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Burgers on the Edge, a closer look
More Burgers on the Edge Reviews!
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Big Ed chronicles the recent Burger Genius Award Finalists! |
 Melissa Chang on Edge Burgers for Metromix! |
 Yelper's on Burgers on the Edge Kapahulu! |
 Urbanspoon independant reviewers! |
Check out the official site!
Aloha!
8/19/10 - I remember when Burgers on the Edge opened a couple of years back. While professional accounts were mostly positive, Yelper's and other independant reviewers were pretty darn merciless, at least at first. Stories of crumbly ciabatta buns, wierd combinations, and most of all, double-take-high prices, were beginning to get out of hand. Nowadays, however, I don't hear anything at all regarding buns falling apart. Equally nill are any mention of wierd combinations, which are actually starting to look more and more like strokes of genius, and simply a few steps ahead of most of us stuck in the world of burger-normal. And about prices? Well, yeah, they're still pretty high, but next to The Counter, Islands Burger, and other modern burger joints attempting to up the ante in every way - it's not anything different at all.
Can't say anything about the past, as I haven't been able to sample Burgers on the Edge until quite recently, but in my humble opinion I'd say this place does a pretty darn excellent burger!
You probably already know that this is a creation of Wes Zane and Elmer Arcano, the same owners as Formaggio, Caliente del Sol, and Good to Grill, the latter two of which are located in the very same shopping center as Burgers on the Edge. The largest tenant there, of course, is Safeway, with a much-heralded superstore garnering lots and lots of upscale attention since opening a few years back. Here's a couple of interactive maps to get you there:
Instead of being recessed back-away from the main road of Kapahulu Blvd., behind the large parking lot where Safeway and most of the other stores sit, Burgers on the Edge stands alone in its own structure fronting the lot, almost directly on the main street. Just outside the store, simple outdoor furniture is available for seating. Most times, umbrella's provide plenty of protection, but you never know when the rising or falling sun begins hitting extreme angles. On our particular visit, conditions were just right, with nothing but shade and a comfortable island breeze to keep us nice 'n cool on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Inside, there's also a few seating arrangements, but being so small, it's mostly a place to order and pay for your food:
From here, it's all about decisions, decisions, decisions! Like Wahoo's Fish Taco on Ward, you have the opportunity to build your own creation from scratch, with no less than five different elements to deal with. Though there's always a chipper, enthusiastic, youthful-minded employee with an A+ for good attitude (and I'm not being sarcastic!) standing there to help you understand the system, there's always gonna be lots of undecided people standing around, so it's better to be prepared by knowing what to expect so you can decisively muscle your way to the front of the crowd and get your order-in, pronto!
Here's a general run-down of what you'll need to deal with (You can see all the choices and sub-choices at their official site, link above, but I'm just giving you an idea of the whole here):
Type of bun (regular, whole wheat, or lettuce bowl)
Type of burger (Wagyu "Kobe-style" or chuck; also available - chicken, ground turkey, veggie)
Type of cheese (10 different varieties; choice of 1 - Danish Havarti, pepper Jack, bleu cheese, Meunster, etc.)
Type of dressing or sauce (17 different varieties; choice of 1 - jalapeno ketchup, roasted garlic aioli, Russian dressing, garlic hoisin, basil pesto, etc.) )
Type of topping (21 different elements; choice of 4 - green leaf lettuce, hickory-smoked bacon, roasted red peppers, cranberry relish, kim chee, dill pickle chips, etc.)
Unless you go over the allotted amounts of items for any of the above-mentioned, a 1/3 lb. chuck burger w/fixin's cost's you $6.99, a Wagyu "Kobe-style" runs at $8.49, and a double-patty for both, $9.99 and $11.99, respectively. And don't get me started on the meaning of a Wagyu "Kobe-style," as they call it, especially considering my Difference between Wagyu and Kobe beef page a few weeks ago! Let me just say, however, that there's absolutely no way in the world you're gonna get a genuine, 100 percent, top-shelf Wagyu or Kobe at these prices. This cheap, if they're even Wagyu or Kobe at all, will be either partial-breeds, inferior cuts, or ground with other types of beef.
