661 replies to this topic

[eVader]

my personal order of favorites so far...

folsom bistro
bidwell street bistro
balcony bistro
karens bakery
big dip
red robbin
carl's jr

Did your ranking change since RR? Back in Post 363 you had the following list:

folsom bistro
bidwell street bistro
red robbin
big dip
karens bakery
carl's jr

[Dave Burrell]

Tahoe Joe's burger is pretty darn good! Or, was at one time. My ex-husband used to order it to go and it was good when he got it home and it was lukewarm and sitting in strofoam. I can only imagine how good it would be if it were hot and fresh. You guys need to hit there and give it a chance!

That sounds good, we will add that place to our list of contenders.. And you gotta join us sometime too!

[Dave Burrell]

Did your ranking change since RR? Back in Post 363 you had the following list:

folsom bistro
bidwell street bistro
red robbin
big dip
karens bakery
carl's jr

I was rethinking & changed it to seperate the gourmet burgers from regular burgers

[eVader]

Another good Burger Tasting day.


Meat: Good. Could use a bit more seasoning but was good.

Cooked: Fair. No choice which is about as good as One Size Fits All pants. I prefer a Med Rare or Med burger with juice. It was still good but as a Med Well, it wasnt juicy.

Bread: Very Good, maybe an Excellent. Odd trapezoidal shape was well, unique but covered the burger well and tasted good.

Toppings: Very good. Normal fare - onion, tomato and lots of lettuce. No pickle and had to wait for condiments (mayo, mustard, catsup).

Fries: Good. Shoestring style but as Dave and DarthLefty noted, needs a few more. Should note that while Dave and Dan liked theirs, some on my plate were too oily.

Beverages: Although Iced Tea or a beer is my drink of choice, it was amusing to see the faces at the table when the waitress said the only beer was Bud or Bud Light They had Sierra Nevada but no longer -- certainly wasn't Manderes. Oh the Iced Tea, it was very good and prompt with refills.

Service: Very Good.

Ambiance: I like the brick walls but would be nice to knock a hole in the north facing wall and add a window. Best Tip: get there early to score a balcony table for people watching or fresh air dining.

[mylo]

My review of the "best on the street" Balcony Bistro Hamburger and fries 9.95 with a generous $8 pinot noir.

Meat: Good. Nothing special. I still rate Raleys frozen prime burgers above in meat, but then again it was...

Cooked: Bad. Overdone. Dry as a bone. No sauce, until a circus of small dishes arrived.

Toppings: Okay. The raw onion looked painful, I couldn't do it, but then I don't like onions. Some tomato and an overflow of lettuce. I had to prune mine down before biting into it, where Dave just let the lettuce fly.

Bread: Very good. The football bun was interesting, and I'll give it a Very Good for flavor and texture. I've had a few iterations of buns at Balcony before that couldn't hold up. Then again, those were much juicier and tastier meat.

Fries: Good. But scarce, could have used maybe 40% more.

Additional Fruit: Tasty, albeit lemony, melon. I like melon and I thought it nice after the burger.

Drink: Couldn't order a coke, because I prefer w/o ice and apparently their coke is otherwise warm. I can only assume that means it's in a can somewhere far from a fridge. Instead I went with a pinot noir which worked nicely with the burger, albeit a bit stale.

Service: Good. Friendly, nice, people. Real people. I like the feel in Balcony Bistro, which brings me to:

Ambience: Good. The balcony was full, unfortunately, because those are obviously the best seats in the house. Especially on a nice day like today. The interior was empty, and quiet, which was somewhat depressing. Having never been here for dinner, I've never really seen it full. It get's eerie in there sometimes. Oprah was behind me, but I felt her presence. Instead I looked over the empty and quiet restaurant, pondering if they can survive with this lunch crowd. I certainly see this could be a great neighborhood restaurant, assuming the food was good. Which was...

Overall: Good. But somewhat eerie. If you are going to Balcony Bistro, don't do it for the hamburger, book ahead to get a balcony seat, or perhaps try dinner and see if it's more fun?

[Darth Lefty]

Oprah was behind me, but I felt her presence.

<insert tasteless joke here>

[Dave Burrell]

Ambience: Good. The balcony was full, unfortunately, because those are obviously the best seats in the house. Especially on a nice day like today. The interior was empty, and quiet, which was somewhat depressing. Having never been here for dinner, I've never really seen it full. It get's eerie in there sometimes. Oprah was behind me, but I felt her presence. Instead I looked over the empty and quiet restaurant, pondering if they can survive with this lunch crowd. I certainly see this could be a great neighborhood restaurant, assuming the food was good. Which was...

Overall: Good. But somewhat eerie. If you are going to Balcony Bistro, don't do it for the hamburger, book ahead to get a balcony seat, or perhaps try dinner and see if it's more fun?

Every time I've been there for lunch everyone's always gone for the balcony seating versus sitting inside, that's why it seemed empty. Their dinner crowd is better - you should take the misses out to dinner there sometime, its rather nice.

and to explain the Oprah comment to people, Mylo was referring to some art that had Oprah's image on it that was hanging on the wall next to us.

[Dave Burrell]

Crazy burger related news...

Pa. man chews through belly-busting, 15-lb. burger



CLEARFIELD, Pa. (AP) -- It took Brad Sciullo 4 hours and 39 minutes to finish a marathon. A meat marathon, that is. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound western Pennsylvania chef is the first person to eat a monstrosity called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser: a 15-pound burger with toppings and a bun that brought the total weight to 20.2 pounds.

The mountain of beef is the product of Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, about 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in Clearfield.

Sciullo, 21, of Uniontown, said he was surprised he finished the sandwich Monday. "About three hours into it, things got tough," he said.

When asked what possessed him to eat a burger that big, Sciullo said: "I wanted to see if I could."

The burger included a bun, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and relish, pub owner Dennis Liegey said.

For completing the challenge in the under-five-hour time limit, Sciullo won $400, three T-shirts, a certificate "and a burger hangover, as I call it," Liegey said.

[mylo]

Congratulations to the great Hero, Brad Sciullo, may he bring light to the world in these dark times.

[Darth Lefty]

Where to this week? We're due for somewhere cheap again.

Or at least corporate.

Islands?

[Dave Burrell]

Where to this week? We're due for somewhere cheap again.

Or at least corporate.

Islands?

Good suggestion! Lets plan to go there this time

[eVader]

Good suggestion! Lets plan to go there this time

Tasting today at Islands at 12?

[Dave Burrell]

Tasting today at Islands at 12?

Yeah sure, I'm in - Islands at Noon

[Darth Lefty]

No for me, I thought this was on Thursdays now

[Dave Burrell]

No for me, I thought this was on Thursdays now

it actually started being on Tuesdays til you couldn't make it once and it got changed to Thursdays for the last few outings...

We can make this a Thursday only event - to me it doesn't matter which day we go just as long as more people can make it...

keep in mind, with us going out on Thursdays I won't be making the Friday's at Manderes anymore - I only go out to lunch once a week.

with that said - lets make it official - from now on, the burger tasting events will be held Thursdays - no more changes!

to evader, hope you don't mind... lets do this Thursday instead of Today ok?