Pint Pub

A surprise entry into the BQ. Pints pub. Because all great Quests started in England, we figured why not make the last quest a tribute to the motherland.
Plus, it was a rainy day and a pint at a British pub sounded great.

Well, true to fashion, Pints calls their burgers "whimpy's" (whimpies?). Being an anglophile, I loved them already. The rest of the questers were in the mood to pose as Brits, so Pints had a point on their side already. I cheated ever-so-slightly by getting dill havarti rather than cheddar on my burger. Sue me, alright? I've been good the whole quest, and I'm lunching in Britain, so rules are off.
See how cute and British it is? Deeelish. Alright, so it wasn't cooked properly - a little overdone. But it was served with chips, so I forgive them.
Pints isn't going to win any prize in the over $5 category, but it gets points for cute British-ness.

City Grill

One word for our Quest to City Grill - OVERRATED!
Boy, for as much hype as is posted on the side of their building, I don't know what City Grill has that Applebees doesn't.
I did as I normally do while questing, enter with an open-mind, order a medium rare with chee and cast my judgment. Even with 90+ temperatures indoors, and extra, extra, extra long wait for everything, warm beers from the tap and crap service, I didn't judge (ish).


After sitting at the bar for nearly an hour and a half, the Questers finally, FINALLY, got their burgers which, to our dismay, were served on Ciabatta buns.
What? No one prepared me for this. I was expecting a hamburger bun, a freaking sesame seed bun. But, ciabatta?!?!?! WTF. It drowned the taste of the burger. Bun:Burger was totally off. If it weren't for the grilled onions that come standard with every burger I might have thrown this one against the wall with my hot-from-the-tap PBR following closely behind. Maybe it was an off day, but "Denver's Best Hamburger" was everything but, in my opinion.
No judges necessary. City Grill, you're dead to me.

Tom's Diner

Serendipitously, we ended up at Tom's Diner for Burger Quest Week 7. Originally, we thought it was time to decide for ourselves if City Grill was indeed "the best burger in Denver" as they claim. However, we were shunned as soon as we walked in the door. "Sorry folks. Hood's broken. No burgers today."
Stranded on the hot pavement of Colfax Avenue we were forced to make a decision. The nearest establishment with meat on a bun was Tom's Diner.And dine we did.
In this bastion of retrofried goodness, we found a contender for Best Burger over $5.
Tom surprised us with a toasty grilled bun, crispy leafy lettuce, fresh tomato, melty Cheddar Chee, pickles atop a perfectly grilled, medium burger.

As you can clearly see, it was a burger of near perfection. Not since the Cherry Cricket has there been so much silence and so many happy, full mouths. The way the burger melted together once inside your mouth was, well it was satisfying. There were 3-4 distinctly identifiable tastes in each bite, which is really all anyone can ask for when eating a burger.
Happily plumped full of red meat, all Questers agreed that City Grille has a lot to live up to.

Judges:

Though my burger rating skills are rusty, I would give it an 8. I felt sad when it was gone.

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8
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HOLY F*CKING SH*T!!!!!!!
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My afternoon food coma should attest to the quality of the burger.
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If i was to die and become a hamburger I would want to be a burger at Toms

Next: Back to City Grill

The Butcher Block

Guess what kids? The Quest is back on.

With little ceremony or planning, off we went to The Butcher Block. With an entrance like this, it's bound to be good.
And it was. This was the perfect spot for the comeback Quest. It falls into the under $5 category, as a Burger with Chee, side of fries, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, onions runs ya $4.50. Friends, in this day and age, that's called a d-e-a-l.As you can plainly see, this is just what the doctor ordered. A nicely portioned burger with melted patriotic American Chee on a toasty bun. I was given the option of tomato, onion, lettuce (iceberg, mmmm) or mayo. Or? Can't I get them all? Yes. Yes. Settle down. They'll throw all of it on the plate for free. The burger lacks a bit of zest, and they sure aren't asking how you want it cooked, but really, it's called The Butcher Block. So, what do you expect?
As an added bonus, there's a pleasant soundtrack of yapping mechanics in the background.

It might not be the overall category winner, but it made a strong showing.

Heather couldn't make it for the grilled cheese today. She was too busy being a pussy at home.

Judges:

Probably a 7

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eh, 6 ish

Cherry Cricket

Well friends, what is better than a Cricket Burger, a beer and a warm day? Ok, well lots of things actually. But, in respect to Burger Quest, nothing really comes close. We had intended to go to The Butcher Block, but it was 72 º and basically perfect, so the patio at the Cricket won.A true medium cooked all-beef hamburger topped lovingly with american cheese (that's freedom cheese to you patriots), tomatoes (salmonella-free), and romaine lettuce laid to rest on a toasty bun, served in a waxed paper basket with a pickle spear for $4.90. Yes, since you asked, this is pretty close to what Man intended when he invented hamburgers.
The Cutaway:Could you not eat that all day long? Well, um, actually no. You'd be sick. But, that's a damned tasty burger isn't it? Unlike other burger venues we've quested, you can actually tastes the delicious meatiness. The cheese melted on the burger and the joyous cold crisp of tomato and lettuce is the exact taste one is looking for in a no-frills, top-level cheeseburger.

Judging by the absence of burgers in everyone's baskets, you can assume that all Questers were incredibly pleased.

Judges:

Best burger so far. Best bun, juicy burger, great table, fantastic company.
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8
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*Burp* Fan-frickin-tastic.

Next week: The Butcher Block...seriously.

Week off

After four straight weeks of Burger Questing, we decided to take a week off, lest we start looking like this:
Next week, we're back on and headed for The Butchers Block.

My Brother's Bar

Into the above $5 category we quest. The first stop, My Brother's Bar. Now, if you live in Denver, and you like burgers and fine imported beers, you've been to My Brother's bar. There are many options for burgers - The Ralphie (bison), the JCB (jalapeno cream cheese burger), the Johnny (gr. onions and three cheeses). And because of this, the Burger Quest really fell apart. Some questers felt there was no way they could merely eat a cheese burger when they could devour a specialty burger. Well, dissenters, you failed the quest this time. I myself held true to the Quest rules and stuck with a cheeseburger.
As you can see, it was incredibly satisfying. IN fact, this is the only picture of our Quest to My Brother's because I was too busy sucking face with my burger. It's cooked medium, super juicy on a soft, slightly grilled bun. Served with a caddy of condiments (jalapeno peppers, pickles, onions), it's truly a divine burger experience. Just an all-beef patty, perfectly grilled on a bun. Sometimes, that's all it takes. Don't put sauce or pickles or ketchup on the burger. Let me be the judge of what condiments are right.

So, as the first stop in the over $5 burger category, Mr Brother's Bar ranks quite high.

Oh, Heather the Vegetarian took this quest off and went for a vegetarian reuben. Figures.

Judges:

Burger - 10 (Johnny Burger)
Fries - 9
Orings - 8
Fountain Coke - 1

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Burger: 7
Good meat and not overcooked with some pink left.Bun is higher grade bread adding to the experience.

Fries: 6

The use of Canola oil robbed it of some that good ol fried taste.

Thicker cut and cooked well.

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JCB - the only burger I know at My Brothers. It's never given me a reason to cheat and even look at another burger. My taste buds are tap dancing like Gregory Hines in White Nights.

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JCB is simply the best.

Next Week: The Cherry Cricket