Gonzo Burger

1/2lb burger with gorgonzola cheese, artichokes and sun dried tomatoes 8.99
Cooking Style/Temp: grilled, ordered medium rare
Additions/Subtractions: added mayo

Burger: 2.5
The good: hand formed patty, 8oz,  good seasoning. The bad: overhandled, causing the burger to be too dense and tough, and it was overcooked, which wasn’t a problem at first as it was still good and juicy, but by the time i got to the end of the burger, it was dry and grey.

Bun: 5
Excellent grilled sesame seed bakery bun. great combo of crunchy and soft, held up for the entire burger. 

Toppings: 3.5
The saltiness of the gorgonzola was offset really well with the mellow mayo and artichokes. The sun-dried tomatoes added a nice hint of fruitiness and color, but were too chewy, texture-wise and were kind of a pain in the arse. Overall a nice combo.

Accoutrements: 3.5
Comes with house-made kettle chips, which can be pretty bitter, but are extremely tasty when dipped in their own BBQ sauce. The sauce is really good, it has a nice balance of sweetness and vinegar kick. All the other food in the menu is a large step up from regular pub eats. Highlights are the many varieties of mac & cheese, the rueben, the philly cheesesteak (which they should just call a steak sandwich) and almost everything else. Great draft beer selection as well.

Atmosphere: 3
A relaxed vibe is the order of the hour pretty much every hour they’re open. The bar area is a comfortable size, they have some nice outdoor seating and friendly staff.

Overall: 3.5
After a supremely lackluster first visit on my burgerquest, Keystone has more than turned things around. I dont know if management changed hands or if I just caught them on a bad day, but after a few recent visits, it’s become one of my favorite places to eat and/or drink. The burger meat gets a average score, but i think a lot of places have a problem really understanding how to handle a burger to make it it’s best. If they can resolve that, the burger could really be something special.

(sorry for the subpar photos, this was a spur of the moment burgerquest and all i had was my iphone. that’ll happen.)

Barleycorn’s description: That’s homemade BBQ sauce, bacon, cheddar cheese & onion straws with lettuce and tomato.
Cooking Temp: Medium
Additions/Subtractions: added Bleu Cheese sauce on my own

Burger: 3
Above average in size (about 6-8oz), freshness and texture, however not much flavor when eaten by itself. There wasn’t even much of a grilled taste to it, even though it looked to have grill marks on the meat. Cooked to medium, as ordered.

Bun: 2
Smallish toasted Kaiser Roll. Toasted and tasted fine, but fell apart under the weight of the burger, ran out of bun on the bottom before I ran out of burger. Part of this was due to the lettuce and tomato being under the beef on the bottom half of the bun.

Toppings: 5
Cheddar Cheese, finely shredded lettuce, fresh tomato, perfectly chewy-crispy thick cut bacon, crispy freshly fried onion straws and house-made BBQ sauce and Bleu Cheese Sauce. Killer.

Accoutrements: 3
Standard bar & grill beers on tap (we had 20oz Killian’s drafts, were told they were $3.50, but they charged us $4, not cool) Thin cut fries were crispy and had good flavor but were nothin’ special. You get to choose your side from about six things (all house made) which is cool if you’re not feeling fries. They also have a full menu of standard stuff, they have Nacho Mountain, and I remember the chicken wings being good.

Atmosphere: 3.5
Barleycorn’s 5 Mile House is probably the best and nicest Barleycorn’s locations. It’s got a large outdoor seating area that is protected by some trees and a small “Road House” type inside with a main bar area, a raised seating area and then more seats up in a unique loft dining area. The place has been open for a long time and it feels homey and worn in. Nothing cookie-cutter about it. Would be a decent place to watch some sports with your favorite upper-middle class white people. N.B. This isn’t the warehouse frat hangout that is the Cold Spring Location.

Overall: 3.4
The burger was a solid contender until the end when i ran out of bun and tasted the meat au naturale. Fortunately I had already eaten the previous 90% of it and it was freakin’ delicious as a unit. Couple that with the house-made-ness of nearly everything on the menu and Barleycorn’s 5 Mile House is a solid stop for anyone seeking burger deliciousness.

Burgerquest 915 - Ft.Thomas

This was the second time in 3 weeks that I went to 915 on burger madness night. This place is so great when it comes to burgers.

Burger: 5
large, perfectly portioned, perfectly cooked. perfect.

Bun: 5
sturdy kaiser roll. toasted, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. perfect.

Toppings: 4.75
i got the black and bleu burger. blackened seasoning, bleu cheese, bacon. not too much seasoning, tasty homemade bleu cheese dressing, crispy bacon. really good. izzy’s pickles. 

Accoutrements: 5
thicker cut fries, nicely cooked. crispy outside, tender inside. really, really good. bell’s oktoberfest on tap, 20oz, $3. Killer.

Atmosphere: 4
this spot has been a restaurant for so long. wednesday nights are moderate. its got a chill vibe, mostly ft. thomas people, so not really any cool people hanging out, if nothing is playing on the jukebox, oldies 103.5 plays on the radio.

Overall: 4.7
this burger coupled with that price, it’s hands down the best burger i’ve had in cincinnati to date. great flavor, fresh meat, homemade toppings. hell yeah.

also, high fives for the chicken caesar pizza. it used to live at zola in covington, but they moved it up here when they opened 915.

As of right now, my favorite burger in Cincinnati.