Establishment: Burger 21
Location: Ft. Lauderdale
Meal: Dinner
Drink: fountain Sproke (half Sprite, half Coke)
Appetizer: n/a
Main: The OMG! (add fried egg ... or don't)our double-stacked burger, lettuce, tomato, red onion, applewood-smoked bacon, American, cheddar or Swiss cheese, toasted brioche bun
Side(s): Cheese and Ale Fries
topped with chopped bacon & fresh scallions
Dessert: Bananas Foster shake (minus a banana or two)
Server: Janice (more of an order taker as it was counter service style)
Long before the 50 Tastes of Florida, there was the Burger Quest ... me going to all the "best burger" restaurants across the country as picked by Zagat in 2013 (or 2014?), so it's no surprise that a few of the tastes in this countdown have happened at burger joints. The latest was this week, an expanding chain (possibly in your state), that started in Tampa FL from the owners of The Melting Pot fondue dynasty. The name comes from the fact that there are 20 burgers (not all meat based) on their menu PLUS a rotating special that is the 21st one. To see how they scored on the Troy scale, check out what follows:
AMBIANCE: 8/10 (kudos for the clever "B something" slogans on the walls [known as their B-isms] and I do so love me a booth that is comfy and spaced properly for adults at which to eat, so I was happy with the seating arrangements ... although with super high ceilings and super bright lights everywhere, the feeling was more clinical than comfy [those booth cushions notwithstanding] so a point lost ... and a second point lost because, a full 90 minutes prior to close, the employee started "pre-close" procedures of stacking chairs in the back of the space ... which wasn't big enough to go unnoticed -- that activity just throws off the vibe of enjoying the meal, especially when executed so far away from closing time)
FOOD: 7/10 (without a doubt the main feature of the burger was indeed the star and looked beautiful all stacked so nicely upon delivery, and it passed my test of being a sandwich you don't put down once you start, even if the juices go running down your arm ... sadly, though, I had ordered a fried egg add on and the kitchen ignored that part of the order [a point lost], and that cheese and ale sauce was 90% ale and only 10% cheese, such that it was a liquid into which fries were dipped and wetted instead of the classic consistency of something that could be dumped on the fries [so another point lost] and the shake, although good in its own right, was shorted one of its banana components because they had run out [so a third point lost])
SERVICE: 10/10 (it is really a shame that the overall experience didn't match the level of service, which was on point from start to finish ... which included the order taker who took the time to explain the "concept", and the shake maker who upgraded the size of the dessert upon discovering the lack of banana, and the person who I think might have been the manager who offered to bring me out a fried egg right away upon being told it was missed [except I had already had a few bites of the sandwich, so that opportunity had passed] and then reacted to that by slipping our table coupons to be used at a return visit ... and even when they weren't directly interacting with us, they were chatting with every guest and smiling and laughing and having a good time [except the manager, who chose not to smile during our encounter for some reason])
BACON: 5/10 (although the menu at a place like this that lets you add bacon "at will" would normally result in a perfect score ... there is nothing more frustrating than seeing the bacon in the ale sauce that you know should be on your fries but you can't make it stick to them because the viscosity was all wrong ... I'm tempted to wipe out all the bacon points for being forced to throw bacon away ... but instead I'll just do that to half)
BONUS: 7/10 (+3 for that stacked burger seeing as how I am particularly fond of the burgers, +3 for the "sauce bar", which included the regular mayo and ketchup but also had things like roasted marshmallow [for the sweet potato fries] and chipotle mayo and apple cider sauce and +1 for being a place to which we will return if only because I have those "sorry about your fried egg" coupons to use)
TroyScore: 37 out of 50 -- aka 74, a solid C
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