Restaurant Review #2 - Chef Burger
Where: Chef Burger, Power & Light District, Kansas City
When: 4:30pm, Sunday, May 11th 2008.
So I was going for my daily walk when I had a jones for a burger. I know that many of the new steakhouse-style bistros serve burgers - quite possibly the whole "side of bison on a loaf of black bread" extravaganzas that I do so adore, but I was walking today and dressed for such (cargo shorts, Chuck Taylor high-tops, and a Straylight Run t-shirt generally do not account for fancy restaurant dress) - so I found myself gravitating to Chef Burger, right in the Power & Light District.
The location is great - right across Walnut from the "Kansas City Live!" area (which contains Raglan Road, the previously reviewed restaurant) and next door to my local Chipotle. Both places, by the way, have a great design that allows for the glass-and-metal window-walls to be folded back and convert most of the restaurant to open-air dining. Bonus points since today is gorgeous out.
Not much of a line - it's an "order at the register" place, putting it halfway between "sit-down" and "takeaway". With a number of intriguing burgers, I settled on the French Onion Mushroom Burger, accompanied by a Boulevard Stout on draft.
Seating is "survival of the fittest", with a few four-person tables arranged around the long high-bars that provide a sort of informal "cafeteria" atmosphere. I could have gone out on the patio, but I always feel bad taking up an entire four-seater to myself.
Oh, here it comes.
Strike One: My beer is provided in a plastic cup. A plastic cup. Like I'm at a frat party. Given that the Power & Light District is exempt from KC's open container laws (no, seriously, you can buy a beer and carry it around anywhere in the nine-block district). The beer itself is smooth - not as much so as a Guinness (which again, I tend to only drink in a Black-and-Tan) but it set off the burger well.
Speaking of which.
Strike Two: The cafeteria atmosphere isn't helped by the pick-it-up-yourself service, and the hospital-style metal trays. Maybe they're going for minimalist chic? I thought it would be offset by the quality of the burger.
Strike Three: It took me three bites to FIND my burger. The meat patties are prefabricated and perfectly round, like something you'd find a PTA mom slapping on a Little League grill. The burger itself - well, if you serve it on sourdough bread, is it a burger? The onions were excellent, but the juice oversoaked the bread, making the burger a gooey mess by the time I finished. The Swiss cheese was nigh-nonexistent, and the chopped mushrooms were lost in the onion.
And what burgers don't come with fries, you bastards? Especially when you charge eight bucks for the "chef-made" burger! And don't try and fool me with that one, you can see the assembly-line-style burger prep RIGHT THERE!
Quick summary:
Location: Good.
Service: None.
The Food: Overpriced and low-quality. The burger itself was below the quality you would get from Burger King.
The final tally: $8 burger + $5 beer + no tip (sorry, no table service = no tip. Law of the universe.)
Verdict: MADE OF FAIL.
When: 4:30pm, Sunday, May 11th 2008.
So I was going for my daily walk when I had a jones for a burger. I know that many of the new steakhouse-style bistros serve burgers - quite possibly the whole "side of bison on a loaf of black bread" extravaganzas that I do so adore, but I was walking today and dressed for such (cargo shorts, Chuck Taylor high-tops, and a Straylight Run t-shirt generally do not account for fancy restaurant dress) - so I found myself gravitating to Chef Burger, right in the Power & Light District.
The location is great - right across Walnut from the "Kansas City Live!" area (which contains Raglan Road, the previously reviewed restaurant) and next door to my local Chipotle. Both places, by the way, have a great design that allows for the glass-and-metal window-walls to be folded back and convert most of the restaurant to open-air dining. Bonus points since today is gorgeous out.
Not much of a line - it's an "order at the register" place, putting it halfway between "sit-down" and "takeaway". With a number of intriguing burgers, I settled on the French Onion Mushroom Burger, accompanied by a Boulevard Stout on draft.
Seating is "survival of the fittest", with a few four-person tables arranged around the long high-bars that provide a sort of informal "cafeteria" atmosphere. I could have gone out on the patio, but I always feel bad taking up an entire four-seater to myself.
Oh, here it comes.
Strike One: My beer is provided in a plastic cup. A plastic cup. Like I'm at a frat party. Given that the Power & Light District is exempt from KC's open container laws (no, seriously, you can buy a beer and carry it around anywhere in the nine-block district). The beer itself is smooth - not as much so as a Guinness (which again, I tend to only drink in a Black-and-Tan) but it set off the burger well.
Speaking of which.
Strike Two: The cafeteria atmosphere isn't helped by the pick-it-up-yourself service, and the hospital-style metal trays. Maybe they're going for minimalist chic? I thought it would be offset by the quality of the burger.
Strike Three: It took me three bites to FIND my burger. The meat patties are prefabricated and perfectly round, like something you'd find a PTA mom slapping on a Little League grill. The burger itself - well, if you serve it on sourdough bread, is it a burger? The onions were excellent, but the juice oversoaked the bread, making the burger a gooey mess by the time I finished. The Swiss cheese was nigh-nonexistent, and the chopped mushrooms were lost in the onion.
And what burgers don't come with fries, you bastards? Especially when you charge eight bucks for the "chef-made" burger! And don't try and fool me with that one, you can see the assembly-line-style burger prep RIGHT THERE!
Quick summary:
Location: Good.
Service: None.
The Food: Overpriced and low-quality. The burger itself was below the quality you would get from Burger King.
The final tally: $8 burger + $5 beer + no tip (sorry, no table service = no tip. Law of the universe.)
Verdict: MADE OF FAIL.