The Beach Haven Fishery, Long Beach Island, NJ

Where: The Beach Haven Fishery, Long Beach Island, NJ

What: The Michael Angelo Oreganata Burger

Build: Garlic, oregano, Parmesan cheese, white wine, black pepper, chopped fresh clams, breadcrumbs, EVOO, capers, fresh basil, and of course, butter.

Comment: For all you hard-core burger freaks and haters out there, do not, I repeat, do not stop reading this simply because this is a non-beef burger. This creation of Chef "Magic" Mike's was nothing shy of genius. I will let the photo captions do most of the descriptive work, but what I can tell you is that this is basically a world class clams oreganata stuffing kicked up about 10 notches. The photos will explain how this "non-beef" burger got a 10/10 rating on my BC rating scale. Again, for all you die-hard beef eaters, keep an open mind... it's worth it. 

The beginning of the Michael Angelo Oreganata Burger...

After being pan-fried in EVOO...

Now being sauteed in white wine, butter, capers and garlic with a dusting of Parmesan cheese... I can smell it from here....

Out of the saute pan and onto a fresh-baked Ciabatta roll...

Topped with raw white onion which provided a great crunchy texture...

Goodness up close.....

It's hard to describe how delicious this sandwich is... 

Super-fresh ingredients..... 

The Michael Angelo Oreganata Burger, a truly great sandwich. 

Munchy's, Wayne, NJ

Where: Munchy's, Wayne, NJ

What: Roast Beef Sub, (Roast beef, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Mayo on sub roll)
              Seven Card Stud, (Hot Roast Beef, french fries, fried onions, cheese & gravy on sub roll)
              Classic Jersey Taylor Ham, Egg & Cheese on Kaiser roll
              Taylor Ham, Cheese, Tomato on Toasted Rye
Comment: You just can't beat the freshness and unique sandwich combinations that Munchy's in Wayne has to offer. And if that weren't enough, I've found my new favorite breakfast sandwich spot. Their egg sandwiches are fresh and big enough to satisfy even a fat guy like me. The roast beef sub sandwich is sliced very thin and it's very tender which is a make or break with me because I'm easily turned off by tough meat in a sandwich. The Seven Card Stud is one of 13 specialty sandwiches listed under a category called "Dealers Choice".  It's a culmination of munchie foods and goodies that would satisfy even the hungriest Superbowl crowd. Back to the egg sandwich... they are so fresh and the rolls are so soft and buttery - it's just really hard to find a breakfast sandwich that's this good.
Love what you're doing Munchy's, keep it up!

Roast Beef Sub

Roast Beef Sub 

Seven Card Stud

Seven Card Stud

Seven Card Stud

Taylor Ham, Cheese, Tomato, Grilled Rye - Any Questions?

Now this is a Jersey Sangwitch

THE&C on Keiser Roll

Homemade Hash Browns (should have been crispy)

THE&C Autopsy Shot

Wayne Location (Valley Road)

The Beach Haven Fishery, Long Beach Island, NJ

Where: The Beach Haven Fishery, Long Beach Island, NJ

What: The Lobster Newburger

Build: 3oz. Black Angus beef, 3oz lobster meat, garlic, scallions, pinch of soy sauce, 1 egg yolk. Grind together and grill. The sauce is made from mayo, lobster base, sherry and chopped garlic and the finished product sits on a dollop of fresh seaweed salad on a fresh-baked Ciabatta roll.

Comment: This burger was a first for the BHF (and me also). It was a 50/50 blend of fresh pulled lobster meat and their 100% certified Black Angus beef with all the seasonings mentioned above and topped with lobster bisque sauce and fresh seaweed salad. This was truly an unusual burger for me, and I admit I turned my nose up at first.... then I took a bite. That's when it became a "Holy Sh*t" burger. The 50/50 blend of surf and turf meats was absolutely perfect. The meat was firm like a burger, but not too firm like a burger that's been overworked. The toppings along with that sauce all worked perfectly together. Very Impressive. Where the heck have you been all year Chef Pat? The whole lobster claw sitting on top didn't suck either. This one slides past the finish line with ease and gets a 10/10 on the BC rating scale. I can't wait for this weekend to see what the special burger(s) will be...

The Lobster Newburger before cooking...

Yo Paulie!

East Coast Burger Company, Ridgewood, NJ

Where: East Coast Burger Company, Ridgewood, NJ

What: The Maytag Burger

Build: Maytag blue cheese, applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, plum tomato.

