Burgerim is an up and coming fast food franchise, which, I'm going to guess probably originated in Los Angeles, judging by the heat map: Now - here is the thing. Some of the locations profess to be halal. How can you be halal if you have bacon? There is bacon on the menu. That is not halal. Maybe they do not have bacon. They do however have some interesting burger options. You can get a lamb burger if you want. You can get a falafel burger if you want. Lamb is halal. Falafel is halal. As is beef and chicken. I might have reviewed the lamb burger but decided to do the beef burger. This is what they want you to see: This is what you get: Well, what I got anyway: There are two basic requirements that I have in a burger joint: 1: They need to offer burgers. I mean, I guess by definition a burger joint needs to offer burgers. But they also need to offer lettuce wrap. Burgerim offers lettuce wrap. And they need to offer side salads. I kind of waive that requirement for Inn n Out, but as you can see, the above is Burgerim's rendition of a lettuce wrapped burger, and a side Ceasar salad. So let's talk about the burger: It is what they term the Spanish Beef burger. It is a 1/3 pound, griddle fried patty, with some Spanish type toppings on it. The taste was fine, but, something bothered me a little bit. It seemed... lean. Lean on the other things that give volume to the burger, like tomatoes and onions and things like that. It was basically just a burger with sauce on top between a couple pieces of lettuce. The burger was juicy but more on the greasy side than the juicy side. Now here is the thing about sizing: 1/3 pound is an awkward size. Normally I like 1/2 pound for lunch and 1 lb for dinner. I can get there by having a double and a single for dinner (an extra patty is $2.99) but lunch ends up being too little or too much. I got a single, but I should have gotten a double. There are also 3 oz patty options. Those are just too small, although three would be about right. Now, on the salad. Kudos that they have one, but it's basically some shredded romaine plus you get a small tub of dressing that isn't really enough. And it's like four bucks. Habit will give you a squared away Ceasar salad with the dressing tossed in, topped with fresh shaved parmesan and it's a buck cheaper. The cost: The whole deal, single patty burger and side salad was north of twelve bucks, and that is without drink. A double at Habit or Carl's with a salad is about ten, and you get more. They do however have some interesting and expanded topping options, which is refreshing. Now here is the odd thing. They have wine and beer, and even have a couple draft beers on tap. This is a storefront franchise fast food restaurant. I do not see myself hanging out drinking in a storefront fast food franchise restaurant. It's kind of like drinking in the nail salon. I'm not even sure they WANT people hanging out and drinking. Which brings us to the other point - normally in countries where halal is an issue, alcohol is an issue too. The Burgerim in Kandahar will probably not have alcohol. Or bacon. Actually it probably makes more sense to have alcohol in the nail salon. You aren't going anywhere for a while anyway, so why not. On a scale of 1 to 5 I would give them about a 3.5. I'd probably try it again, but I'd probably go with a double, and maybe ditch the salad because it didn't really meet expectations. If they were half the price, I'd probably up them to a 4. Now the name: Burgerim. Burger, I am? Burger rim? Burger instant message? Maybe the name and initial of the creator, Burgeri Mustoffah? Dunno. Can't figure that one out.
I had to look it up because I've never heard of the chain. And I live in the OC, so not far away. Apparently "BurgerIm" translates to "many burgers" in Hebrew. I think it might be OK, but I'll stick to In-n-Out Double Double Animal Style, Protein Style. Yum!
Well that is confounding, because halal infers an Islamic root, and differs from kosher standards in that shellfish are allowed. But yeah, my standard fare at Inn n Out is two protein style double doubles. I had to Google animal style. I'm not sure how I'd be with mustard fried in. Maybe I'll give it a shot one of these days.
Me too. With onion. Yum Yum!!! The cooked-in mustard gives the patty a good zing. Really tasty. Animal style gets pickle slices as well.
Take it from a guy who has worked at the same burger place for 24 years, that was excellent analysis! Ps. Mustard fried is delicious. Especially if you like pickles. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Cause habanero, jalapeño and cheese are all Spanish words. K so 2 out of 3 are but still......... See what I did there?
Wine at a burger joint?? Burgers like be about beer. That’s all ya need to know about why the weird name.
I went in one day just wanting a small bite. Asked for one burger ala carte...the wouldn't do it, you could ONLY buy a duo or trio combo. Not bad but haven't been back since then. I can't see the one near my house surviving. They opened in a hole in the wall location with literally only three tables inside and four outside...and just down the street from the long established best quick serve burger joint in town with full bar...plus my town generally shies away from "chains".
Kind of the same deal, one is in the process of opening up just 250ft down the street from one of the best burger joints in town. It had better be very good to keep me from the neighborhood mom-n-pop joint that is very good.
Interesting because they were apparently on the brink of bankruptcy a few months ago and it would seem that the founder fled the country. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/emerging-brands/burgerim-disaster
That kinda explains what every one I have been in it feels like they have no idea what they are doing.
Does anyone else have trouble taking a review of a burger joint seriously when the reviewer eats it on a leaf? I mean, this is right up there with the person that reviews a recipe for chicken piccata and says: “1 star. Not very good. I don’t like lemon or capers so I eliminated that. Then it was dry so I added some marinara sauce and heavy cream. My son doesn’t eat chicken so I replaced that with ground beef. I’m gluten free, so we used quinoa pasta. It just wasn’t a very good recipe. Won’t make this again” Ok, it isn’t quite that bad, but a burger on a leaf? The leaf is supposed to be inside the bun.
"Tried to amend my carnivorous habit Made it nearly seventy days Losing weight without speed eating sunflower seeds Drinking lots of carrot juice and soaking up rays But at night I'd have these wonderful dreams Some kind of sensuous treat Not zucchini fettucini or bulgur wheat But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat Cheeseburger in paradise Heaven on earth with an onion slice Not too particular not too precise I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise..."
Speaking of buns, that is another notable observation. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...reate-worlds-first-keto-burger-300930161.html They offer a "gluten free" bun, which they claim is keto. Here's the thing: The main ingredients are almond flower (yes) and flax seed (no) and it is like 210 calories. You're better off with the wheat bun (unless you are like me and have celiac disease.) Actually, I can probably eat one set of buns a week and be okay, but I don't eat them for other reasons. I do not miss buns. Let me rephrase that. I like 'miss buns' but those actually are keto.
One opened here in a poor strip mall location up against a good bar and a super street taco place. It’s always empty. Their only location based “hook” is that the strip mall parking lot adjoins a new tiny ER and a medical imagery business, which I how I found them for lunch one day. Overpriced and nothing to write home about. I’ve given them two shots, once with a family member along, to see if it was a one time thing. Nope.
By the way the signage here is set like this: BurgerIM Which I read as ... Burger Instant Messenger LOL.
My take on it. And by the way, they set up in retail storefronts not equipped with fume hoods and grease traps. That works for sandwich shops where things are not actually cooked except perhaps by a small warmer, but it's sort of hokey for a burger joint.
This has been bugging me since you posted it because I want to go look but have no real reason to be over there. LOL.
