Camacho Watcho

I finally made it to Smashburger, the Golden Valley location, a little bit ago. It seemed that everyone and their brother has been there… so I thought I was due to try it out.

I have to say, I really liked Smashburger. I went with the Classic Smashburger – American cheese and veggie fixings, topped with smash sauce. The burger was well-cooked…that said, don’t expect a gourmet burger experience. The burgers here are smashed and the edges or cooked to crispy (similar style to Steak ‘n Shake…Minnesotans might not be as familiar), but the toppings are fresh – tomatoes and lettuce are crisp and the pickles have a nice crunch. The bun is also great – soft potato bun – just how I like them.

We tried two sides – the smashfries (tossed with rosemary, olive oil and garlic) and the haystack onions (crispy fried, thinly-sliced onions). The fries were good, crisp and well-seasoned, but the onions were my favorite. Sliced so thin and lightly fried – they practically melt in your mouth.

For $4.99 for a 1/3 pound burger and $1.99 to add on the haystack onions, Smashburger was a great deal for lunch. Plenty of food and plenty of flavor.

It was my fault – I broke my number one rule of eating at Sea Salt. Don’t go when you’re hungry – go before you’re hungry. I love Sea Salt and, believe me, the food is worth the wait. But Sunday afternoon, I just couldn’t manage it.

I was already hungry when Kyle decided to go for a workout. For some reason he actually likes to do track workouts (just for fun, mind you), and he sometimes asks me to go along. I gave in on Sunday, but only after he bribed me with a trip to Sea Salt after. The prospect of an ice cold pitcher of Summit and some fresh seafood made it worth my sweat.

As we drove up to Sea Salt, however, I realized that I was too hungry to be arriving at 1:30 on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. And, true to expectations, the line was wrapped around and out the door. As much as I wanted to stay, I just couldn’t.

Second best was a stop at Seward Co-op on the way home where we picked up some Hill and Vale ground beef, buns, and fixings to make monster burgers at home. I’m usually a simple burger eater – a slice of cheese, mustard, ketchup and pickle is all I generally require. But that day, after a workout, I wanted the works. I ended up with a burger stacked high with cheese, coleslaw (from Seward’s deli), tomato, and lettuce with mustard and chipotle mayo. While it was my consolation prize to Sea Salt…this burger sure tasted like a winner.

Last Sunday I was craving a burger, but of course, not just any burger…I wanted a jucy lucy. My first inclination was to head on over to The Nook or Matt’s, as I know how much I love their lucy’s. Instead, in the spirit of trying new things, I decided to hit up Adrian’s instead.

To be honest, I had never heard of Adrian’s. I had even eaten in that neighborhood at Pepito’s and Cafe Levain a few times and had never even noticed the sign before. Given that it isn’t spoken of much in jucy lucy circles, I should have been prepared. But I went in with high hopes…just looking for a grease fix.

We arrived right at noon (opening time), so of course we took them by surprise by immediately ordering up some beer, burgers and fries. We were told we’d have to wait on the burgers, as they were just getting going for the day but that the beer and fries would be right out. No problem. I didn’t mind the wait – the beer was cold and the fries were crinkle-cut and crisp. With the addition of a little salt and my mustard-ketchup mix, I was appeased for the time being.

My jucy lucy was served a short time later with the standard warning to wait before eating, for danger of being burned by the cheese. I used the time to size up the enormity of this burger. The largest jucy lucy I’d ever been served, this was two massive patties of beef, a tall bun and cheese melted on top (not standard issue in the lucy world). At this point I figured I had waited long enough so I tentatively dug in.

Let’s start with the bun which was dry and dense and really didn’t complement the juicy burger in the least. One of my biggest complaints about burgers is the bun, and for good reason…it’s rarely done right. As for the patties? They were cooked perfectly – medium – but unfortunately there was just too much burger and they were packed so dense (maybe needed a higher fat content in the beef?) that, while the cheese was plentiful, the balance was totally off. This did explain the extra slice of cheese melted on top, an attempt to balance out the cheese to meat ratio, but it just didn’t make up for the overload of beef contained in the sandwich.

Overall, I was not impressed with Adrian’s jucy lucy. In the future I’ll be taking my jucy lucy cravings elsewhere.

Adrian’s Bar and Grill
48th and Chicago Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN

I headed to St. Paul on Saturday afternoon to get some Nookie…(get your mind out of the gutter, I was after a burger from The Nook). Unfortunately, The Nook was extremely busy so we decided to go a few miles away to the Shamrock Grill on West 7th, where they have The Nook burgers on their menu. It wasn’t my first choice, but I was willing to try it out.

