Kooper's Chowhound Burger Truck

 mmmmmm look at all those grilled onions

Recently I had the opportunity to get a burger from Kooper's Chowhound Burger Truck. I decided to Build-My-Own-Burger for $8:  I chose the bison as my meat, topped it with cheddar cheese, grilled onions and lettuce (3 toppings are included, 50cents for each additional topping) and then got ketchup as my sauce.  What an awesome awesome burger.  The meat was cooked perfectly, and I loved the kaiser roll.  And oh my was it filling - I was full for HOURS! It's also important to note that my meal was ready pretty quickly, which is great when you're waiting in the cold. 

I didn't get any fries, though I did steal a couple from my coworker :), but they are $2 whether you choose their regular fries, sweet potato fries, or a mix of fifty-fifty.

Next time (oh yes, there will be a next time), I think I will try one of their Signature Burgers - perhaps the Baja Burger ($8) which has jack and cheddar cheeses, baja slaw and jalapeno ranch wrapped in a tortilla.  Maybe I will get that with a turkey burger instead. MMMMMM I can't wait!

Want to know where they are?  Follow them on Twitter or Facebook or just check their website.

Oh Glorious Food Truck movement, how I love you so!

Hollywoods Burger Bistro, Canton

UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT IS NOW CLOSED

I was invited to dinner at Hollywoods Burger Bistro, formerly home of Tangier's and Red Fish.  Though I was initially nervous about this restaurant's location - I think Hollywoods has the right kind of menu to get people to keep returning - it's interesting.  Seriously, take a look.  It's funny, first of all, but the choices are so intriguing that I think a lot of people will be willing to come back to try everything on the menu. I know I certainly want to, especially since I am bummed I didn't get to try these yummies:

o Nicole Kidman - $6 (sweet potato fries drizzled with chocolate and a side of cinnamon honey mustard)

o Princess Di Burger - $11 (bacon, sunny side egg, Lincolnshire cheddar on a toasted English muffin)
o Cheech & Chong - $13 (pot roast served over mash potatoes ) :)  

It also helps a restaurant when the food is delicious, and luckily, this place has that going for it as well!

Thai Calamari

So, let's start with the appetizers!  The Thai Calamari ($9) had a lovely sweet sauce, with a bit of a kick.  I’m usually not a fan of calamari, but perhaps I’m not a fan of it with marinara sauce because I definitely loved it served Thai-style. In fact, this was my favorite!

Sashimi Tuna Loin

The Sashimi Tuna Loin ($11) came in really nice thick slices with great seasoning, and topped with the Thai sauce that was also on the calamari. Excellent.  

Lobster Mac and Cheese

Not watching your weight?  Calories to blow?  Get this! :)  No, but seriously, the Lobster Mac and Cheese ($12) is just INCREDIBLY decadent.  It's so rich and creamy with a hint of sweetness from the lobster, of which there are plenty of large chunks.  Definitely share this treat – or order it along with a salad for a good dinner.  

 

Edamame

The Edamame ($6.50) was perfectly seasoned - definitely a crunchy and consistent appetizer for those watching your weight :)

Break Up Burger

Don't you just love these names?  The Break-Up Burger ($12) apparently pairs well with a Haagen-Dazs chocolate shake, according to the menu, but I'm not sure you're going to have room for that!  This burger is made with double thick apple wood smoked bacon and topped with chocolate (it doesn't say what kind, but I'd guess bittersweet).  

I was intrigued, but definitely a bit nervous, about trying this burger because of the chocolate (especially after the Peanut Burger at Abbey Burger Bistro), but the result was surprisingly tasty!  Despite the fact that it was dripping with chocolate it really wasn't overwhelmingly because the sweetness was tempered by the salty bacon.  You don't need to have gone through a messy breakup to have this burger, you just need to have a big appetite!

Additionally, if you want to create your own masterpiece - they have a great Create Your Own burger list with the greatest list of choices you will ever see!  Seriously. 