Anyhow, there's also another menu list to confuse you even further, just so guys like me can jump to the front of the line! Just kidding... It may actually make things easier for you, as it's a list of already-set burgers, with choices like a Malibu (avocado, Russian dressing, sprouts, lettuce, and tomato - 1/3 lb. chuck $6.99; 1/3 lb. Wagyu $9.49), pineapple express (grilled pineapple, teriyaki sauce, baby greens, and grilled ham - $6.99, $8.49), and steakhouse (Swiss cheese, A-1 steak sauce, bacon, crispy onion, lettuce, and tomato - $6.99, $8.49). And we will dive into a few more of these ready-built burgers throughout this page...
Our first visit saw Kumi going for a plane Jane. No, that's not an actual burger name, but a rather, uh, boring set of choices considering all the fanciful offerings available:
It's just that Kumi most often favors healthier items that aren't high on richness, as well as simple tastes that take advantage of more natural ingredients. Built from scratch, it included a whole wheat bun, a 1/3 lb. chuck patty, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, red onion, and perhaps the most exotic-sounding item on the burger, a chipotle honey mustard.
$6.99? Not too shabby, ey? Of course, that doesn't include the cost of a drink and fries, the latter of which is definitely on the steep side, at $2.89. What's worse, there are some mouth-watering options for fries of the kicked-up variety, including a truffled (which we'll see later), a bacon salt w/sour cream dip for $3.29, and their famous sweet potato fries w/remoulade sauce, which I hear is delicious, at $4.89. Here's a shot of the latter, along with a burger, courtesy of super-prolific and talented Yelper Emi H, who was generous enough to pass along her work. This girl has, like, a gazillion reviews, from restaurants to salons to boutique shops to anything you can ever think of! And check out her personal page listed below her pic, too - she's quite a singer, songwriter, and musican to boot!
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 Emi H from Yelp!
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My first encounter at Burgers on the Edge went straight to the top, with the most expensive burger available, and quite possibly the most expensive burger I've ever had! No worries, though, as it's the only single-patty burger above ten bucks, and besides, not everyone fancies foie gras, which is the biggest reason you'll have to shell-out a penny shy of seventeen big ones for this baby!
It's called a Parisian, and I can see how a snooty Frenchman would be the embodiment of this creation, because as far as burgers go, these ingredaments definitely leave it in a class of its own. In fact, it's the only burger here that doesn't come with a choice of patty - you'll get a Wagyu whether you like it or not! Understandable, though. After all, foie gras is hallowed ground, yes? You can't use the word lightly. Like a prince paired with the finest and mightiest stallion in the land, foie gras doesn't pair with ketchup, but a port wine reduction; doesn't go with lettuce and tomato, but caramelized, grilled apples and onion; doesn't deserve chuck, but Wagyu (though not exactly genuine, top-shelf Wagyu here!).
Some may see only a blob of fatty tissue, but I see absolute perfection, the Aston Martin of food, the zenith and pinnacle of the dining world:
And I'm really glad owners Wes Zane and Elmer Arcano have high-end experience, as this foie gras could have been plated-up and served at any Hawaii Regional Cuisine restaurant on the island! Wondering what to do with such a high-end product, I first had a few bites sandwiched inside the burger but considered it a waste, instantly realizing that the only way to go was to finish the rest solely upon its own merits. There's simply no better way to appreciate a well-prepared fatty goose liver than all by itself, or perhaps with just the tiniest amount of rice, bread, or other starch - unless there's starch of the liquid kind!
I definitely give them high praise for such tasteful combinations and ingredients. The inclusion of haute fare like caramelized apples, port wine reduction, and foie gras, the combination of which is technically brilliant, sophisticated, and definitely forward-looking, is a beautiful thing to behold. Only problem was, I just didn't care for them all in a burger! I guess for me, it was a case of a little too much style over substance; the kind of situation where you wanna order it simply for the novelty and uniqueness of it all, but then return back to something a little more familiar upon returning. As stated, I have lots and lots of respect for the sheer choreography and use of restaurant-quality ingredients, but it's not necessarily something I'm looking for when I've got burger cravings - know what I mean? Here's a final shot, where you can easily see the thick cuts of foie gras and apple:
You may have heard some of the hooplah regarding the Burger Genius Awards, which rewards a few lucky (more like skillfull, actually!) winners with $200 in cash, picture-fame and recognition, and free burgers for an entire year! You can see all the winners of beef, poultry, and veggie categories, but just to give you an idea, the 2010 beef category winner was Eric Young, who created a Kung Pow burger with parmesan cheese, garlic hoisin sauce, baby greens, red onion, wonton strips, and green onion - Wow! Sounds killer! I almost ordered it, too, if it weren't for the 2009 winner, a Thai-rific:
See why these guys are burger genius winner's?! This also-excellent creation came with a 1/3 lb. chuck (can also get Wagyu), sweet chili sauce, Swiss cheese, mesclun greens, bacon, and crispy onions. Cost? $6.99! I like it even better now!
