SMASHBURGER

I think this is my first official food review.  Maybe, if it works out  I will try some more.  Might be a good way to get to eat out a little with my favorite 'cute girl.'

OFFICIAL SMASHBURGER REVIEW

Not a real Smashburger but didn't want to violate
any laws.

A couple of years ago we discovered “Smashburger” at one of the outside stores in the Valley Fair Mall.  We didn’t actually eat in much but we liked their food enough to go and buy some to take home.  It was tasty and flavorful so we made it a traditional meal about once a month.

Many times, especially when she had worked hard with the daycare, Teresa would, without saying it in words (you know, that eye-look thing women do), indicate she would really like to have a “Smashburger” for dinner.  And practicing to become the kind and loving husband I hope to be someday, I would scuttle off to the little shop and retrieve her favorite.

But the last year or so has seen a change.  I don’t know if it is corporate decisions or lack of funding or just a general disdain for the upkeep of quality, but the “Smash” people aren’t the same as they used to be.

One of the things I really liked (I think other places do this now) was the juiciness of the meat that comes from ‘smashing’ the patty with a – well, a metal smashy something.  It’s supposed to keep the juices intact and still let the meat cook sufficient for consumption.  When we first started eating “Smashburger”, it was apparent that something different was happening and we loved it.  Frankly, that’s what encouraged us to come back again and again.

But lately, despite visiting several different stores in the valley that offer this product, what we have been getting is meat that is cooked but not at all ‘juiced.’

Could it be that they have gone to a poorer quality meat?  Or maybe have they changed their cooking process?  Can you blame it on us because we have grown ‘accustomed to your face’ (can you guess what that is a reference to?) and it just isn’t exciting anymore?  I don’t know, but our experience is not the same.

But alas, it isn’t just the problem of dry burgers that has us flummoxed.  Our first encounter with “Smashburger” introduced us to “Smash-Fries” – a unique mix of thin potato fries, delicately flavored with olive oil, kosher salt, rosemary, and garlic.  The taste was different/delightful but not overpowering and the ingredients didn’t get in the way of enjoying the food.

Lately, it seems that there is some agreement with the olive oil industry to distribute as much of their product as possible with every single serving of this formerly delicious side dish.  In recent purchases, oil smothers the fries so completely that it is difficult to tell what other ingredients may be attached to the small little potato strips.  And when one finishes a meal, there is a feeling that you have just done a 5000 mile oil change on one of your cars and a shower is necessary.

I’m not sure we want to give up just yet so I suspect that we will try “Smashburger” a couple more times to see if things can be salvaged. But I’m not very hopeful after the last several visits we have made.  Maybe it’s time to see who else has something good to offer in the burger market. 

If you have suggestions please let me know.

Thanks for listening.