One important word about their burgers - they are fed an all-grain diet, free of hormones and steroids.  Knowing this, I am EXTREMELY impressed their prices are what they are.  You can taste the quality of the meat.  

Turkey Burger

On the other side of the spectrum is the Turkey Burger ($11) made with ground turkey, black beans, avocado, cheese, lettuce and crème fresh.  I LOVED this burger.  This is along the lines of something I would usually order, so I am so glad it met my expectations.  It tasted healthy yet hearty, very satisfying.

Carrot Cake

On to the desserts!  First up was the Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese and Bacon.  Now, I am not a bacon fanatic, so I wasn't a huge fan of this - but I would imagine there are bacon lovers out there who would jump at the chance to try this.  Once again, I love the creativity of this place and they get bonus points for actually making the desserts in-house! I was told that they are constantly changing their desserts, so that's always fun!

Pistachio Cake

The Pistachio cake was definitely more of my taste - very light and moist with a creamy icing.  Loved it. 

They also have a ton of specials every day, here's a list and check it out here for more details:

Happy Hour Every Day 4-7pm: $3 House Wine, Yuengling & Loose Cannon Draught and $5 menu items
Monday: 2 for 1 burgers & pizzas for Monday Night Football
Tuesday: Karaoke
Wednesday: Bingo Night at 9pm
Thursday: Ladies Night, $5 bottomless cup for the ladies - guest DJs weekly upstairs
Saturday: Guest DJs at bar
Sunday:
o Brunch: 10:30-2pm - $14.95 for any item off the menu & bottomless bloody marys, mimosas, or sangrias
o Game Time Specials: 50 cent wings & buffalo shrimp, $3 Sierra Nevada & Blue Moon draughts
o 9pm-2am Industry Night: Drink specials all night for everyone in service industry with Guest DJs and Karaoke at the bar  

Sure, Hollywoods Burger Bistro is creative and interesting enough to draw people in initially, but I think people will quickly realize that you don't always need to order something wacky to get a good meal - everything, even the simplest of things just taste good.  So go there for the Nicole Kidman, but come back again and again for a juicy regular burger on a pretzel roll! So in one big conclusion - would I go here again?  Absolutely.

A big thanks to Dara for all her great pictures!

DISCLAIMER: Though this was a free tasting, I was not asked to write a positive review nor did I feel any inclination to write anything which did not reflect my true opinion of Hollywoods Burger Bistro.

Alonso's, Roland Park

I love burgers.
I love them at home, I love them at restaurants, I love them at other people's houses, I love them so much. 
But of course, I've been trying to be better about where I purchase my meat - so when I found out Alonso's gets their meat from Roseda Beef and Gunpowder Bison Trading Company, I happily skipped into the restaurant to get my meat on.

But here is where I got confused, and where I will take a food detour for a second. 

Why are Alonso's and Loco Hombre two different restaurants, but basically one?  They have the same website, same owners, share the same kitchen AND bar....and yet they are technically two restaurants.  You can even order from one restaurant and eat it in the other.  I don't really know what that's all about...but it's confusing.  I think it could easily be one restaurant.  Alonso's is clearly the bar side of the restaurant, whereas Loco Hombre is the fancier sit down side.  This could be easily arranged, people - start cracking!

But anyway, Dan and I sat at the bar in Alonso's and I ordered a lovely Sangria ($6) (from Loco Hombre's menu) and some AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGGGG Corn and Crab Flautas ($10) (also from Loco Hombre's menu).  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE try the flautas:

I love the crispy tortillas and the combination of crab and corn.  There really is something for everyone with this appetizer.  Also, the sangria was great too - lots of fruit and just enough sweetness.  Very refreshing.  Next time l want to order the Hibiscus Margarita ($9) - doesn't that sound fancy and fun!?!?!

I ordered the 8oz Bison Burger ($13) which came with cheddar cheese, grilled portabella mushrooms and a creamy horseradish sauce.  Personally, I thought the horseradish sauce added no extra flavor, so I would probably leave that off next time - but everything else was magnificent.  The bison meat was juicy and I love the flavor and texture of the accompanying cheese and mushrooms.  This was quite a meal!  The fries were also great, but I couldn't eat too many because I was so full from my burger! 

