Cheeseburger Gauntlet Day 4 – Anne’s no… wait Georges!
Hey everybody. Wednesday was supposed to be make or break day for the Cheeseburger Gauntlet. We were supposed to go to Anne’s Snack Bar for the (im)famous Ghetto Burger. For those who don’t know what the Ghetto Burger is, its a double chili cheese bacon burger with all the toppings. It’s the closest thing you’ll get to a Momma Burger.
Ahhh Remember when Eddie Murphy was funny?
Anyhow, we get there at 6:50 to find that Anne is closed even though the sign says she’s open until 9. And I’d even driven past the two previous nights to ensure she was open. But none of that matters with Anne. She closed early because that’s what Anne does.
So this could turn out to be a major hiccup right? Nope we immediately started brainstorming places to go instead. Rathbun Steak was our first thought, but none of us were dressed for it. Cabbage Town Market was also a thought but we assumed they would be closed as well. Ted’s and the Votex were mentioned before being laughed off. Stefan then suggested Georges in the Highlands, and off we went. Like I said in the Day One entry, I trust Stefan’s food choices with out reserve. If he were to suggest a Taco Bell location I’d give it a try.
George’s is in the Highland’s next to Moe’s and Joe’s. It has the look of a family style dive bar. Its adorned with neon beer signs, nostalgic signs and everything is shellacked for easy clean up. There are three TVs showing the Braves game visible from my seat alone. There are few families with (thankfully well behaved) kids. The only odd thing I notice is the number of people who are obviously runners or bicyclists, and that’s only odd because of the numbers of them. Joining in on the day are Stefan, Emily from day 1 and Valerie from day 2. With four people this is our biggest group so far.
Per the rules of the Gauntlet I order a cheeseburger with grilled onions and only add mustard. Lets take a look at the burger shall we?
Georges Cheeseburger
The cheesburger at George’s comes with quite possibly the most options for a basic cheeseburger so far on the Gauntlet. You have an option of two patty sizes (5oz or 8oz), the temperature you’d like it cooked to, and a choice of four cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss, American, or Provalone) and for 75 cents extra you can get grilled onions. My order is the 5 oz burger with cheddar and the grilled onions.
This burger may be the most surprising of all the burgers tasted so far because it was such an unknown quantity. I think only Stefan had heard about it being a great place for a burger. I had only heard about getting a great burger there earlier in the week due to a friends post on Facebook. Emily and Valerie had never heard of George’s at all based on our conversations.
You know what America? Georges makes a damn fine cheeseburger.
The cheeseburger comes on a really tasty whole wheat bun which is unexpected. The meat is perfectly cooked and may be the most evenly seasoned of all the burgers we tasted. The burger is also the first grilled burger we’ve eaten and the taste of the grill char is perfect. It made a liar of me when I said Farm Burger was the burger we all want to make at home. George’s makes the burger you want to make at home. There is no spiel about anything being organic or house made. The condiments all come from Heinze bottles. The cheese is probably from Kraft. And none of that matters. The burger is fine.
The toppings all fit the burger perfectly with the exception of the grilled onions which are haphazardly chopped, and it was only the bigger chunks that came out. The cheese melted perfectly as you can see in the picture. Emily brought up one thing that none of us had thought about before; the bun wasn’t soggy. So far all four burgers have been perfectly moist with no soggy bun like Eddie mentioned. It’s such a non-thought usually but there is an element of respect for the burger involved. When the burger is done, its brought out to the patron immediately not allowing the juices from the burger to seep into the bun. Instead they end up in your mouth where they belong.
The grade for this burger is an A. We all agreed. There was some dispute about the fact I took points away from Farm Burger for using regular condiments, but not deducting points at George’s for the same infraction. My reasoning is that since Farm Burger makes it a point of how much of their food is locally grown and house made that they set the expectation. The only only promise you a great burger at George’s and they deliver. I’d also like to add that this is the cheapest burger so far, its under $10 for a burger with onion rings.
For those keeping score at home the current ratings are as follows.
- Holeman & Finch
- Georges
- Farm Burger
- Bocado
Next up Grindhouse!