For me, nirvana could have been reached with a little more crispy onions and maybe a bit of mayo, but this ticket still sent both Kumi and I straight to burger heaven. With sweet chili sauce so over-used these days, I was glad it was given in just the right portions. It coalesced perfectly with the burger juices, which blunted the sharp, acidic taste of the sauce for a more natural, more smooth-flowing mix of Asian and American that was absolutely delicious. That's a juicy burger, isn't it?
Actually, I shouldn't be complaining about more onions, as my order also came with a side of genuine, beer-battered rings, anyways!
However, can't say I'd totally recommend them unless you're a really hard-core deep-fried enthusiast. They looked great and weren't all that bad, but the crust was a little too heavy and the onions, a bit too small in comparison. You know how it is, though - the first few bites are great simply by virtue of being deep-fried. After the third or fourth ring, then you start to worry!
Speaking of sides, as good as I believe their sweet fries w/remoulade are, I think I still enjoyed my truffle fries better than I would have the formerly-mentioned. I was wondering if these fries would be worthy of the lofty name of truffles, an item often mentioned in the same breathe as foie gras and caviar, but knowing Mr. Zane and Mr. Arcano were in charge, I did have hope...
Turns out, I was rather impressed! Not that the unmistakeably redolent powers of truffle oil were in-your-face apparent, but it was noticeable, more so in some pieces than others. For $4.89, I'm happy for any signs whatsoever of genuine truffle oil, and this was definitely the real stuff, just understandably in as subtle a form as costs will naturally determine. And that's not garlic you see here, but bits of parmesan cheese, along with flakes of parsley:
Our kind server actually told us that the three most popular burgers here are the Thai-riffic shown above, the Malibu mentioned earlier, and the Antidote, a mix of Swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and... baconnaise. Huh?
I had to ask our kind server on this one, mostly because I wanted to know if it was actually made in-house like an aioli or not, which would be pretty interesting, yes? Egg whites and bacon oil? Oooy vey!!! If so, I surmised that it couldn't be pure bacon oil, but a mixture along with vegetable oil - had to be! But alas, all my thinking was for nothing, as she said they simply mix an already-made mayo with bacon flavor - perhaps the bacon salt used in their fries?
Anyhow, once again, this burger was delicious! I carefully contrasted this Wagyu patty with the chuck above, and did I notice a difference? Well, you really have to concentrate, as you probably won't notice any differences at all unless you try. Nevertheless, I did find the Wagyu a little sweeter, almost pork-like, even, no doubt due to the different type of fats found in Japanese beef. The chuck tasted much more like a patty we'd normally gorge on, with that simple, charred, ground-steak flavor. Both were great, so it's more a matter of preference than anything else. Or cost, that is, if that's more important. Oh, and you do have the option of ordering your patties rare or well-done, as well, but if not, they'll arrive medium to medium-well, just as all of ours were.
But getting back to the Antidote, here you can see, along with everything else, the mix of fresh sauteed mushrooms and melted Swiss cheese. The flavors were rather familiar and not exactly the most exotic, but were time-tested tastes and combinations that, when done right, work like a charm. And this one was indeed very charming.
I was actually more impressed over-all than I thought I'd be with Burgers on the Edge, with lots of choices not often found at normal burger joints. At $6.99 for most single-patty chuck burgers, both build-your-own and ready-built, it's actually on the cheaper end of the gourmet spectrum, but just remember, the cheapest order of fries without going kiddie size is an extra $2.89, and who doesn't wanna add an extra two or three bucks for a Wagyu? In other words, things can add up if you let it!
If you haven't had a burger here yet, I'm sure you'll be pleased when you finally make it out. Do it to it.
Been good, but I'm out.
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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