Burger 22: The Allegria Cocktail Cheeseburger

...Because I had to.  

The Allegria Hotel, under the same management since 2012, sits on National Boulevard in Long Beach, New York.  The venue, often used for parties, weddings, events, and any special occasion, has multiple party rooms including a rooftop lounge with a pool.  

I was the guest at a wedding recently and during the cocktail hour the waiter was walking around with miniature cheeseburgers.  I stepped into the phone booth, and Burger Bill stepped out with his cape waving in the wind.  He walked up to the waiter, and grasped a toothpick which was speared through the smallest cheeseburger he has ever seen.  
  After examining the lunch and dinner menus, they do in fact have a cheeseburger.  Although the lunch burger is 8 ounces, and the dinner burger is 12 ounces, yet they are both $18.00 it was a little confusing to me.  So since this is not one of the stops on my burger journey, I will stick with the less than 1 ounce cheeseburger before us (I had three to make sure the review was accurate).  

The Beef:  The beef was hand-formed into the smallest patties one could imagine.  It was the verge of a being a small meatball rather than a burger patty. The beef was seasoned and juicy, cooked medium, and tasted great. 3 out of 4.

The Bun:  The bun was two flat slices of bread.  Could have fooled me by using croutons.  The bun was really there just for show to give off the impression of a cheeseburger.  We all know that you would need at least 40 of these bad boys to even make a dent in my appetite.  1 out 4.

The Beef to Bun Ratio:  Since the bun was flat, this created a nice beef to bun ratio.  Every bite had a good amount of beef and the right amount of bun.  That last sentence was obviously facetious.  The burger only lasted one bite.  3 out of 4.

The Presentation:  The chef had to cook these mini cheeseburgers, then cut the little squares of cheese (we'll get to that), then squirt a teaspoon of ketchup onto these microscopic bread coverings.  Spear a toothpick through to hold it all together, it would have taken me a good 30 seconds to put this together.  The chef had to put trays of these together and serve them before they cooled to room temperature so many props are given to you, O Chef.  3 out of 4.

The Cheese:  First you take a slice of yellow American.  Next, you cut it into sixteen squares.  Then, you use these sixteen squares of cheese for sixteen different burgers.  Finally, voila! You have the world's smallest cheeseburger.  1 out of 3.

The Sear:  How does one even sear a burger of this size? Were they broiled? Sautéed? Cooked in a wok? All of these are possibilities, yet the sear was there, and it was distinct.  The firm, hardened outer core, with the pink/red center, was a sear to perfection.  3 out of 3.

Overall Taste:  The overall taste, for the few enjoyable seconds it lasted qualified this little guy for a 3 out of 5. 

BBSR: 17 / 27