Posted by lamboburger on Nov 11, 2010 in
Chain 
Phil's Burger and Fries and Rings oh my!
For this review the UBR staff and guest reviewer Todd Polderman went to the newest, hottest restaurant in North County, Phil’s BBQ. This place is so popular that if you do not get there before 11:30 the place is packed and by noon there is a line out the door. We know what you’re thinking, a BBQ place for a burger? Well, the fact is they actually had one so it must be reviewed. The minute we walked in, it was utter chaos. This place was a machine-like, process orientated slaughterhouse and we felt like the nervous cow. I mean this place made us feel like we had a cheeseburger anxiety disorder. Once we had completed the gauntlet of placing our order we picked up our buzzer and only then can you select a table. In fact they had a big angry sign saying something to the effect “DO NOT SIT AT A TABLE UNTIL YOU ORDER YOUR FOOD!” The other thing is, our buzzer went off three separate times before our food order was complete. The weird thing is they have these table captain type people hovering around your tables. They were nice and tried to be helpful which begged the awkward question, do you tip them? Although they really did nothing for us other than take our plates (probably to ensure a quick table turn) they were so nice so we felt obligated to leave something. To finish on the restaurant environment, the décor is nice and they did have two TV’s within eyesight of us all. Oh yeah, the burger. The least stimulating part of this review scored a 2.4 on the UBR scale. It was cooked well but it just completely lacked in flavor and it was coupled with a lame presentation. This burger actually earned some ones on the UBR scale. However, like a redeeming knight in yellow fried armor, there were the fries. They were excellent. A courtesy mention goes out to our Associate reviewer Kristina who attended to check the BBQ offerings for possible future Hunter catering needs and she gave the BBQ high marks. Also joining us was our longtime friend and colleague Lynda who is one of those non-carnivore types that doesn’t understand that meat is proof God loves us because he made animals out of it. To sum it all up, go for the BBQ not the burger, go early and don’t expect a relaxing experience.
Todd and Kristina
Phil's Post Burger
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Posted by lamboburger on Nov 5, 2010 in
Uncategorized 
Yogi Burger
For this review the UBR staff, and guest reviewer Greg Hunter, went to Yogi’s in Cardiff by the Sea. This was based on a recommendation by our ex-buddy Derres. Okay, let’s start with the nice stuff because this review is going to go to hell in a hand basket fast. Let see… our waitress was pretty hot and because Greg’s burger was late she gave it to him for free…. and that’s about it. The whole review started off on a sour note when we pulled in to the parking lot and it was valet parking only. It didn’t help that the valet said “the Chart House is valet only too.” Yogi’s is no Chart House. Mike blew a gasket and cut across Hwy 101to park by the beach. He was so pissed that he was oblivious to the cars swerving and honking in his wake. From that moment we knew Mike’s alter ego Capt. Cranky was now our reviewer. At first, Mike wasn’t even going to eat. That is until he was reminded of the rule he made that would cause him to forfeit his Greg purchased (this week’s football LOSER, LOSER Greg Loser) burger. While the restaurant has great atmosphere, the overall UBR experience was a 2 in every category. The burger had some good qualities like multiple cheese selections. But Capt. Cranky pointed out that “it doesn’t matter how many cheese choices you have for a shit sandwich, it’s still shit.” Additionally, the fries are not worth commenting on other that the the afore mentioned comment. When we first asked Greg H. to be our guest reviewer he mentioned, “I don’t know if I can go to Yogi’s and not have a beer.” That pretty much sums up Yogi’s. It’s a happy hour beer joint. If you’re looking a surf punk to park your car for $4 and for a cold beer served by a cute waitress with a decent view of the beach, Yogi’s is for you. Otherwise, blow right on by.
Looks can be deceiving?
Captain Cranky
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