Oh, by the way, for $2 extra, you can order a 1lb burger (which apparently used to be their only size!!!!), or you could pay $2 extra to make any 8oz burger with Bison ($4 extra for the 1lb burgers).

Dan ordered the 8oz Smokehouse Burger ($13) which came with BBQ sauce, applewood bacon, pepperjack cheese and sauteed onions.  He also loved his burger and said he was especially happy that they didn't douse it with the BBQ sauce, like many places do. 

So, would I go here again?  Absolutely.  The burgers were awesome, and I love that I can switch out any burger with bison meat (though Roseda is great too, but I love the lower fat content of bison!)  The flautas also introduced me to the fact that I would love Loco Hombre's food too, so I wouldn't mind giving them a try either! They also have a ton of food and drink specials as well throughout the week.

Fatburger Revisited

Well, I tried it again, and I got the same meal (baby burger and skinny fries) to make sure my previous experience wasn't a one-off type of thing - it wasn't. Still dry. Still boring. Still had delicious fries.

Also, it's important to note that there is definitely something wrong with the whole wheat buns they had that night. Once you started to eat your sandwich (veggie burgers come on whole wheat), the bun would disintegrate into pieces.

In all honesty, Fatburger is not my favorite burger chain. In fact, I went with a large group of people and still the only person who really liked it was my Dan. One of my friend's even compared it to a burger you get at a cafeteria. Sadly enough, I agree. It does its job, nothing more.

Burger Brothers, Towson

My hubby Dan is going to help me write some posts from now on - here is his first review!!!!

Burger Brothers, Towson

Posted by Dan

I really love a good burger (who doesn’t?!). Recently, a friend of mine began ranking all of the local burger places in order to come up with his top-5 burgers. The list included some of the great burger places like Abbey Burger Bistro and Fatburger. But his FAVORITE burger in the Baltimore area was from a place called Burger Brothers in Towson, MD. I had seen and passed by this place many times while walking around Towson looking for a place to eat, but I had never eaten there or even walked in to check out the menu. But because I agreed with the rest of his list, I figured I had better go with him next time to give it a try.

Location:
Burger Brothers is located on a side street right off of the Towson traffic circle. The location is very good; within easy walking distance of Towson Town Center, and all of the other shops and restaurants in the central Towson area. Although a bit of a walk, the restaurant is less than a half mile away from the Towson University campus, so I imagine that they get a large amount of their business from students. We were there at a very random time (3pm on a Saturday), and it is currently Summer break, so there wasn’t a student in site. The restaurant is located in a standard “strip mall” style building; exactly what you would expect for a burger place, really. It is located right next to Towson Hot Bagels, another place that I have been meaning to try because I hear their breakfast sandwiches are excellent. There seems to be plenty of seating inside, and also a few tables out front to sit at for those who prefer sidewalk dining.

The Service:
Not much to speak of here; there is a counter set up where you place your order like any other burger place/fast food restaurant. The guy who helped us was very friendly. Granted, we were the only two people in the place at the time, but he stood by the counter as soon as we entered, and was ready to help us as soon as we figured out our order. I did happen to glance at a few framed reviews hanging on their wall, and noticed that the guy behind the counter was the same guy pictured in the reviews. This leads me to believe that he was the owner of the restaurant, which I really liked to see; he also assisted in the preparation of our food.

