Burger Project

This is absolutely one of my favorite burger joints!  I would pass by the Burger Project in Teacher's Village in Quezon City, and even when their reputation gained ground, I never found the time to make a visit.  Now that their Jupiter Branch is up and running, the Callars, Monique and I went off for another adventure on our burger quest, and we found that the Burger Project merits a five-star experience--for around P200 average per head spend, you get the most bang for the buck!

While the restaurant has several featured burger creations (listed above), the attraction of the place is that one gets to fill out a burger checklist (shown below) to indicate exactly what one would want in a burger.  You even get to name your own creation!

You name the ingredient, and it goes on your burger--buns, patties, veggies, sauces, toppings.  The kids just loved the concept and came up with their own versions of the perfect burger (sorry, I don't even remember which ingredients goes into which burger...):

You have a choice of plain beef patties, or Angus Beef patties, which comes at a little premium.  Patties were nicely done, very flavorful and meaty--no lingering taste of food binders or oil.  Interiors are hip and cozy, and while we were able to sit immediately (that was 8:30 at night), the store quickly filled up with other customers, mostly yuppies ordering for take-out.  Definitely worth another visit.

Big Better Burgers

Burger Hunt!  Saturday afternoon was a good time for myself, Monique and the Callars to take another round of burgers, and this time we chose Big Better Burgers which we found along Jupiter St. (near EDSA), in Makati.  I had seen their signboard somewhere (maybe late 2011) and one of my colleagues told me that the burgers were reasonably priced.  He was not mistaken--we found out that burgers ranged from P100 to P200, and we ordered a good sampling of their offering.

My burger was spicy--Hahalapeno!

Angela and Bryan each had a bacon-topped burger basted with Texas BBQ sauce

Monique had a 3-cheese burger

Kenny had a burger with mushroom toppings

The first thing that we noticed was that the bun was more like pan de sal rather that the usual hamburger bun.  That alone was a good twist, and as you can see, the bun was also scored as it was heated atop the grill.  The patty was flavorful and tender, and my jalapeno topping gave  a certain zing to my burger.  However, when I tried the bacon BBQ burger, I felt that the sweet-sour sauce took over and overwhelmed the meaty taste completely--I always like the beefy taste of the patty to come on strong, otherwise the "burger" in the burger would be lost.  The 3 cheese burger was a disappointment to Monique; she expected the cheese flavor to ooze out, and she thought that her burger was bland on that aspect.

Overall, it was a good snack for under P200 per person, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back for another round!

Franz Burger

Judging from the photos on the wall of the restaurant, I understand that the owner of Franz Burgers has been the resident caterer of some local concert production company (I reckon that would be the group of Steve O'Neil of DZRJ fame).  You can see him pictured standing with Rex Smith, the Earth Wind & Fire, the Cascades, and numerous other foreign and local music artists.  Located along Scout Delgado St. (perpendicular to Tomas Morato Avenue), this burger house is probably located at what used to be the old residence of the owner.  

Cousin Ed and I had an afternoon snack, and being a bit hungry, it was a heavy merienda that we ordered--steak and a burger!  The burger came in hot and it was freshly made.  The patty was juicy and the overall experience was good.  The steak, however, was a bit overdone (we asked for medium rare), and we found it to be dry and on the tough side, which was quite disappointing.

The dining area has two sections, the inner room being the air-conditioned portion.  The atmosphere was informal and the staff were a jolly helpful set.  I was particularly happy that they had mustard; while all burger joints have ketchup, mustard is only available in selected shops.  If you visit the place, just go for the burgers, which is the specialty of the house.  Average spend should be in the vicinity of P200 per head for a good meal, although you can get by with P100 per head.

Zark's

I normally don't rave much about restaurants, but this Zark's Burgers is a real find.  Located along Taft Avenue right across from the De La Salle Unviersity, this burger joint has been popular with the Lasallites since it opened around 4 years ago.  This afternoon, Monique and I, together with the Callars, rode home in a jeepney with our tummies full of their giant burgers!  Take a good look:

Miguelito got a different kind of burger--Deep Fried!  Of course, with BBQ sauce on the side...

Angela munched on the Shaq!  With crunchy onion rings and bacon on top...

Monique tried the Jackhammer--stuffed with melted cheese inside the patty!

Kenny had the Stone Cold Stunner--double bacon cheeseburger with caramelized onions

My choice? Zark's Ultimate Burger - with bacon and cheese toppings!