Comment: If you haven't read my January 17th review of ECB, read it now... it'll lay some good insightful groundwork for what's to come here. This is my third review of ECB which will also be my last because I don't see any sense in going further than 3 reviews with really good burger joints. 
Maytag blue cheese is produced by the Maytag family, a 4th generation business located outside of Newton Iowa since 1941 (good year for Chevy's). The key difference between this cheese and others is that it is made with cows milk instead of sheeps milk which gives it a creamier texture. With that said, crumble some of this stuff over a burger and it's like magic. The creaminess of the cheese melts into the bacon and beef and the mild acidity of the ripe plum tomato slices is the perfect amount of contrast to the richness of the other ingredients. And what a great choice in lettuce it is very tender, sweet baby bib. ECB's are all very good, but this one, by far, stands out in a crowd of good burgers.  According to the BC rating scale, this beauty gets a 9.3/10.

25 Burgers, Fairfield, NJ

Where: 25 Burgers, Fairfield, NJ

What: The Trenton Cheeseburger

Build: 1/2 lb. burger patty, raw white onion, dill pickles, classic soft potato burger bun, Trenton Taylor Ham, American cheese.
Comment:  This is my 3rd and final review of 25 Burgers. I've been to 3 different locations and really can't find fault with any of the burgers. I stopped by last night at the Fairfield location near my home to taste the Trenton burger and once again, I was not disappointed. 25 Burgers is producing a product every bit as good as 5 Guys (possibly better, according to personal taste). Needless to say, I am a fan. 
Although hard to decipher, for me, the seasoning of the meat has the faint aroma of Montreal steak seasoning - and it works. The fresh, never frozen beef is all natural with no hormones or any other junk and it shows through in the flavor. Each burger here is built with care, not thrown together - again, it shows in the finished product. This one was a tiny bit too greasy and for that it's getting a 9.3/10 from the BC rating scale.

ps.....The last 3 photos are of the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich my wife ate.... It looked so good I'll be ordering it next time.... Build: 6oz boneless breast, smoked ham, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, honey mustard mayo, on a fresh bun. Um Um Um.

Grillers, Emerson, NJ

CLOSED!

Where: 

Grillers, Emerson, NJ

What:

The Original "G" Burger w/ Cheese

Build: 

1/3 lb patty, cheese, raw onion, pickle, egg bun.

What: 

The Whistle Pig Dog

Build: 

Hot dog, bacon, bun, horseradish mustard.

What:

The Wild Wild Burger

Build:

1/3 lb patty, onion rings, BBQ sauce, Cheddar cheese, bacon, egg bun.


Comments:

Nice new business, a cashier/waitress who was as friendly as she was attentive. However - that didn't keep this burger joint from being VERY disappointing! I'm not going to go on and on about how many aspects of Grillers were bad, but honestly folks, this place is brand new, they've been open about a month so you would think that they'd be on the very top of their game. Not even close. They choose to have one girl at the register and two teenage kids on the grills. That's it. No experienced restaurant person in the house. Really? Our burgers took exceedingly long to come out with the Wild Wild Burger arriving much later than the other foods. Cooking a 1/3lb burger med/rare takes what? 3mins? That's why judging by the wait time, we knew our meals were going to be overdone. And everything was. (cooked to "infinity and beyond") Really? Why the hell ask how I want my burger cooked if you are going to leatherize it regardless of what I request? And as the photos show, the burger-to-bun ratio was somewhere in the upper stratosphere. That roll could have accommodated a 1/2lb burger with 8 toppings! Geeeeez. I kept drinking to avoid choking, and if all this weren't bad enough, my burger did not come with cheese as ordered. I'm not sure why but lately it seems that my reviews have been 10/10's or Epic Crap Fail's... nothing in between. And with very successful slow-food burger joints popping up everywhere I can't imagine the Grillers folks could put out food this bad thinking they are going to make it. What a shame. I hate to give poor reviews to the Ma & Pa's but hey, you took my money for your product and your product was not worth my money so shame on you. This food was the worst I've had in a long time - EPIC CRAP FAIL - 2.2/10 on the BC food rating scale.



This is how I rate the burgers (and how I rated Grillers burger)
This scale is at the bottom of my homepage.....

Criteria for ratings:Meat flavor  1

Juiciness 1
Size 5
Freshness 4
Burger to bun ratio 1
Bun Type 1
Overall taste with selected condiments 1
Eatability 5
Doneness 1

Total 20       Divided by 9 criteria categories = 2.2     

Doesn't look the least bit appealing... now look at the next photo below of the same burger....

Proof that my photos can make even the worst burgers look good

If anyone wants a burger on Angel Food cake, it's ready!

My buddy got the Wild Wild Burger and as you can see, the bacon is simultaneously burnt and undercooked... how does one do that?

This burger was also cooked to infinity and beyond.

This was the only edible thing we ordered and also the hardest thing to screw up. Overall taste was - just okay.