Not until after Dominic and I checked this next burger barn off our list did we start noticing this, but smashburger is all the talk around the So Cal burgersphere. It's even been quoted as a "smashing good time" (actually quoted by the blog's own contributor, Dominic... while many attribute the quote to Sir Austin Powers). But the restaurant's burger buzz is the new sensation hitting the streets of San Diego, and now we know why...Before we get started on reviewing the cornerstone menu item from smashburger, the San Diego burger, we have another burger worth talking about:
I have to admit that the reason we even came across smashburger in the first place wasn't due to the talk around town about it being the best burger to be compiled in the history of "bun meets patty", yet it was through an interesting marketing campaign in which they joined forces with AJ in the Morning on Star 94.1 FM, a local radio station morning show in San Diego. AJ hosts an annual Toy Drive every Christmas season called AJ's Kids to benefit the patients of Rady Children's Hospital (more information can be found here). However, this year, he enlisted the support of smashburger to increase his efforts and reduce his time dangling above the Earth in a crane (crazy right? I'm telling you... see the above link). AJ created a burger to be added to the smash menu, specifically to aid his charity's efforts. $1 from every AJ's Kids burger purchased from smashburger will go to support the cause. And it wasn't until I heard the description of the burger that I knew that we HAD to get involved. There's absolutely nothing Dominic and I love more than giving to charity if it involves eating good food. Which reminds me... if anyone creates a burrito to support a charity, make sure I give you my emergency contact number. But nothing too special about this AJ's Kids burger jumped out at us in the beginning; it's your typical burger with Cheddar cheese instead of traditional American, onion, ketchup, mustard, and the trademark smashsauce, but it wasn't until the I heard the final ingredient that jolted me in front of my laptop looking for the nearest smashburger location. For the selling point of the charity burger: fried pickles. You heard me right, FRIED pickles!! (You wouldn't know this, but I almost just typed 'friend prickers'... lol)
Check out how you can help AJ's Kids too by clicking here!!
Back to the review of smashburger as a whole:
When the restaurant first popped up in SD, I was under the impression (I think Dominic was too) that smashburger was just another food chain restaurant trying to make its market presence known in San Diego, maybe to take away some of the steam from Five Guys Burgers... btw Five Guys has yet to be invaded by our golden buds of taste, but it's on the to-do list. But once we did hear about it from AJ's morning show, we knew it was something that we had to try. And we are so happy that we did. Although I would describe this restaurant as more of a fast food type of layout, the taste was anything except fast food quality. And this applied to everything we tried on the menu: from AJ's Kids burger, to the San Diego burger, all the way down to the smashfries.
I'm going to let Dominic go into his feelings about the San Diego burger in just a minute, but I wanna kick things off here by saying that this burger absolutely epitomizes what I imagine a bite of San Diego tastes like, except it could use bacon. If you threw Sea World, the Beach, local craft breweries, the monkeys at the zoo, Coronado (both the bridge and Hotel Del), and the Gaslamp Quarter into a burrito, that's what this burger tastes like, but with less salt water ocean taste from the beach. I think that it's the cilantro combined with the pepper jack cheese and avocado that gives the burger its unique taste. So let's end our time and burger conversation on that note. Check out my in depth review of the SD burger below... but in the mean time, catch in with Dominic and see his opinion of smashburger and whether he thinks the burger is just another burger or if he tasted unicorn topped with Santa sprinkles on his take of the burger.
Dominic's take of the smashing burger:
Lets put it this way for all you burger fiends out there… smashburger is to the burger kingdom as Justin Bieber is to every teenage girl’s dreams. As a matter of fact, I do recall my good pal and fellow burger connoisseur Justin was strolling through this fine restaurant singing “baby, baby, baby ohhhhhhh!!!” in excitement to bite into AJ’s Burger and any other burger that got put in front of our faces!
AJ's Burger is probably the coolest charitable donation I have ever made. Why? Because you’re giving to a great charity as well as eating an incredible burger. It took my taste buds on a magical roller coaster ride! As Justin described before, it is a very basic burger, but the fried pickles make this burger taste great. You can really taste the batter that the pickles are dipped in with every bite. I recommend this burger to everyone going to smashburger, not only because it is for a good cause, but because I have yet to try any burger like it in Southern California!
We tried another burger, the San Diego Burger. Whoever came up with this burger creation really knew exactly how to put the “typical” San Diego cuisine in to burger form. Here is what is on this Smashburger: Fresh avocado, fresh cilantro, onions, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, spicy chipotle mayo on a torta roll served with a wedge of lime. I couldn’t have done better myself trying to think of what would represent San Diego between two buns. It was one of the most refreshing burgers I have ever tasted. Refreshing burger? How could a burger possibly be refreshing?? Well, smashburger uses only the freshest ingredients on their menu and on this piece of art it especially showed. It was a perfect amount of grub if you are looking for a satisfied stomach, instead of the comatose a lot of other grease burger joints will give you. Woah woah woah! Don’t get me wrong here… I do enjoy being put in a greasy bacon, beefy, cheesy coma from time to time, but at smashburger, I put them in a different ‘burger bracket’ if you will. I’m very excited to say that we have been invited back to Smashburger to try more delicious burgers and tell all you burger lovers out there more about this great place! Justin's Rating of the San Diego smashburger
Meat quality: 4, Creativity/Accessories: 4, Bun: 4, Size: 3, Price: 4, Overall: 19 out of 25
Let me start off by saying that my first bite into this burger was definitely one worth remembering, mostly because Dominic kicked me as I sank my teeth into the meat marvel. Aside from my shin bruising, this burger was quite remarkable compared to what I imagined it to be in my head. The meat was juicy, it was topped with all the right ingredients: the mix of cilantro, pepper jack cheese, and small bite of sour cream paired with the onion blended perfectly with the signature smashsauce. It had the right amount of kick, the right amount of tart, and the right amount of savor all swirled into one bite. And each bite following mimicked the leader. All in all great burger, great torta, great price. For $8 and some change including the smashfries (which are standard fries tossed with olive oil, garlic, and rosemary), I'd definitely revisit to try the rest of the menu.
Dominic's Rating of the San Diego smashburger
Meat quality: 4, Creativity/Accessories: 5, Bun: 4, Size: 3, Price: 4, Overall: 20 out of 25
One of the first things we look for in a burger is the quality of the patty, how juicy it is and the flavors, etc. smashburger really knows how to cook a patty right! I give the creativity and accessories a 5 because of the way the burger names really match the burger style perfectly. The buns were great, especially the different styles of buns that they have to offer. For the size, quality, tastiness, with a side of fries and a drink this burgers price is great too!
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