Burger Club

[bocaraton]

am so depressed. And to add insult to injury, the manager didn't let me know that the burger increased a wopping $5.00, from $8 to $13 when I spoke to her originally. Why should she have? Because I had asked her if she would serve burgers at night, since I recalled them only being available during the day. She said they were available only during the day, but for our group, she would make an exception. At that point, she should have told me about the increase. In my book this is bad business, and totally unacceptable. Especially for the mediocrity I put in my mouth.

Did you ask the manager why she didn't inform you of the price hike?

I would of been pissed to say the least.

[elyse]

I did forget to mention, that for me, the best part of Burger Club tonight, as always, was the company. Thank you tarka, especially, for coming. I'm glad I got to sit across from you. Mr Cutlets, Pan, and Lurker's friends who-shall-remain-nameless-until-they-choose-names, thanks for joining us. I hope you come again.

Just wait until I have my great burger. It'll be FAR more important than any and all of you. I can't wait!

[elyse]

I am so depressed. And to add insult to injury, the manager didn't let me know that the burger increased a wopping $5.00, from $8 to $13 when I spoke to her originally. Why should she have? Because I had asked her if she would serve burgers at night, since I recalled them only being available during the day. She said they were available only during the day, but for our group, she would make an exception. At that point, she should have told me about the increase. In my book this is bad business, and totally unacceptable. Especially for the mediocrity I put in my mouth.

Did you ask the manager why she didn't inform you of the price hike?

I would of been pissed to say the least.

She wasn't there.

[Pan]

Elyse, I feel bad. I saw on the menu that my cheeseburger should have cost $8.50, so for that plus a share of onion rings (and no beverage), I initially paid $13 and then put $2 more in for a total of $15. Given that they charged $13 for just the burger (those damned gougers!), I obviously owe you (or whoever else covered the difference) a drink some time. Why are they charging more than the price on the menu?

[elyse]

Pan, I feel awful for YOU. I mislead you based on... well, you know. And none of us realised it until half of everybody left, and we all had already thrown our money in. We then all threw in more. Believe you me, we were all pissed off at the price change. I'm definitely going to speak to the manager about this unless someone else has a gift for this type of thing. I don't.

Who really looked at the bill? Did they charge us for the onion rings? I'll be seriously irked if they did.

[Pan]

Elyse, I'll add that if that was a bad burger, it was decent, so I might be up for some other burger club outing. But seriously, that survey form is just too much.

[elyse]

I think the form is only to be used by people who want to use them. But you should form an opinion based on the burger's particulaties and state them here, please. I'm not sure if everyone's done it, but that's what we're here for.

[Pan]

Well, Elyse, I probably haven't eaten a burger in over 20 years.

I didn't find mine overcooked (I ordered it rare). It tasted good, and the texture was just slightly cartilagenous. The bun was OK. The onions were good, but some of the lettuce was rotten and unusable, and it was arguably a mistake to order tomatoes this time of year, but they were tolerable in context and I wouldn't hesitate to order tomatoes again if I get another burger somewhere.

But for $13, that burger was a dreadful ripoff. I'd much prefer a good $6-7.50 roast beef sandwich. The fries were good and had a nice potato taste, though.

As for the onion rings, I did order them. They were very oily but consisted of a nice ring of the same good onions I had raw slices of on my plate, surrounded by good-tasting batter.

It was very enjoyable meeting you and all the others.

[picaman]

I'm going to try to steal time at work today to get the evals compiled and posted, before I leave for my Thanksgiving turkey, sloppy joe, and Pennsylvania Dutch starch extravaganza

I think one problem was the inconsistency. I saw some very attractive burgers around the table, but mine wasn't one of them. The buns were all identical, but what was between them varied greatly from burger to burger. My burger was barely mediocre--my biggest complaint was that the burger was dwarfed by the bun--far too much bread around the perimeter. The meat quality and flavor was slightly below average. It was cooked medium rare as per my request. The bun looked great, but was a bit on the stale side. As I said at one point last night, there was a dryness that could not be accounted for by the toasting.

As far as the pricing goes, I had already collected the forms when the bill arrived, which means that everyone's evaluation for value is greatly skewed. I'm going to decrease the overall value score by the percentage that the price increased, unless anyone has objections.

Jamie

[picaman]

"should have went?"

Well, how's about Saturday, December 13th, at Blue Smoke?

No shoulda, woulda, couldas for me...only onward and upward

Blue Smoke sounds like the perfect Landmark Tavern antidote.

Jamie

[alacarte]

The 13th works for me too. Looking forward to it.

I had a blast yesterday, sorry I had to duck out a bit early. I totally echo Elyse's sentiment that the company is the best part! To be honest, I'm starting to feel that the Burger Club is a wildy successful social experiement, but a flop as a culinary experiment.

Has anyplace yet delivered 17 or more burgers that have met group expectations? Is it just too much to ask? And as someone asked last night (maybe it was Blondie or Suzanne F), does the spotlight of scrutiny mean that you won't enjoy it as you might a less-observed burger?

[tommy]

given the confusion with the price, did the tip work out for the poor sap who served you?

[alacarte]

given the confusion with the price, did the tip work out for the poor sap who served you?

"served" is a relative term in this case....it was an hour before our order was taken...another 45 minutes for the burgers to arrive....

