Break the Habit

*****Readers, please be advised that this review will be short and sweet. This is by no means a reflection of the quality of the Habit or its burger. Rather, the short review reflects the simple and direct nature of the Habit's Charburger*****

If your tagline is "Burger Grill" you better bring the hammer. Trae la maleta! The good thing for me and anyone else that has eaten a Habit burger, they do indeed bring the hammer. I ordered the Original Charburger: mayo, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, camelized onions on a toasted bun. Sounds basic and maybe even boring, right? WRONG! The burgers simplicity is its greatest attribute. It is a compact burger wrapped in a nice little package making the eating of it clean and orderly. To top it all off, they offer a small "pepper bar" loaded with jalepenos and sport peppers. There is nothing better than a few neon yellow sport peppers to warm-up the taste buds before a meal.

All in all, I give the Habit a firm thumbs up!

-B

23632 El Toro Road, #A

Lake Forest, CA 92630

949.206.9110

True to Form

I know what you're thinking...True Food Kitchen is not a restaurant you would read about during the year of the burger, right? Surprise! That is the great thing about this blog. We can do whatever the heck we want!

I have experienced True Food just once before, but for drinks only. I enjoyed the company of a co-worker and, of course a few ginger margaritas. Not on the menu, these margaritas ,pack a punch that gave me some temporary relief from my chest cold. But on my most recent visit, no ginger margaritas. It was lunch and I was hungry, which concerned me at a place like True Food. For those that don't know let me describe True Food. Sustainable, simple, fresh, healthy, locally-grown, organic. Rather than venture too deep into the menu I decided to have the waitress order for me. The first item she recommended was, coincidentally, the turkey burger. Perfect! She warned me that the burger is served with raw kale, seasoned with lemon, Parmesan and bread crumbs. I bought it.

After sucking back a Green Arnie, made of Matcha Green Tee and Honey Lemonade (don't say that I didn't warn you) our food arrived. The burger was served on a flax seed bun with a large slice of avocado, lettuce, tomato and provolone. Just so you have a visual, the turkey patty was not shaped into a perfect circular patty. It was rough around the edges. I thoroughly enjoyed this burger, despite it falling apart 1/2 way through me eating it. I resorted to eating the second 1/2 with a fork and knife, which took nothing away from it. The kale was the biggest surprise. Crunchy, citrus-y and overall a nice healthy side dish.

My thesis on True Food's turkey burger (and True Food in general)...true to form. The burger was solid. Not too "earthy" or overly "crunchy" as you might suspect. It was different and simple, yet solid.

What I like about this Year of the... assignment is our ability to go beyond the conventional. To try things that do not fit the mold. We know that In' N Out is going to be great. We know Fuddruckers and Knowlwood will deliver. But it's the burgers at places like True Food that make this fun.

B

True Food Kitchen

Fashion Island

451 Newport Center Drive

Newport Beach, CA 92660

949.544.2400

Just Let Your Soul Glo!

Memphis Cafe is an OC cult favorite. Simple with kitchy decor, people swear by their gumbo. I have had it on a previous visit and it is, admittedly, a tasty treat. But this is not the Year of the Gumbo, although that is intriguing. This is the Year of the Burger and on my most recent visit to Memphis, it was all business.

Burgers. The Soul Burger to be exact. Beef patty, pepper jack cheese and chipotle aioli on a fresh bun. I sub'd the shoestring fries for a side salad (yes those are a sampling of shoestring fries from my co-worker's plate) and enjoyed it all with a draft Franziskaner Weissbier. Which by the way (please permit me a small sidenote), is it just me or can you order a Franziskaner everywhere these days? Don't get me wrong, I love it. Currently, you can find it in my garage beer fridge. But seriously it happened overnight. Last year you could only find it at BevMo and now you can order it at Applebees. I guess the brewer hired the right distributor because the beer is everywhere.

...so back to the Soul Burger. The chipotle aioli really made the burger. It was tangy, mild in spicyness and added just the right moisture to the bun. The burger was plated with a pickle, tomato and onion, but I will attest they were not needed. At first I missed the conventional set-up, but I actually enjoyed this stripped down version. It was just the right lunch size and it was a 4 on the messy scale (10 being so messy it requires a fork and knife). Overall a solid burger made even better with a good beer.

This was a great start to the Year of the Burger!

B

Memphis Cafe
2920 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 432-SOUL (7685)