Tag: hamburgers

BACHI BURGER Tasty and Not-So-Tasty Snaps

[nggallery id=721]

Before we leave Bachi Burger for good…and we mean for good, we thought we’d share some tasty, and not-so-tasty snaps of our second meal there.

As we said in the review, the chili chicken and kalbi burger were great. (We forgot to mention how good our fries were as well.) But once you get into the other “Asian” sandwiches, you might as well bring a bucket of water and a cardiologist.

‘Nuff said. We’re going to go back to eating good (we hope), overpriced Strip food for a while…and concentrate on being the high-brow, elitist, condescending, imperious, omnipresent and omniscient food critic for which we are known.

BACHI BURGER

[nggallery id=721]

Have you been to Bachi Burger? Is the question every semi-foodie, foodie-wannabe, and psuedo-hipster-foodie has asked ELV in the past few weeks.

And after one meal there, we’ve decided that’s just who this place is aimed at.

‘Cuz it sure ain’t aimed at people who love great hamburgers.

Unless you define a good burger as one that’s packed so tightly you’d swear it just came out of a freezer, is overcooked to death, and under seasoned to boot.

“Oh, but you’ve gotta try the Banh Mi burger,” they all told me. “It’s fabulous!”

It is if your definition of fabulous is, an overcooked mishmash of beef and pork, that’s once again way too dense and dry, and garnished with a piece of Vietnamese shrimp ball and a smattering of pickled vegetables.

“And you’ve gotta get the duck buns….Wow! They’re the best!” was yet another refrain we’ve heard from eaters who are apparently so starved for something that’s not a five dollar foot long, they’ll go ga-ga over the saltiest pieces of duck breast we’ve had in a coon’s age.

How salty were our Peking duck buns?

They were so salty:

– We’ll never be in danger of drowning again.

– Deer were lining up at the back door for a lick.

– The Mclhenny Company wants to mine them for Tabasco Sauce.

– The Dead Sea is jealous.

– Frito-Lay wants the recipe.

– Mormons are making pilgrimages here.

You get the picture.

Our guess is the enthusiasm over Bachi Burger is because it’s not a chain and it’s something new.

But finely ground, tightly packed, overcooked meat does not a great burger make.

Nor do lame imitations of Momofuku-type steamed bun sandwiches.

On the plus side, the burger buns were soft, sweet, eggy and fresh, and were, in retrospect, the best thing about the sandwiches.

It’s all very depressing to ELV, because, once again, some chef or restaurateur (cf. Lola’s, Carlito’s Burritos) strikes out with a good idea, and then can’t execute it, either because they’re undercapitalized, understaffed, or just plain too un-talented to pull it off.

Or maybe they will pull it off. Because people here are so starved for something different they’ll overlook the poor execution.

Or maybe that execution will improve.

Hope springs eternal.

BACHI BURGER

470 East Windmill Suite #100

Las Vegas, NV 89123

702.242.2244

http://www.bachiburger.com/

SMASHBURGER

[nggallery id=653]

We tried a couple of Smashburgers yesterday, a couple of days into its opening, and found them surprisingly beefy, well-seasoned, just the right degree of greasy, and encased in a nice, squishy, fresh and eggy bun. (In other words, it was everything our burger at Grind wasn’t.)

We weren’t as thrilled with the gigantic salad — under-dressed and topped with insanely oversalted fried onions — but Slapsie Maxie loved the two fried eggs that adorned its top, so we’ll give it a pass.

Besides, who orders a friggin’ salad at a burger joint anyway?

Our 1/3 lb. cheeseburger, decent vanilla malt, and forgettable fries came to $11.49. We left a buck-fifty tip.

Just thought you’d like to know.

SMASHBURGER

7541 West Lake Mead Suite 2

Las Vegas, NV 89128