my burger was overcooked it might not have irked me as much, but it really bummed me out. I need to start ordering medium rare. It was mixed with some kind of onion mixture, combine that with the size and overcooking and it came out more like a meatloaf. a definite disappointment.

Bun: 5 perfect size, held up together well even after it soaked up tons of egg yolk. It was really tasty, slightly crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and lightly toasted. killer. i need to know where these come from.

Toppings: 4.5 I couldn’t really taste the onion marmalade, but no bother, the egg was great and the bacon, even better. perfect bacon. i docked half a point, because if there was some really good cheddar or garlic aioli something melting all over this bad boy, it would be sent into the stratosphere. it might’ve even compensated for the meatloafyness of the meat. i like that word, meatloafyness.

Accoutrements: 3.5 comes with a small green salad and viagrette which is a good light touch with a giant burger. I got a side of tater tot casserole which was fan freakin tastic. they also have mac n cheese, mashed potatoes and the soup of the day, potato bacon artichoke, looked good. No fries or onion rings though. Only bottled coke products to drink. I think it’s BYOB though, which is cool.

Atmosphere: 3 smallish downtown space, with a chalkboard menu, unique black and white art on the walls and light wood tables. its a little cramped, espcially in winter with nowhere to put all the big coats. just a couple people working and they were pretty friendly.

Overall: 3.8 This burger is pretty darn good, but for me, a couple things are holding it back, the lack of cheese, and the (my fault for not being more particular about it) overcooking. The ingredients are over the top great, and the other menu items look so good. Def worth a trip to try it out. They do have some cheese on the menu, next time maybe i’ll try to get them to add some emmenthaler or bleu cheese to see if my theory is correct. But I’d really love some cheddar.