FOTB- The Pearl

With a new year resolution to be more on top of things, it's nice that I finally got around to my top priorities- delicious burgers and cold beers! With how busy the year has been, it was nice to finally sit down and enjoy my first new burger adventure... Making the venture to the Pearl Hotel in Point Loma, I settled down for 2010's kickoff Fellowship of the Burger!

The Food: 2.5/5 Patties
Touting yourself as the "best burger in town" takes cojones- I love it! Unfortunately, the Pearl's burger doesn't back up it's claim... While the rest of the group felt that the burger was average, my burger was overcooked and since I write the reviews, pity the poor waitress who mixed up orders and served me that dry burger. The bun was a heart-wrenching: the chiabatta bun perfectly toasted was amazing; it was also too big for the patty, drowning the taste of the meat with bread. The Gouda cheese needed to be sliced thicker for more taste, but I applaud them for not overburdening the taste with it's strong flavor. The condiments were a nice addition as the aioli, tomatoes, and lettuce were just enough to add that to complement the burger.

The Drinks: 2.5/5 Pints
The beer list was quite appropriate, offering a reasonable selection of San Diego's local brews to sample. The prices were a bit high ($6+) for a pint, but since we came on Tuesday, the first brew was included in the price of the meal. Still, with that sort of price setting, you aren't going to get too many people ordering a second beer. Or third. The house cocktails were highly recommend by one of our members, and with names like "The Bee's Knees" and "Marie Antoinette," I'll be sure to come knock one back at the bar.

The Atmosphere: 5/5 Ladies
What an awesome place to grab a burger and beer! The outside is a bit understated, keeping it from the glitzy "Come On In" tourist trap and letting people-in-the-know enjoy a truly neat location. The inside bar has a hip, 70s vibe to it, instantly bringing a little more upbeat to your step. Where we enjoyed our food and drinks was outside. And how cool is eating outside? Not special... until you add a pool, a projector screen, and private booths. Watching a movie over a pool from the confines of a private booth is awesome!

Closing Remarks:
The $15 price tag for a burger and beer is a little high, especially considering that the burger is no more special than anything else in San Diego. However, where else will you be able to dine outside and watch a movie? Bring the lady here to show her that you know some hip spots. Just get her throwing back one of the house cocktails and she'll slip past the problem of you not knowing where to take her for a good burger...

FOTB- Bangin' Burgers

With San Diego Beer Week in full swing, we needed to check out a place to take advantage of a special without fighting the huge crowds that deals seem to attract. So we made our way over to Bangin' Burgers on Miramar Road. The doors opened only 5 weeks ago and they seem to be styling themselves as a sports bar, offering lots of specials during games.

The Food: 3/5 PattiesAwaiting the rest of our dinner companions, we chowed down some mozzarella bites which were very tasty and worth ordering as an appetizer. With a whopping 2 burger options to choose from, you can expand your order by purchasing add-ons or taking advantage of all the extras at the condiment bar. They offer their 1/2 pound "Signature" burger and their 1/4 pound "Lightweight" burger for $5.75 and $3.75 respectively. Toppings of cheese, bacon, and mushrooms run you about an extra 50 cents to dollar extra. I got a Signature burger, added some cheese, and chose to "Get it Bangin," which really just means they add thousand island/mayo sauce, or "secret" sauce. The burger was average, using store bought sesame buns to sandwich the meat patty. The meat wasn't exceptional and reminds you of a backyard barbecue, tasty and filling, but nothing outstanding. They have a huge condiment bar, so you can go crazy with various sauces, maybe add some jalapenos, or douse it with ketchup and mustard.

The Drinks: 4/5 Pints
Drinks are limited to beers, but they offer a good selection to choose from. They support local breweries, offering Stone, Alesmith, and Airdale as well as the macro beers to choose from. They offer their own house brew, but I would never order that (it's tragic when house beers are worse than PBR, but I guess that's why it won that blue ribbon...). You can get pints and pitchers and prices are reasonable to allow for a second or third. And if you show up during a sports game, be sure to take advantage of the prices.

The Atmosphere: 3/5
The place is a cavern. Which makes this ideal for sports, when people pack the place and it can get stuffy with lots of drinking, sweating, and shouting, but it makes it feel empty when there are minimal customers. There were a few couples eating and with lots of seating available, so it felt as if the place was empty. They offer a small bar and a pool table and there are lots of TVs placed around, making sure everyone has a view of the action.

Closing Remarks
Bangin' Burgers is nothing more than an average sports bar. Not a lot of options to choose from and everything is pretty standard fare. The food will leave you satisfied, but not excited. It's probably exciting during a game, but weeknights leave you with the impression that nobody comes here. But hey, there are a lot of beer options and it's reasonably priced, so at least you can get a good buzz here!

FOTB- True North Tavern

Choosing what I wanted in my burger became too tough to do (the endless possibilities), so I needed to check out a simple place. True North Tavern in North Park was that! Just 2 burgers to choose from (veggie burgers are not burgers!) off the menu.

