3.25.2011

Is Boston's Best Burger at Asana?


For every dish that's been done time and time and again, there's always something that can be added to change things up a bit and make it exciting all over again. I love when it's obvious how much thought goes into a dish and when something as simple as a hamburger can be totally unique, setting itself apart from the others and making for a memorable experience, all the better. You wouldn't know it to look at it, but the burger at Asana has a special surprise. Hiding inside the grilled meat is a poached egg.  Working your knife through the freshly baked bun, mess of caramelized onions and sweet roasted tomato, you'll hit meat and egg, leaving a deliciously sunny pool of yolk on your plate.


I had never seen a burger with a poached egg in the center and I'm not sure why I haven't. It's just brilliant.  The yolk creates a thick messy sauce that requires some serious use of a napkin.  As mentioned before, the burger is topped with super thin caramelize onions that compliment sweet and jammy roasted tomatoes.  I loved the addition of the tomato because as we know, tomatoes right now are just no good, but roasting a tomato at any time of the year is a completely different subject.  It provided such a great flavor that for the first time in I don't know how long, I didn't top my burger with any mustard or additional sauce.  There was just no need for it.


That being said, there were a couple of minor misses. Me, being the cheese-aholic that I am, I missed not having cheese on my burger. The average person probably wouldn't have even noticed because there was already so much going on but I couldn't help it, I missed it. Additionally, I thought that the fries were lacking just a bit. The burger is so dressed up and beautifully presented, the fries paled (literally) in comparison.  Although seasoned well, I thought that for a $22 burger there was just a little something missing on the fry front.


At the end of the meal, Burger Boy and I were surprised with a special dessert courtesy of the oh-so talented Chef Nelson, Executive Pastry Chef at Asana who I met back in February. He treated us to a sneak peek at the restaurant's Meyer Lemon inspired April dessert.  Beautifully and artistically composed and tasting delightfully refreshing and tangy, this was a great way to finish up a great afternoon lunch.

12 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Mmm Asana desserts

Frederick Wright said...

I really look forward to these burger discoveries! The poached egg idea sounds amazing but those fries really need here - was it just bad lighting or am I getting spoiled by fabulous fries over at Saus?

The Small Boston Kitchen said...

Thanks Frederick! The burger was awesome and the fries tasted better than they looked in this picture. They were nice and salty, just wish they had more color or something a little extra to them! Need to try Saus!

brandi said...

i think I need that burger!

Delicious Dishings said...

That burger looks amazing despite the lackluster fries. Must try.

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

I love the idea of having a poached egg IN the burger. Awesome!

Kristen said...

poached egg INSIDE!? brilliant. i must try this. if only they could throw some cheese on there and spice up those fries.

Medium Dead said...

First of all those are great pictures. Second that burger looks and sounds awesome. What a unique twist on the classic burger with egg. The burger does look a little off without the cheese, but I think I could get over it. I most definitely need to check this one out.

Jen said...

Wow a burger with a poached egg inside it! Sounds awesome. Bummer the fries were a let down.

Brian Samuels Photography said...

I'm going to have to tell E about this burger. He'll go crazy over it (might even forget there's no cheese). :-)

Boston Food Diary said...

mmmmm poached egg...craddled in a burger...mmmmmm Looks amazing despite the cheese snafu (did I spell that right?) and the fry fiasco (all about alliteration today)

Justin said...

A poached egg inside of a burger just sounds so great! Did the egg inside affect how the burger was cooked?

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