Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Still Crazee after all these years
But still far from being the best burger in town
Now I have to visit Jamaica to see if they really do put peaches on their burger. Jamaican burger from Crazee Burger.
We're a hamburger town in a hamburger country, and whether it's fast food or fine dining, most of the American-style restaurants in the city include a burger on the menu. Hell, some of the Asian and Mexican spots do too.
So, apparently, one way to make your burgers stand out is to make them crazy. I'm sorry – I mean, make them crazee.
Crazee Burger's been at it a while, with locations in Old Town and North Park, and according to a ten-year-old banner at the North Park location, it was once "Voted Best Burger in Town." It's fair to be dubious.
Rather a sedate storefront, given this is Crazee Burger.
I figured I'd give the Old Town location a go, since it's been awhile and their patio's a pretty pleasant place to chow down.
Now, if you've read other Crazee Burger reviews, you've probably read about their alternatives to ground beef patties: buffalo, antelope and even kangaroo. These unique takes on the burger are intriguing, but I had to wonder: how many reviews have been sullied by this sort of experimentation? I mean, how can a burger place truly be assessed if you're comparing the beef of one restaurant to the ostrich of another?
So I strode past Crazee Burger's kooky décor and up to the counter and ordered a traditional, ground beef, American-style burger.
Then, at the last minute, I second-guessed myself, and went for the one with peaches on it.
As good an explanation as anything for what you'll find on the menu at Crazee Burger.
The Jamaican Burger, as it's called, features a "blackened" beef patty topped by sautéed peaches and pepperjack cheese. Faced with so many exotic meats and a dozen takes on the original, I buckled. I would eat beef, but the burger would still technically be crazee.
So I grabbed my spot on the patio, watching tourists explore the "haunted" cemetery across the street, and waited to assess.
First of all, they're canned peaches. I mean, of course they were. Peaches aren’t in season, and how likely is it the restaurant's going to keep any fresh fruit on hand for the odd occasion somebody bypasses the 25 more interesting and delicious sounding options to order the Jamaican?
Which got me thinking? Do they keep fresh ground kangaroo on hand? And if not, how long does it take for them to re-up on their kangaroo meat?
Anyway, the peaches did nothing for the burger other than clash dramatically with the pickles. The blackened seasoning gave it some flavor, which is a good thing because I can't be sure the beef did.
Which gets me thinking again: what's the best way for a burger joint to cover up its mediocrity? Add two-dozen crazee alternatives to the menu and hope nobody notices. After all, it didn't work out for me this time, but I will probably go back to try the El Jacobo chorizo burger, or the Santorini with ground lamb and tzatziki. Or maybe keep it simple and just go for the gator burger with "curry fruit tapenade." Odds are we'll get it right someday.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Still Crazee after all these years
But still far from being the best burger in town
Still Crazee after all these years
But still far from being the best burger in town
Now I have to visit Jamaica to see if they really do put peaches on their burger. Jamaican burger from Crazee Burger.
We're a hamburger town in a hamburger country, and whether it's fast food or fine dining, most of the American-style restaurants in the city include a burger on the menu. Hell, some of the Asian and Mexican spots do too.
So, apparently, one way to make your burgers stand out is to make them crazy. I'm sorry – I mean, make them crazee.
Crazee Burger's been at it a while, with locations in Old Town and North Park, and according to a ten-year-old banner at the North Park location, it was once "Voted Best Burger in Town." It's fair to be dubious.
Rather a sedate storefront, given this is Crazee Burger.
I figured I'd give the Old Town location a go, since it's been awhile and their patio's a pretty pleasant place to chow down.
Now, if you've read other Crazee Burger reviews, you've probably read about their alternatives to ground beef patties: buffalo, antelope and even kangaroo. These unique takes on the burger are intriguing, but I had to wonder: how many reviews have been sullied by this sort of experimentation? I mean, how can a burger place truly be assessed if you're comparing the beef of one restaurant to the ostrich of another?
So I strode past Crazee Burger's kooky décor and up to the counter and ordered a traditional, ground beef, American-style burger.
Then, at the last minute, I second-guessed myself, and went for the one with peaches on it.
As good an explanation as anything for what you'll find on the menu at Crazee Burger.
The Jamaican Burger, as it's called, features a "blackened" beef patty topped by sautéed peaches and pepperjack cheese. Faced with so many exotic meats and a dozen takes on the original, I buckled. I would eat beef, but the burger would still technically be crazee.
So I grabbed my spot on the patio, watching tourists explore the "haunted" cemetery across the street, and waited to assess.
First of all, they're canned peaches. I mean, of course they were. Peaches aren’t in season, and how likely is it the restaurant's going to keep any fresh fruit on hand for the odd occasion somebody bypasses the 25 more interesting and delicious sounding options to order the Jamaican?
Which got me thinking? Do they keep fresh ground kangaroo on hand? And if not, how long does it take for them to re-up on their kangaroo meat?
Anyway, the peaches did nothing for the burger other than clash dramatically with the pickles. The blackened seasoning gave it some flavor, which is a good thing because I can't be sure the beef did.
Which gets me thinking again: what's the best way for a burger joint to cover up its mediocrity? Add two-dozen crazee alternatives to the menu and hope nobody notices. After all, it didn't work out for me this time, but I will probably go back to try the El Jacobo chorizo burger, or the Santorini with ground lamb and tzatziki. Or maybe keep it simple and just go for the gator burger with "curry fruit tapenade." Odds are we'll get it right someday.
Comments