The Food:
And now the important question; how is the food?! They have a surprisingly large menu, larger than what I was expecting. They have much more than just burgers. They have wings, chicken fingers, and a whole assortment of other delicious fried items. But even along the lines of their burgers, they offer chicken burgers, turkey burgers, and even veggie burgers for customers who aren’t in the mood for red meat. But I was in there for red meat, and red meat did I receive! I ordered the standard burger, topped with just cheddar cheese and bacon, and specified that I would like it cooked medium. I usually prefer a medium-rare burger, but I will go with medium during my first trip to a new burger place just in case our definitions of medium-rare don’t match up; I’d rather have it slightly overdone than slightly undercooked! Burger Brothers makes their burgers fresh every day from ground beef; there is nothing frozen or prepackaged about these burgers. And they are BIG burgers, they say they are 6oz burgers but they look to me like they are half-pound. I also decided to partake in a small order of their fresh-cut Idaho spuds (they call them spuds, not fries, to make sure the point gets across). The food took about 5 minutes to prepare, as it is cooked fresh upon being ordered, and the fries are not kept warm in a warming tray, they are also prepared fresh upon order. My burger was absolutely delicious! It was enormous, significantly larger than I was expecting. My one complaint is that I think it was done slightly past medium, although this didn’t stop me from completely enjoying it. The burger was still juicy, the bacon was thick and perfectly cooked, and the burger bun was warm and soft. I have to say, I think their buns are probably my favorite out of any local burger place. The French fries were excellent as well; they are basically Boardwalk-style fries, thick and fresh, and tasted even better with a little Old Bay and Vinegar added! I liked that the fries were not overly salted, allowing me to salt/spice them exactly to my taste. I got the medium order of fries ($2.79), and it was an INSANE amount of fries. Between my burger and fries, I was so full from eating at 3pm that I ended up skipping dinner that night; it never even occurred to me that I forgot to eat dinner until I was about to get into bed. This is definitely a great place to visit if you are feeling particularly hungry, as you will most certainly leave satisfied. I ended up being very satisfied with my entire order. At $5.99 for my Bacon Cheeseburger ($4.99 without the bacon or cheese), they are slightly higher in price than most fast food places, but the fresh quality of the meat and bun was WELL above what you could ever expect to receive from a fast-food chain. They are offering restaurant-quality burgers at half of the restaurant price, and because of this, I would definitely say that Burger Brothers is a GREAT deal.

So overall, how would I rank the Burger at Burger Brothers? VERY high. Definitely the best burger I have had in the Towson area, and it is right up there with Fatburger and Boardwalk Fries for being one of my favorite fast food burgers ever. I can only imagine how much better it will be next time I head back and order it medium-rare, now that they have earned my trust!

Fatburger, Elkridge

Dan's Meal: Fatburger (with egg!), Skinny Fries, Vanilla Milkshake

First of all, I can’t believe I ate at a place called FATBURGER. I mean seriously? My colleague and I always joke that we can never eat at Blimpie’s because of the name- so who came up with Fatburger to make us feel worse (Although, Potbelly had me hooked when I went to college, so maybe it’s not that big of a deal)?

However, I got over my hatred for the name because the place received rave reviews from my friends. The fact that one of their additional burger toppings is a fried egg had a lot of appeal for people.

However, because I was feeling self-conscious, I ended up choosing the Baby Fat Burger with Skinny Fries (instead of Fat fries that are thicker cut…….and let’s be honest..because they were called Skinny). I didn’t get the egg topping, which I found to be a big mistake because my burger was RIDICULOUSLY dry. It wasn’t moist at all- definitely overcooked. I understand that I chose to get a smaller burger- but if you’re not going to cook it right, don’t offer it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still ate the burger, but it just didn’t live up to the hype.

Dan, however, ordered a Fatburger with the egg. I tried that and it was significantly better. He also ordered the vanilla milkshake which I stole a couple of sips of- yummy! Very thick though- so prepare to share!

In the end, I probably will never drive up to Elkridge again just to get this burger- I’m going to stick to places around me that make it better.

p.s. Don’t forget to enter my Old Bay contest! It ends July 14^th at 11:59PM.

Abbey Burger Bistro, Federal Hill

I’ve been excited to go to Abbey Burger for MONTHS. I’ve heard a lot of talk about the peanut butter burger, and I wanted to know what it was all about. Actually, that’s a lie—I wanted someone else want to know what it was all about- and then I would steal a bite.

