Posted by lamboburger on Jan 14, 2011 in
Upscale 
Bistro West Burger
For this review the UBR staff, along with guest reviewer Jeff Kremicki, journeyed to Bistro West in Carlsbad based on the recommendation of our Future UBR staff accountant Stacy. Bistro West is an upscale restaurant that offers a Kobe “blend” burger offering. We’re not sure what the “blend” means but based on the price we’re pretty sure it wasn’t “blended” with something worthless like Greg’s wallet after he picked up the bill. Overall the restaurant was by far the finest we have experienced to cram a burger in our… Sorry, to partake in a burger gastronomic experience. To match the fine interior surroundings were pleasant clientele and top shelf service. Our server was on it from the start, delivering insanely delicious fresh baked dinner rolls the moment we sat down. At no point did the high quality service falter and they would have received a perfect UBR five if he wasn’t, well, a dude. We prefer our burgers delivered by a girl and this is our site, so we can give a wiener deduction if we want too. Speaking of wieners, a mention needs to go out that Mike strongly felt that the Bistro also has the finest restrooms we have seen at a place that serves burgers. Oh yeah, the burgers. Yum! A 3.9 UBR scale yum and perfectly cooked to our order specifications. The burger would have easily broke a coveted 4 rating if the burger to bun ratio was a bit better, the meat a bit more favor/seasoning, and of course had they included the often over looked detail of a pickle spear. The only key burger item to note is that they offer two bun types, Focaccia or whole wheat. Focaccia is the way to go. On the fry front, there are many options here too, from standard fry, the steak fry, or the un-traditional metro-sexual sweet potato fry. Most of us opted for the standard, but Greg was the clear winner with the steak fry option which boosted the fry score to 3.6 UBR rating. Bistro West is a place a guy could impress a girl on a burger date if paired with a fine bottle of Cabernet. So our recommendation is, throw your burger eating babe in a cop car and head west, to Bistro West!
Mike's attempt at photography (Bistro West)
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Posted by lamboburger on Jan 12, 2011 in
Indefinable,
Sports Bar 
Back Alley Burger
For this review the UBR staff visited the Back Alley Grill in San Marcos based on a recommendation by one of our many fans from around the world.. We were joined by Laurel Madden, our guest reviewer for the day. The Back Alley Grill has a relaxing feel by nature with a nice patio, propped open windows, and a general Pacific island motif. However it’s located directly behind a dog kennel business which added a hint of, let’s just say, flora, to our burger dining experience. And we had plenty of time to savor that aroma, as our meal took forever to cook. But at least our server had all the qualities that we like when we are served a burger. She was nice, cute-ish, and attentive with a side of tats and butt crack. The burgers were surprisingly served on toasted sourdough bread. Our first thought was ‘epic structural integrity fail during consumption’, but they held up very well. It was also tough to rate the burger-to-bun (in this case burger-to-toast) ratio. It took 3 bites of toast to finally get to the meat. The burger earned a 2.87 on the UBR rating. The demerits include the chopped lettuce topping that, once you flipped the toasted lid over, scattered around your plate, your lap or most anywhere but on the intended target. Not to mention, the lettuce itself clearly showed signs of an expired shelf-life. Additionally, the burgers were overcooked into a dry, well done, meat lump. At least the lack of juice/grease favored a positive post burger experience. Clearly, the best part of this meal was the fries, which earned a 4.74 on the UBR scale. They are, arguably, the best fires we have reviewed to date. These folks know how select a fry type and how to cook them to near-perfection! The overall restaurant rating was a 3.3 on the UBR scale. The Back Alley Grill was a very ‘average’ (and aromatic) burger experience.
Back Alley Decor
Back Alley Reviewers
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