Kubels Too - (K2), Long Beach Township, NJ

Where:

8200 Long Beach Blvd,

Long Beach Township, NJ


What:
1/2 lb. certified Angus beef burger w/ mushrooms, American cheese & ketchup. 


Comments:

Since my wife and I used to live just a block away, Kubel's Too was always our go-to place in the off-season and we were always satisfied with this homey, neighborhood restaurant where the atmosphere is as inviting as the wait staff is friendly. Our favorite time of year to visit is during the winter months when the fireplace is lit.

Other than a few issues with consistency after the new owners took over, I'd say it's still a decent value for your money.

As for the burgers, they were noticeably smaller. It seemed like they went from an 8oz to a 7oz patty (or possibly even less), either way, they are definitely smaller.  

It's been a year or so ago this month since I took these photos so I'm hoping the new owners have settled in and things are the way they used to be. 

The burger had a great beef flavor (I'm guessing ground chuck) with a nice char and the mushrooms were very flavorful even though there was way too much ketchup on the burger (my bad). Overall, its a decent burger. 

As for the fish and chips platter, hmmmm, not so much. Check out my photos below... this was not fillets of cod hand-battered and deep fried, these were thin pieces of frozen fish that were in the same category as grocery store frozen fish filets - NFG.

The soup and fries are always good - the French onion soup tastes homemade and the fries always manage to hold their crunch throughout the meal. The coleslaw is average out-of-the-bucket slaw, but it's always served nice and cold. 

Again, a decent value meal overall (the burger, not the fish). I give the burger a 6.5/10 on the BC rating scale. 

 

Can't anyone on LBI make a burger good enough to compare to the Beach Haven Fishery? 

This is Kubel's burger when they were larger - this photo was taken in 2012.

Berry Fresh Cafe - Jupiter, Fl (with menu)

Where:
3755 Military Trail, Jupiter, FL

What:
The Brunch Burger -
Fresh-ground, hand-formed 1/3-pound, grilled burger patty, Cheddar cheese, bacon, fried egg, chipotle mayonnaise, sliced tomato, lettuce & thick-sliced pickle, served on a grilled Brioche bun.

Comments:
I haven't rated a burger above 9/10 since I was at Bill's Burger Bar in NYC back in January, 2019. I'm happy to say, Berry Fresh Cafe's Brunch Burger gets a 9.8/10 and here are the reasons why:

I heard from my daughter that the Berry Fresh Cafe is serving up some great food, so we visited during our recent stay in Jupiter. I was with my wife and my daughter and her family and we ordered a mixed bag of items. All were very good; however, the burgers stole the show. I had the 1/3 pound brunch burger (of course) and much to my surprise my 9-year-old grandson followed suit!  Not only did he finish it, but he kept pace with me - the kid can eat!

We both had the same opinion of the burger, it was cooked to a perfect medium-rare temperature and although it comes with many toppings, not one of them overpowered another. The burger-to-bun ratio was perfect, and whereas most buns would have disintegrated from the plethora of toppings, this one held its own until the last bite. The bacon was perfectly crisped, yet not overdone. The egg was the last of the toppings that had to be cooked separately and it too was cooked perfectly (I prefer my eggs cooked medium when they are on a burger to reduce the mess). The odds of cooking the burger, bacon, and egg perfectly are a rare occurrence at any restaurant (even a good Jersey diner), which means finding a restaurant that puts this much care into their food is equivalent to your chances of spotting Bigfoot. 

A minor note regarding leafy green lettuces - I know, I know, they provide some added nutrition, but not enough to change my long-standing pet peeve which is the use of leafy green lettuce on a burger instead of good old-fashioned crunchy iceberg lettuce. For me, the iceberg "crunch" adds another dimension to any burger and although the leafy stuff didn't hurt the burger, iceberg lettuce would have checked all the boxes - just saying. 

The menu is vast, so I'd recommend reading it before arriving in order to narrow-down your choices to just a few, it'll save time.