Why do I rave?  These giant burgers taste very good, and come at affordable prices ranging from P100 to P200 (with iced tea and french fries0, true value for money, I'd say.  Their two wildest creations?  The P250 Jawbreaker, which is a triple cheeseburger and the P500 Tombstone, which has patties weighing in at 2 pounds... Yes, 2 pounds....

If you finish the Jawbreaker in under 5 minutes, your picture gets posted on their Wall of Fame (the burger is free).  If you can finish the Tombstone in under 10 minutes, your picture gets posted on their Survivor Wall, and you get a Zark's T-shirt for free!  Do you think you can hack that?  I get dizzy just thinking about it... hehehe.....

Burger Avenue

Off to more burger hunting--Monique, the Callars and I set the A Venue along Makati Avenue as our next target for   the continuing voyages of our burger hunt.  We got to Burger Avenue at around 7pm and except for a couple of other customers, we had the place all to ourselves.  Burger Avenue opened sometime in 2009 and quickly got some media attention for their Ridiculous Burger (pictured on the left).  The store hosts a competitive challenge for this 3 patty burger--eat it in under 5 minutes, and the burger is for free!  The record holder did it in 1 minute and 28 seconds, a mean feat considering that the patties combined weigh a pound.  Unlike some other burger chains, the burgers were cooked as we ordered them, and we could see them grill the patties right through the glass window of the open kitchen.  Burgers go from P95 (Junior) to around P300 for the Ridiculous Burger.  They have different styles too--burgers with bacon, chili con carne, blue cheese and garlic sauce; other sandwich fillings like fish and chicken are also available for those wanting to eat light.  Overall, the burgers were nicely done; but I think the group can instruct their bread supplier to make the bread a little softer, as I found the bread more like a hard bread than the soft oatmeal-topped bun that I had imagined from looking at the promo pictures.

Brothers Burger

It looked good when I took this picture, but when I started to eat...

I was pretty much disappointed last Thursday night.  I finished a long arduous meeting in Makati at around 9:30 pm, and my grumbly tummy just clamored for a big juicy hamburger.  Walking along Ayala Avenue, I headed for the Brothers Burger outlet and I ordered a Big Brothers burger (a bit shy of P200).  I've tried this chain several times before and I know that cook juicy burgers, and they make true beefy patties.  This night, however, it was around 10:00 pm, and the store was probably ready to close--the staff must have taken short-cuts.  My burger came in cold.  Well, not refrigerator cold, but unheated.  Probably cooked much earlier; I don't think they keep patties in food warmers so that the juices don't run off.  Taste was still good, but the ooomph was no longer there.  I told the store clerk about it, he mumbled an apology.  Well, we're graceful about things, so I just ate the burger and left.  Such is life, di ba?

Closing time, so the staff must have wanted to get home already...

Tropical Hut

This is one burger house that has been around since I can remember.  Originally it was called Azcona's Burgers (the family name of the owner), and the store was located along Quezon Boulevard, right at the ground floor of the family's grocery store called Tropical Hut.  The burger house was located at the right side of the entrance door, while the Kobe Chicken rotisserie was located at the left side.  We simply loved their hamburgers, so juicy, so tender to the bite, so aromatic!  The burgers were always wrapped in aluminum foil, a tradition that they still carry on to this day.  Sometime the late seventies, the owners renamed the restaurant to Tropical Hut, to mirror the name of the grocery.  Nowadays, the brand is known more as a domestic burger chain than as a grocery and retail outlet.  Such wonderful memories--Kong Kong would bring Mikaela, Erika & myself there to eat, right after we'd complete our grocery runs.  I can still remember that when Martial Law was declared, Kong was working abroad (he was one of the original OFWs) and Gwammy was ordered by the doctors to have complete bed rest, as her pregnancy with Anita was in quite a precarious situation).  Accompanied by Mang Naring (our family driver) and I then had to go to Tropical Hut to buy food and groceries, but alas, the shelves were literally cleaned out.  Remember, people were panic-buying at that time!  I looked at Tropical Hut and asked Mang Naring if we could buy burgers, but the restaurant was also closed--my heart fell!  Anyway, today Anita & I shared at Double Patty Burger, so tasty and yet quite inexpensive--P115 only!  Both of us walked out of the restaurant with contented smiles, and as I flick back to access my memory banks, I think the aroma of Tropical Hut hamburgers will really bring back such wonderful childhood memories!  Thanks, Tropical Hut!

