I sat down and put all biases to the side, just as I have had to do with a few other burger joints I have visited already, and ordered the Buffalo Burger. The Buffalo Burger is a flat iron burger, cooked to order, served on a brioche bun, and topped with wing sauce, crumbled bleu cheese, and coleslaw. I am not sure why so many people insist on putting coleslaw on burgers, but I went with it and decided to give it a shot.
The Beef: The beef was a healthy-sized patty, formed by the chef (not pre-formed), which contained enough juices to give it a nice taste, but not enough juices to drown the already dead cow. The beef was ground very finely, which made biting into the patty somewhat awkward, but I got used to the texture after a few bites. 3 out of 4.
The Bun: The brioche bun was soft inside, toasted outside, and grilled face-down until golden-brown. The bun was great, but there's something about brioche buns that are very thick, and dense. 3 out of 4.
The Beef to Bun Ratio: This is where the brioche bun plays a bigger role (pun intended). The beef was of considerable size, but the as I said before a brioche bun is very dense and packs a lot more bread than one would imagine. What about a scooped out top bun of a brioche? That might be the best bread since sliced things. 2 out of 4.
Presentation: The presentation was nice. Served with fries on the side, and coleslaw on top (which was weird to even the waitress), it was put together very nicely. I specifically ordered the burger with no coleslaw, but I guess they thought I should give it a shot, and they put some on anyway. I ate it...and still don't agree with it. 3 out of 4.
The Cheese: The crumbled bleu cheese (yes, it does count as cheese) seemed a little off. I'm not the biggest cheese connoisseur but I think it could have been a little "riper". However, huge props for using crumbled, actual, bleu cheese, and not copping out with a dressing. 2 out of 3.
The Sear: The sear was that of a typical flat iron burger, cooked on a flat top, and lightly crusted on the outside. 2 out of 3.
Overall Taste: I really enjoyed this burger (very few I don't, but this one has risen to a top spot of my list...so far). The way the spicy wing sauce complemented the dry, crumbled bleu cheese, worked very well on top of the burger, and on a nicely toasted brioche bun. I still don't know why you would add the coleslaw (except maybe for a presentation look?), but other than that, this was a great burger. 4 out of 5.
BBSR: 19 / 27
Lol. If you've ever met the owner, Gregg Lapenna, that is why there is slaw ON some of their burgers. First thing he does is take the ramaken of slaw and empties it on top of his burger, no matter what, to consume as much as possible in the shortest amount of time- since he's always between the tale, PLO deli, burger truck on riverside, and the sandwich shack on pacific. But wholeheartedly agree that slaw is best left on the side, in a ramaken- rather than cabbage juice, mayo and Worcestershire soaking into your bun and making the burger a mess to eat.
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