Burger Lounge
Generating debate in Kensington since 2007
The Burger Lounge is open in the space formerly occupied by Just Fabulous in Kensington. Business has been jumpin’, so my cohort in culinary crime, Chef Vinny, and I decided to jump in and have lunch there.
We stepped up to the counter and ordered a Lounge Burger (the house hamburger) and the Turkey Burger, a half-and-half order of onion rings and hand-cut fries, and a couple of iced teas. We picked up the little metal tag with our order number and grabbed a table outside on the sidewalk.
I always liked the interior of Just Desserts. It was light, cheery and funky for such a tiny spot. The new owners painted, added counter seating and updated the rest of the seating with trendy, contemporary chairs and tables. It's still a nice, breezy open space. It remains a little on the noisy side, which was one of the things that sent us outside to dine. The other thing was a patented San Diego day: 72-degrees and sunny.
The burgers, not the weather were the stars. These are big, sloppy affairs chock full of fresh ingredients. They all come on a nice squishy bun with a large, meaty slice of tomato tucked under the meat, a huge raft of iceberg lettuce, house-made Thousand Island dressing (one of my all time favorites), cheddar or American cheese and crunchy rings of fresh onion. They'll ask if you want the onion or not (you should). The onions don’t overwhelm the burgers and you won’t walk away smelling like one.
We split each burger so we could try them both and we came to the same conclusion: the turkey burger was better. It was flavorful, tender and the fresh basil leaves used for garnish enhanced, but didn’t overpower. All in all, it was quite a nice burger and both of us would order it again.
The hamburger was less successful. The biggest problem . . . well, it didn't taste much like beef. The lettuce provided a crisp snap and the tomato some bright accents. And the dressing complemented the lettuce and tomato nicely and the onion added some hot interest. But the beef got lost in the shuffle.
The beef patties are made with grass-fed beef direct from the plains of Middle America courtesy of Tallgrass Beef (tallgrassbeef.com). The patty on our burger appeared to be hand formed and was, mercifully, NOT overcooked; the center was stilled tinged rosy pink. Nor was it dry or tough. For both of us, though, the beef simply got lost and didn’t stand out against the other parts of the burger. In other words, the ratio of bun and garnishes to beef didn't work for us (though it might for you). I would be willing to give it a go again; Chef Vinny says he wouldn’t. 
There’s a third burger on the menu—a vegetarian option made from quinoa—that I’d be willing to try (especially after I saw several go past our table). They looked great-- and what a nice change from the basic Boca Burger most places offer. All three burgers are listed at $6.95, which I think is a pretty good value for what you get. The portion is large without being obscene and the ingredients can't be faulted for freshness or quality.
Aside from the split decision on the hamburger, the only real disappointment of the meal was the half-and-half order of fries and onion rings. I love fried food (french fries in particular) and Burger Lounge cooks with 100-percent peanut oil, which is great for deep-frying since it yields a crisp, seemingly grease-free end product (watch out if you’ve got peanut allergies), so I had high hopes for the rings and fries. Unfortunately, neither was very memorable, and at $4.95 for the order, they didn’t strike either of us as a very good value. The onion rings were nice but ordinary and the fries actually incited a hot debate between us. They’re listed on the menu as "hand-cut" and the server who delivered our plates, when questioned, assured us she’d personally witnessed potatoes being cut for fries. But still, these fries didn't resemble any "hand-cut" fries I've purchased, made or consumed. As Chef Vinny observed, they'd have to have a master sushi chef, or a whiz with some real knife skills in the kitchen cutting fries in order to get the precision, accuracy and duplication each fry had. Every fry was exactly square and exactly a quarter-inch in width. Knife work aside, my biggest gripe about the fries was that most of our serving was "short" cuts, less than the length of the last two joints of my pinky finger (this is a pet peeve of mine with french fries, granted, but at $4.95, I don’t find potato stubs a good value).
So how did they taste? They were crisp, they had snap and they were appropriately mealy and meaty inside. They were actually pretty good. But they were a disappointment in quality and in value. I would order the greaseless onion rings again, but probably not the stubby fries.
Rant about the fries aside, there is a lot to like about the Burger Lounge and it's a nice addition to the eastern end of Adams Avenue. I liked that the burgers are served on nice, heavyweight china and not disposable plates. I liked the quality and freshness of the ingredients, and I liked the fact that they are using grass-fed beef. I thought the burgers were a good value for the price. A burger with fries is the quintessential all-American dish and capable of sparking impassioned debates among the best of friends. But don't take my word for it—visit the Burger Lounge yourself, have a burger and some fries and begin your own debate.
Burger Lounge Premium Burgers
4116 Adams Avenue
619-584-2929
burgerlounge.com
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