Mixed emotions about BGR burger joint in Coral Gables

I wanted to try Fatburger in Coral Gables, but when I got there, it turns out the place had been replaced for a different burger joint, BGR The Burger Joint.

BGR is a chain of burger restaurants, with three locations in Miami and several more spread throughout nine states.

Once inside, the place’s décor was somewhat confusing. Eighties rock band posters lined the walls, yet everything else—from the tables to the floors—looked more like a hybrid between a McDonalds and an Art Deco diner.

The burger joint is self serving; you order your food at the counter, get your soft drink, plastic silverware and ketchup, and once the order is ready they bring it to your table and never come back again.

The burger offerings were quite gourmet, which was surprising given the look of the place. It’s definitely not cheap, with burgers ranging from $8 to $15, and one 9-pound monster burger for $80. Here’s the burger menu:

The Burger: This burger doesn’t have a description, all it says is “this is the one that put us on the map.” Served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun.

Veggie Burger: House-made recipe including brown rice, black beans, oats and molasses. Served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun. Specify lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mojo sauce.

Turkey Burger: Freshly ground and blended with portobello mushrooms and a hint of gorgonzola cheese, then cooked sous vide (very low and slow). Served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun.

The Cuban: Burger topped with slow roasted pork, ham, sweet pickles, dijon mustard and swiss cheese. Served on our brioche bun and grill pressed.

The Greek: Fresh ground leg of lamb, seasoned with cumin, mint and garlic. Topped with tzatziki sauce and feta cheese. Served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun.

Ahi Tuna: Sushi-grade tuna topped with grilled pineapple, pickled ginger, a touch of teriyaki sauce, and our mojo sauce. Served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun.

The Wellington: Roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, garlic with a touch of mustard seed and blue cheese all atop our burger. Served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun with our mojo sauce.

The Southwestern: A 9oz burger infused with southwestern influences, like chipotles, poblanos, onion and chilis. Topped with pepper jack and served atop our black bean salsa. Served on a fresh, buttery-toasted brioche bun with our mojo sauce.

The Lobster (seasonal): Lump claw and knuckle meat pulled from Maine Lobsters, served on our slider buns with a special dressing and crisp cold lettuce.

The 9 Pounder: Actual weight including bun and condiments is 15.4 pounds. Two heads of lettuce, eight tomatoes, three red onions, four whole pickles and a river of our mojo. Comes with a bottle of Maalox. If one person can eat it in one sitting it’s free. Feeds approx 10-15.

I had the Wellington and the Greek

The Wellington

The patty had a really smoky flavor and a chunky grounding, which I really liked. The main stars of the burger were the combination between the mustard seed and the blue cheese; the two flavors are very strong by themselves but when meshed together made for a great sauce. Then there were the roasted mushrooms and black truffles. This fungi duo added great texture and an earthy flavor to complement the patty and the sauce.

If anybody told you they would put all these ingredients together, I’m sure you would probably say it wouldn’t work, but it did. It was the Picasso of burgers.

The only issue I had with the burger was that I ordered it cooked medium-well and it was done medium-rare. The red juices dripping into the bun were kind of a turn off.

The Greek burger was a major disappointment.

In the menu it said that the burger had been featured on Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” and had actually beaten the grilling master.

The flavor profile was just too mild, nothing stood out except the mountain of feta cheese on top of the patty. It was so-not memorable than I even forgot to shoot photos of it.

Overall, I can’t really make my mind on whether I liked BGR The Burger Joint or not. I think it’s expensive for what it offers, but it also makes me want to go back and try other burgers.

This is what other bloggers are saying about BGR The Burger Joint:

Fatgirl Hedonist on the Greek burger:

The bun was a freshly baked, soft brioche topped sesame seeds. The seasoning on the burger was amazing and the meat was tender and insanely flavorful. The tzatziki sauce was also fresh and and very creamy and played perfectly with the feta cheese and super fine cucumbers.

Food for Thought on the Cuban burger:

My initial foray into BGR-ville was the "Cuban." Before getting to the toppings, let's focus on the burger itself. On the plus side, it's cooked to order and to requested degree of doneness - and my requested medium was in fact delivered. But texturally, this burger was unusually dense and monolithic, despite being cooked only to medium temperature. It felt like a solid block of meat, more meatloaf than burger, with no tenderness to it. And while I liked the idea of a Cuban burger, the toppings turned the thing into a salt lick. I usually have a pretty high threshold for aggressive seasoning, but between the salty pork, the salty ham, and the salty cheese, I was in the market for hypertension medication before I finished it. A light, fluffy brioche bun was rendered irrelevant by being pressed, Cuban sandwich style.