Three Burgers - One Night

The Joe Biden Burger - Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage 

Did you know that May is National Burger Month? That's right, a whole month devoted and dedicated to my near and dear friend, the burger. Obviously this is cause for celebration and there will be many burger-related festivities and events taking place this month. To get things started, Burger Boy and I went on a mini-burger crawl this week, pitting three of the most talked about burgers in Harvard Square against each other: Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage, Flat Patties and Charlie's Kitchen. Sure, it was gluttonous (even if all three burgers were split) but finding the best burger in Boston is no easy feat and sometimes it takes an evening such as this to get to the bottom of it all.

Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage

The first stop on our tour was the famed Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage. Home to quite the list of burgers bearing kitschy names and decorated walls to match, I'd argue that this is one of the most talked about burger spots in the Greater Boston area. While we sat like sardines at our closely packed-in table, we got into a discussion on how much atmosphere plays into food. To me, Bartley's is the type of atmosphere that you'd want for a great burger spot, that hole-in-the-wall type feel, service with a little attitude and a constantly packed, no-frills dining room. It also receives strong, frequent and extremely positive press which I think adds to the overall impression as well. When everyone says that something is so fantastic, it's hard to not factor that in to your own impression. Taking all of this into account, as I sat there, biting into The Joe Biden Burger ($10.85), a BBQ sauce drenched, under-seasoned, medium (not medium rare as requested) burger topped with unmelted (ugh..) American cheese, crispy bacon (hooray!) on a flimsy sesame bun, I wondered what the hype was all about.  Nothing, I suspect, save the actual burger, was house-made. Is this really the best Boston (okay fine, Cambridge) can do?

Cheeseburger - Flat Patties 

Flat Patties

Moving on with the crawl, we sampled Flat Patties, a small and much more modern place serving up "west coast style" (i.e. a flat patty...) burgers at crazy reasonable prices (a simple cheeseburger will set you back $4.35 and if you want fries with that, tack on an extra $1.75). Being an order-at-the-counter style establishment, you can watch the burger being griddled up, frying in it's own juices and creating a just greasy enough to still be delicious burger. The burger itself sustained a pleasant crispiness from the griddle while the inside had pink hues to it. The bun didn't have any memorable qualities to it but it was soft and fit the burger perfectly. While I think that this is an exceptional burger, this opens up the conversation of whether or not a flat patty burger will ever be king in Boston.

Double Cheeseburger - Charlie's Kitchen

Our third and final burger was from Charlie's Kitchen, famed for its double cheeseburger ($5.25 + $1.00 extra for waffle fries). Charlie's has that grungy-diner feel with blaring music and a dark interior, lit only by flashy, outdated neon lights. I give them bonus points for offering up my beloved waffle fries (why I have such an obsession I'll never know) but they have a off taste to them (old oil in the frialator perhaps?). The burger is thin patties again but very gristly, lackluster and served on a hearty and boring sesame bun. Again I bring up the subject of atmosphere and situation. This burger is the type that you order with a big group of friends after  a long evening of drinking and not something you go out of your way for. If you're out laughing and having a great time over a couple beers, does an average burger taste better?

If asked to rank the three of these burgers, my list would look like this: Flat Patties, Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage, Charlie's Kitchen. Anyone else out there have burgers from these three spots? Let's get the discussion going, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Stay tuned for other exciting burger news....it's going to be a big month!