The Food: 3.5/5 Stars
There aren't too many options for burgers at True North, so I decided to check out their BBQ Burger (at $9.50, it's not the cheapest). The burger was good, yet not outstanding. The meat had some flavor, but the taste was lost in the amount of BBQ sauce doused on it. But why stop with just hiding the flavor in one sauce, when you can add a heaping scoop of mayonnaise to the mix. Which was too bad, because the buns at True North were awesome. The bread had nice flavor and they were perfectly toasted. They held up well, even to the generous amount of sauce dripping on it. True North adds a fresh touch to their sides- they serve up some mean tater tots. Normally I need fries or onion rings with my burger, but this was a nice change, especially because the tots were so tasty.

The Drinks: 4/5 Stars
True North offers a wide selection of beers to choose from. Almost all the beverages are microbrews, so you can't really go too wrong with your choice. In addition, they have a full bar, so if you can't drink down the nectar of the gods (ambrosia is Greek for good beer- source, me) there are still plenty of options to choose from. While the beers aren't cheap (around $4-5), the happy hour price knocks off a buck, and if you aren't starving, wait until 7. After 7, almost all the microdrafts are only $3, not too expensive to keep you from having a second round.

The Atmosphere: 4/5 Stars
True North has a neat atmosphere about the place. It's slightly trendy looking, definitely appealing to the scenesters/hipsters dressed in their "unique" American Apparel outfits that frequent North Park. It attracts a slightly younger crowd, with people on dates as well as a group of friends huddled around the pool table. There is plenty of room and never feels too crowded. The waitress wasn't spectacular, but the bartender was really friendly.

Overall: 3.5/5 Stars
Gimme some tots! True North is a neat spot with some good vibe to the place. While the burgers aren't special, the burger flavor is smothered by the accompanying sauces, they are worth enjoying with a good beer and some tots. And the people watching is enjoyable as well.

FOTB- Boomerangs

After setting up the Pasadena chapter, we needed to get back to our roots and check out a place in San Diego. So no better idea than to check out how SD does build-your-burger. We went to Clairemont to see what Boomerangs Gourmet Burger Joint has to offer.

The Food: 3.5/5 StarsBoomerangs takes the idea of building your own personal burger and gives it a slight twist. You begin with your burger (1/3 pound burger starts at $8.99) and choose ingredients to mix into the meat. That's right, they're throwing away the idea of toppings and replacing it with mixing the ingredients in with the meat; don't worry, toppings aren't completely done away with and still exist, so you don't have to worry about finding lettuce and tomato mixed into the beef patty. The burgers are good, but they lack in a few areas. The ingredients are cooked in with the meat which means that you have inconsistent bites of flavor. Some bites are amazing and you get a taste of all the flavors, but other bites (especially around the edge of the patty) just taste like beef. And that's even if you can taste the beef. The buns are too thick and negate much of the flavor of your burger. The buns are good, but they need to be thinner as the thick serving takes away from the burger. The onion rings are worthy of a mention. The spiced onion rings are tasty and have enough of a kick, just make sure they you let them know you want them cooked thoroughly-- some of our orders, the batter was undercooked and tasted too much like flour.

The Drinks: 5/5 Stars
It's tough to beat $10 pitchers of beer. And I'm not talking about macrobrew piss trying to pass itself off as beer or happy hour prices. Boomerangs offers this deal all day Monday and Tuesday and it's tough (well, not really) to look past their wine and martini offerings and stick to throwing back pitchers of beer. Good beer too! Boomerangs make sure it has a wide variety of beers from Moose Drool (a favorite brown ale) to Red Rocket (red ale) to Stone IPA (India pale ale for those who have never moved past wine coolers).

The Atmosphere: 4/5 Stars
It's easy to drive past this place because the building is nondescript and blends into its surroundings, but being on a corner, it's easy to give directions to find it (even Asian females wouldn't have a problem finding it, that is, if they decided to come, not that I'm singling anyone out). There is a small garden inside the courtyard which is unique and there paintings hanging on the walls are for sale, giving it a community feel. The restaurant is 2 floors and the seating is spread out, so you never feel crowded. The waiters/bartenders (owners I believe) are fabulously friendly and more than willing to help out with any request (finding extension cords to charge electric vehicles and preempting requests for pitcher refills). I wish I had taken a picture of what one was wearing, because it stands out the most as far as decorations go.

Overall: 3.5/5 Stars
Boomerangs is a neat place to check out. They offer unique burgers that aren't the best, but tasty. $10 pitcher specials are tough to find anywhere, and I doubt such a deal can be beat in San Diego. The staff is extremely friendly and willing to accommodate any needs (the fore-mentioned effort to make sure the electric vehicle could get plugged in). Go for a burger on a Monday or Tuesday and you'll find some excuse to reward yourself with a cheap pitcher
of beer.