Hungry Hippo

I first encountered this burger joint many years ago in the early nineties, and if I'm not mistaken one of their first branches that became well-known was along either the North Diversion Road or somewhere on South Super Highway (that was the time before the bureaucrats coined the abbreviated "NLEX" and "SLEX").  I can remember that there was usually a long line of customers waiting to get their hamburgers, but the aroma flowing out of the restaurant was very inviting that people didn't mind the long wait.  A few years back, I had several opportunities to eat at their branch located at the Shell Building along Valero St. in Salcedo Village, but to my dismay, that branch closed sometime 2008.  Today I had a meeting at the RCBC Plaza along Buendia Avenue in Makati, and to my pleasant surprise, I was able to visit Hungry Hippo again!  Their burgers are a bit more expensive now (basic burgers start at P85), but the smell and taste are still as I can remember. Soft buns, with lettuce and tomatoes, freshly cooked, hot off the pan!  They also have a variety of other sandwiches--tuna, corned beef, club sandwiches that it seems that they have already evolved into a snack bar, great for a hungry hippo just like me!

CBD

The people behind Tender Bob's steakhouse have done a great job in putting up a burger shop.  Called CBD (Cheesesteaks, Burgers & Drinks), the restaurant's name is a pun on its A1 location right at the gardens of the Ayala Triangle, behind Ayala Tower 1, right smack in the center of Makati's Central Business District.  Monique, Ken and I were there yesterday for lunch, and we were lucky enough to encounter their 2+1 promo (only until the end of August 2011), in which we were able to get a free burger from the purchase of 2 burgers--in short, the 3 of us ate for the price of 2!  We got a double patty cheeseburger each and  we were not disappointed--juicy, nicely grilled with complete garnishing!  The Angus beef patties were flavorful and carried a fantastic buttery aroma (I had to add a little salt though).  Monique especially liked their Shake & Bake treat--milkshake with a little cake blended into a full-froth delight!  The restaurant is open daily, and is easily accessible via the Sebastian Ugarte parking lot on the Makati Avenue side.  Around a P400 spend for a burger or cheesesteak meal, and that will really leave you breathless--hehe, as is super busog!

Stackers Burgers

I have known for some time that Eastwood City is quite a popular night spot, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the place teaming with people this lunchtime.  Monique, Luis, the Callar kids and I had a fast lunch at Stackers Burger Cafe, a hamburger place originating from the land of Oz.  That's right mates, the land where you start up with "breaky" (breakfast) and end up with a mouth watering burger from the "barbie" (BBQ).  With soft buns and juicy patties, I couldn't resist ordering a second burger!  You can make do with P200 per head, but double that if you arrived with a hungry tummy!

Army Navy

It was a lazy afternoon stroll around Makati with Monique and the Callars; we continued our quest for Manila's best burger, this time around the Central Business District.  Tried Army Navy Burgers & Burritos at the Solaris Building for merienda, and we were not disappointed.  We learned from the staff that this burger shop was a sister company of the Yellow Cab pizza franchise, and this reinforced our belief that the local restaurateurs never run out of good food ideas! Of good size, juicy and flavorful, Army Navy burgers had soft black-sesame encrusted buns and came nicely wrapped in soft aluminum foil.  This small detail is of note to me--unlike thin wax paper or small plastic pouches, I can eat the burger without getting my hands messy!  Reasonable at P200 per head on the average.

After merienda, we strolled through the underpass system, up to and around the Ayala Triangle Park to have gelato at Caramia.  This ice cream store was initially operated as a learning center by the Don Bosco Brotherhood at the corner of Pasay Road and Pasong Tamo; I recently heard that the franchise is was acquired by the Jolibee group.  Slightly on the sweet side for me, but cool and delicious nevertheless, and quite easy on the pocket at P75 per scoop (if you feel that's a bit on the high side, remember that gelato has less air and more milk, as compared to ice cream).  After clowning around for a few more minutes, daylight was starting to fade and since Kathy forgot to bring her mom's Nikon DSLR, we just had to make do with Monique's 5mp Nokia N900 for our mini-photo shoot.  Fun, fun, fun!

Sango Burger

I fetched my daughter Monique and her cousins at the Shangri-la Mall the other day; we had a late lunch at Sango Burgers at the 6th floor.  This is a Japanese burger chain and their specialty is a rice-burger (yup, you heard it right) which has rice roll substituting as bread, and with beef teriyaki as the filling!  Delicious!  It was a new experience too, having Japanese mayo, finely chopped onions and seaweed laver lavishly sprucing up burgers.  Note that their curry burger also tasted good.  My only comment was that the serving size was "bitin" but you would expect that from a heavy eater like me... hehehe... Well, expect to spend some P200 per head... Enjoy!