A shout-out to my father-in-law:

Pa, you need to go to the Berry Fresh Cafe and order a simple cheeseburger with fried onions - that's my choice for the next visit. 

This burger receives a 9.8/10 on the BC rating scale. 

(see details below)

Criteria: I rate each of these categories with a 1 to 10 rating.

Meat flavor 9
Juiciness 10
Size 10
Freshness 10
Burger to bun ratio 10
Bun Type 9
Overall taste with selected condiments 10
Edibility 10 
Temperature 10

Burgerim - Parsippany, NJ

Where:
131 New Rd, Parsippany, NJ 07054

What:
Angus Beef - 1/3 pound patty, house sauce, leaf lettuce, Roma tomato, pickles, shaved onions, American cheese.

Comments:

I just don't get it.  With so many burger places to patronize, and so many new ones opening, you'd think Burgerim would be on the top of their game. When it comes to burger competition, think of Shake Shack as the benchmark, if you're not making a burger as good or better, why jump into the arena in the first place?

Here is a brief history of Burgerim if you're interested, if not, scroll down to the rest of my comments...

Donna Tuchner, an Israeli native, was studying in New York City when she came up with the idea of starting Burgerim. She returned to Israel and opened the first Burgerim in Tel Aviv in 2011. The name is a combination of "burger" and the Hebrew plural suffix "-im", reflecting the company's focus on selling smaller slider-style burgers in orders of 2-3 or more. Burgerim was subsequently purchased from Tuchner by Oren Loni, an investor who wanted to expand the franchise into the United States. Burgerim opened its first official U.S. location in California in 2016.  *Wikipedia ~

Here is a link to a more detailed history of the Burgerim disaster:

https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/emerging-brands/burgerim-disaster

So... Regarding the Burgerim burger, I'm going to make this short and to the point - there is a noticeable lack of meat quality and the overall value of the burger sucks. 

Burgerim has great potential to be a cool, trendy burger shop but it falls short in it's execution and food quality which is affecting it's overall value.  This is NOT an eight (8) dollar burger. Not even close, yet that's the price point for this (barely) average burger. 

Let's face it, if a burger tastes "just okay", we are likely to judge it's overall value, yet if the burger is fantastic, the cost becomes less important to us. The burger I was served at Burgerim in Parsippany tasted like a fast-food burger. STOP right there, I'm not dissing FF establishments, they have their place in the world (along with the largest market share), and we all enjoy them to some degree, but you wouldn't pay $8 bucks for a McDonald's quarter pounder with cheese would you?  Seriously, a Mc'D Quarter Pounder tastes much better than Burgerim's $8 Angus Beef burger.  Don't believe me? Scroll down to my autopsy shots...  The only thing this burger had going for it was the thick-sliced barrel pickle. Very good.

Lastly, the Burgerim Fries... or not. The "fries" are thick-cut round potato chips, that's it, nothing resembling a french fry. And they were served cold, how's that for kick in the teeth? I know we're all entitled to a bad day at work, but this particular Burgerim lacked enthusiasm from the moment I walked through the door. 

That's it for now, I don't like it when a burger review turns into a rant so I'm ending this now before I go off. I hope this gives you at least some insight on what to expect if you try Burgerim in Parsippany, NJ.

This burger rated a 6.4/10 on the BC rating scale. 

BC Rating Scale:

Epic-Crap-Fail 1.0 - 2.9

Won't be back 3.0 - 5.9

Would try again if convenient. 6.0 - 7.9

I'll definitely be back 8.0 - 8.9

Keep 'em coming 9.0 - 10

BURGERIM

Criteria for ratings:
(I rate each of these with a 1 to 10 rating)

Meat flavor - 5
Juiciness - 5
Size - 6
Freshness - 5
Burger to bun ratio - 9
Bun Type - 8
Overall taste with selected condiments - 5
Edibility - 10
Temperature - 5

58/9 = 6.4