So we headed down to Federal Hill to find out what this burger place had to offer. I LOVE burgers, I love them a LOT and it’s always exciting to hear about burger places that decide to push the envelope a little. Don’t get me wrong, I also like the standard place that just does what it’s good at and is happy with that- but I like burger creativity once in a while. Also, I have to mention that all of their meats and cheeses (and maybe other ingredients) come from local farms. This was something I had NO idea about and so was really quite pleasantly surprised.

So, luckily the PB burger ($9) called to Dan. It traditionally comes with Roseda beef, smoked bacon, and creamy peanut butter. Dan asked for it without the bacon and unfortunately he was NOT a fan of this burger AT ALL. I wonder if the bacon really makes a difference here, but I found that the flavors didn’t meld together and he thought the same.

I tried the Harry’s Bistro Burger ($9) without the bacon as well. It came with roseda beef, sunny side egg (aka runny!), and cheddar on an English muffin (which are actually called Crumpets in England). This was pretty delicious actually. I wished for some more cheddar, though because it was so good. Overall I really liked it, but I probably wouldn’t get it again because I really felt like it took ten years off my life. Dan would order this burger next time.

My dad’s burger, the Gunpowder Bison Burger ($9) looked and tasted AMAZING. It came with onion rings, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo. I am usually not into blue cheese at all, but the combination of the moist bison burger (ask for it to be cooked MEDIUM) with the onion rings and blue cheese was just perfection. I would DEFINITELY get this next time, without fail.

My mum tried the Chicken Burger ($9) which came with avocado, sprouts, lettuce, and chili mayo. The burger itself was a bit dry, but the avocado and mayo helped that along. There was definitely a kick from the mayo, and the avocado was a good sized chunk. This is a great option if you wanted something a bit healthy!

Also, the sweet potato fries and regular fries were GREAT- perfectly salted. I preferred the sweet potato fries, and actually thought they rivaled Miss Shirley’s! Dan preferred the regular fries however, so either choice you win.

So in the end, I was super happy with my meal at Abbey Burger. I will never get the PB burger, but I’m glad that I know it was gross so I can find more items on the menu I like. Oh! And one other thing to mention is that they also have a Build-Your-Own-Burger feature that I thought was a nice touch- perhaps I would even try that!

Padonia Station, Timonium

I'm not going to lie, I've never been a huge fan of Padonia Station. I don't really know why, but it's never my first place when I think of restaurants in my area. In fact, I usually never even mention it. I think it's because, once again, I confuse my hatred for the restaurant when it's really directed towards the bar. I hate the bar- but don't ask me why because I don't know. So when my hubby wanted to go to Padonia Station for dinner with some friends, I immediately groaned and muttered a less-than-emphatic "ok."

So we went, and I was VERY happy to see they offer bison burgers on their menu, and they will switch out anyburger with bison for an extra $3. However, this isn't necessary to do because they already have bison burger choices for less than $9 anyway. I chose the Texas bison burger for $8.95 which came with pepperjack cheese and chili on top! Delicious! It was seriously yummy! The fries were excellent too, as fries so often are. But overall, I was happily surprised with the quality of my bison burger and was also happily proud that they were serving local bison as well. Perhaps I need to re-evaluate this place after all! Of course I would probably stick to getting bar type food, and not anything fancy from this place. However, I must add that the BBQ wings were good and my friend said the ribs were fantastic.

63 E. Padonia Road
Cockeysville, MD 21093
410-252-8181
http://www.padoniastation.com/

Ashland Cafe, Cockeysville

I've been here many times before for a quick dinner, although it just recently opened up for dinner- having served breakfast and lunch only for most of their time open. This place is a small neighborhood cafe where cheap and well-made food is what you will always find. The best thing I get is the Bison burger with local bison from Gunpowder Trading Co. in Hereford. The burger is moist and tasty (ask for it medium- bison doesn't have a lot of fat and will dry out at any other temperature) and the fries that accompany it are crisply delicious. Come here for comfort food, a couple rounds of Keno, and fast service.