S I M P LY D E LICIOUS
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Hamburger heaven Our critic goes on a belt-popping mission to find Buckhead’s best
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hat makes a great hamburger? Or more to the point: What makes a sensational Buckhead burger? We recently went on a quest to find the best patty in the neighborhood, and let me tell you: In this town of ZinBurgers, Farm Burgers, Flip Burgers, Yeah! Burgers and everything in between, the competition is as sizzling as it is ridiculous. We live in the golden age of the grass-fed, the gourmet and the gluten-free—a time when it’s possible to order a burger dressed up with figs and goat cheese, slurped down with a foie gras milkshake or moonshine, and topped off with a fried moon pie. (Just make sure your heart surgeon is on speed-dial and your belt has an extra notch or two.) But by our estimation, the best burgers don’t have to try so hard. They are fashionably (but not ostentatiously) dressed, pink and juicy at the center, and they have great buns. We vote for classic over crazy. So just in time for July 4, or for those sultry summer days when the thrill is in letting someone else man the grill, here’s our pick o’ the patties, from the very good to the sublime.
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July/August 2014 | Simply Buckhead
STORY:
Wendell Brock PHOTOS: Sara Hanna
At Farm Burger, you can build The No. 5. $9.50. a burger with Grade: B+ oxtail marinade, apple slaw, beerbattered onion rings, red-bean chili, pork belly, bone marrow, cured lardo, bacon, fried egg, six kinds of cheese and on and on. Of the locally grown, gourmet-burger chains, Farm Burger has long been a fave. So when I want a decadent, over-dressed fatty melt, it’s my first stop. On a recent visit, I decided to keep it fairly simple. (Ahem.) “Make it a beef patty with tomato, Duke’s mayo, pickles, red onion, arugula and Vermont white cheddar,” I told my server as my friend Monica and I sat at the bar, eager to try the chickenpot-pie fritters. (We were expecting oozy little flavor bombs, but they were firm like croquettes.) My sensibly accessorized burger was perfectly delightful (a little less cooking and a little more salt would have helped). But Monica’s No. 5—from the “Black Board” of seasonal house-concocted options—was the bomb. At once fancy and healthy, the patty was decked out with braised spring Vidalias,
FARM BURGER
green-garlic pesto, goat cheese, arugula—and all that nutritious green stuff really balanced the rich, unctuous beef. The onion rings here are a bit over-battered for my taste, but the sweet-potato fries are wonderful. 3365 Piedmont Road. 404.816.0603. www.farmburger.net
When I worked downtown, The Blue Creek. $16. Ted’s was my Grade: A preferred spot for a business lunch. Love the housemade dill pickles; the fat onion rings with horseradish dipping sauce; the Arnold Palmers; and the allAmerican, stick-a-flag-in-it, “where the buffalo roam” burgers. I’m talking bison, baby. It’s leaner than beef, yet richer and moister, somehow. On a recent visit to the Peachtree location, Ethan, our 15-year-old junior critic, lauded the texture and presentation of his bacon and cheese bison burger, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars. “I am not a burger person. I always get turkey,” declared another guest. She
TED’S MONTANA GRILL