[tommy]

And as someone asked last night (maybe it was Blondie or Suzanne F), does the spotlight of scrutiny mean that you won't enjoy it as you might a less-observed burger?

it had occurred to me that perhaps the biggest thing coming out of this is that several people are basically having good to great burgers ruined for them under the microscope.

burgers are best enjoyed with a few drinks when your senses are a bit out of whack to begin with. like many things that are fun, you don't want to turn up the lights and have too close a look.

Edited November 26, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Suzanne F]

Maybe we'll just have to revisit the earliest sites -- the way "real" reviewers do -- as our sensibilities develop more, and as we limit our own variables. Oh, the neverending challenge.

BTW: elyse twisted my arm into being the keeper of the list of prospective sites. So pm me if you come up with a new place. I'll repost the list as it stands now in a day or 2, once I stop tasting the fries from last night. (I liked this burger A LOT, and stand by my burger grades, but marked it way too high on incidentals. Do-over??)

[picaman]

Evaluation summary for Landmark Tavern

I'm pretty sure the server got ~18% of the inflated price; considering the service we received that was, in my opinion, a gift. I'm usually not very critical of service under those conditions (being a former server myself) but last night's was dismal.

tommy, alacarte, in response to your valid points I'd just say Parker Meridien, which in most people's estimation stood up to whatever errant anomalies (large group, drunk cook, etc.) were thrown at the burger.

Jamie

[alacarte]

"drunk cook"???

do tell....

[picaman]

"drunk cook"???

do tell....

The guys at the Parker Meridien were hysterical. You'd order a milkshake, and they'd draw a beer. When you told them you'd ordered a milkshake, they'd make you one and drink the beer. Fries flying and burgers sizzling. Great music and a fun atmosphere. Pickle in a cup. And cheap to boot. I can hardly wait to go back.

Jamie

[greenfield]

Who really looked at the bill?  Did they charge us for the onion rings?  I'll be seriously irked if they did.

Yep, we definitely got charged for the onion rings.

Using the scoring sheet, I think I gave the burger something like a 63% score. If I had known it was at $13 burger, that score would have been 60%.

I'm pretty sure the server got ~18% of the inflated price; considering the service we received that was, in my opinion, a gift. I'm usually not very critical of service under those conditions (being a former server myself) but last night's was dismal.

We did end up leaving a very generous tip. Personally, I don't mind so much; I'm just never going back or recommending the place. I'm still very surprised they weren't faster with drink orders. Given how long the food took, people would have drunk more waiting for their food if given the opportunity to get more drinks.

I'm not sure they are used to such a large dinner crowd. When we ordered, the place was hardly full (there was a large back room), and by the time we left, the place was empty.

Some pictures:

Note use of ham ("Irish Bacon") rather than American bacon. No notice of non-standard bacon was delivered by waiter.

Presentation of my burger

My burger was supposed to be medium rare; it was delivered uncooked in the middle. The temp after serving was 103 degrees. If I had thought about it more, this would have been a better photo.

Empty plate. Icky tomato.

[Pan]

Nice pictures, Greenfield. And the picture of me (in checked shirt) trying to make sense out of the evaluation form is funny.

I knew we waited a long time, but I had no idea how long. Good dining partners and good conversation goes a long way toward making waiting enjoyable.

[Al_Dente]

Could someone post the "evaluation form".

This, I gotta see...

[Suzanne F]

Yes, very nice pictures. Almost made it worth being blinded by the flash every time. The fries look a lot better than they actually were; the burgers do, too, but maybe that's just a function of extra light.

The ham/"Irish bacon" serving was for the lone Atkinsite in the group. (He did not eat the fries.)

But my god, we all look so serious! You'd think we were really working hard on those forms.

Wait -- has anyone mentioned that The Lurker and his friends came directly from eating at Daisy Mae's BBQ across the street? Fat guys in training (except they're all skinny ). Or that Mr. Cutlets kindly consented to let us taste his Someplace-Dry-Rub Ribs, which were rather disappointing? Quick precis: too much rub, unpleasantly on the (sugar) sweet side, and the soft consistency of parboiled meat. Oh dear.

Edited November 26, 2003 by Suzanne F (log)

[Suzi Edwards]

just a quickie from me before i brave times square (HOW MANY PEOPLE IN ONE PLACE????)

fantasic to meet you all last night and the burger was (in my innocent eyes) delicious. we do not get burgers like that in the UK (at least, not that i have had) comepltely different texture and flavour.

anyway, i'll post more when i am back in london but thank you all for your hospitality, i had a great night!

suzi

[MHesse]

Greetings from California. Nice pictures. Too bad it was less than 100% sucessful evening, but you all did get to meet Tarka and have fun and conversation, so that's good. No burgers yet this trip (good Sushi at Sushi Roku last night). Tonight it's beverages and seafood at Gladstones along the ocean. Tomorrow we eat the bird. I'm in for the 13tn, BTW.

[JosephB]

"drunk cook"???

do tell....

The guys at the Parker Meridien were hysterical. You'd order a milkshake, and they'd draw a beer. When you told them you'd ordered a milkshake, they'd make you one and drink the beer. Fries flying and burgers sizzling. Great music and a fun atmosphere. Pickle in a cup. And cheap to boot. I can hardly wait to go back.

Jamie

Jamie,

I totally agree with your reflection on PM. As a group, it's really about the moment.

-Joe