In contrast to The Nook, which is a small, cozy bar, the Shamrock Grill is a large space with both bar and high-top seating, as well as several booths and other tables in the main dining area. Although it was also busy (we were there during the Gopher game), there was immediate seating for us in the dining area. With only a glance at the menu, we put in our order…cheese curds, two Juicy Lucys and two diet cokes. If you’re not familiar with the Juicy Lucy, it is a cheeseburger but with the cheese inside the burger. This ensures that the cheese is still hot and melted when it arrives at your table. But be warned, while melted cheese is always a good thing, you do have to be careful not to burn yourself on it. For more on Juicy Lucy’s and a map of where to find them in the Twin Cities click here.

Back to the Shamrock – I had high expectations for this meal, as The Nook’s Juicy Lucy is my favorite in town. Note: I haven’t tried all the Juicy Lucy’s out there, but it’s my favorite of those I have tried. Our Lucys arrived and I was a little surprised, to be honest. Although it’s controversial, I think the bun is a crucial part of the burger experience. So it was a bit concerning to me that the Shamrock’s bun was not as soft as The Nook’s bun. Despite this difference, however, the burger and cheese were the same and they were oh, so good…so I couldn’t really complain. Overall, it was a good experience, and if they would switch up their bun, the Shamrock Grill would be a major contender in the realm of Juicy Lucys.

Shamrock Grill
995 7th St. W.
St. Paul, MN
651.228.9925

Located on the banks of the Illinois River in East Peoria, Illinois is the Burger Barge restaurant. No, it’s not an actual barge, but it certainly looks as though a barge or boat of some type ran ashore and then took off again, leaving behind remnants such as weathered anchors, ropes, and other nautical items. Unfortunately it was a rainy day when I went to lunch at the Burger Barge, so I didn’t stay outside long to inspect the outside, but rather ran right inside to get eating.

The inside is just as nautical with nets hanging from the ceiling and boating gear everywhere. As I took my seat at a table near the door, I noticed a very large (maybe 3 feet tall) parrot perched just behind me on an oversized bird swing. I knew I was definitely somewhere different and I hoped I was in for a treat. The Burger Barge claims that they serve the “best burger this side of paradise.” Of course playing on a few thoughts here. The first is that the Burger Barge is located right next to the Par-a-dice casino, which is a gaming boat parked on the shores of the Illinois River. And the second is the thought of East Peoria being paradise…I’ll just leave it at that. Regardless of the play on words, they claim to have a fantastic burger.

I was impressed with the menu, featuring fifteen different burgers and also a variety of barges (other hot sandwiches from what I could tell). I decided to go simple and ordered a plain cheeseburger and fries. My brother, on the other hand went all out and got the Ship, Captain and Crew Burger (a cheeseburger with the works including coleslaw and fries between the bun) and my mom also got a cheeseburger but with the works, which included their dock sauce.

Our food arrived and I was immediately drawn to my brother’s burger. It looked so good with the creamy, sweet coleslaw and french fries. My mom’s looked tasty as well, especially the tangy dock sauce that dripped from the side. My burger definitely lost in the “looks” category, being that it was very plain and had shredded, unmelted cheese. The Ship, Captain and Crew Burger was definitely the winner. The verdict? The Burger Barge is a really good burger. It’s not greasy and it’s served on a great bun. The next time I’m shipwrecked that side of paradise, I will definitely be back.

The Burger Barge
1401 N. Main St.
East Peoria, IL
309.694.9191

I was craving a burger so I talked Kyle and Carly into going out with me tonight. We did not, however, frequent on of our mainstay burger joints such as Ike’s or The Nook. Instead, we went somewhere we hadn’t been before, The Convention Grill in Edina. I had read some reviews about this place and Kyle had even heard claims such as “best burger in the Twin Cities”. Given that, we felt it was a must try on the burger scene.

The decor was great. I loved the tall wooden booths, jukebox, and long ceramic counter behind which a guy was flipping burgers on a stainless steel griddle. It definitely conjured nostalgic feelings of old mom and pop burger joints from the 50s. On the flip side, pardon the pun, we all could imagine this place hopping on a Saturday night with kids running around all over. Take that comment as you please.

I made a solid order of cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate malt, and was pleased but not thrilled with my food. The burger, while tasty, was not cooked medium as was advertised on the menu, but was more well-done. I made a bad call and chose the smoked cheddar cheese to top my burger. One of my dining companions really enjoyed the smoked cheddar, however I felt it overpowered the overall taste. On the plus side it had a good bun and wasn’t greasy. The fries were crisp, but not very flavorful. After heavily salting them, I did manage to throw down half an order. Hey, fries are still fries, right? Lastly, the chocolate malt. I liked the malt, but it wasn’t my favorite. A good malt in my mind not only has good flavor, but has a little grit to it. This shake was a little too smooth, making me comment that perhaps the ice cream was actually soft serve. I don’t know this for sure, but I’m definitely wondering about that.

Overall I would say this was a mediocre experience. The consensus was that we would not seek The Convention Grill out again for a meal, but if we were in the neighborhood and craving a burger, we might drop in.