Rubbery

14 August 2006-
Downtown Flames: 88 2nd Street in San Francisco
Cost: $5.50 (bacon cheeseburger, fries extra)

Image Source: blogger's own

I actually got a burrito bol at Chipotle's for lunch today, I was intending to break the pattern of burgers lately. However, as I was sitting at Yerba Buena Gardens, a really strong gust of wind blew my bol out of my hands and it spilled out onto the ground. I took this incident as a sign to grab a burger.

I walked over to Downtown Flames on my way back to work. I've eaten there a few times in the past. The first time was decent, and then I noticed that the burgers got progressively worse. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with swiss - and skipped on the fries today. I noticed that the patty they were preparing for me was already grilled (it wasn't a raw patty, like I would expect). Also, the cook was putting on american instead of the swiss I had requested. When I reminded the staff, I noticed that the cook simply peeled off the half melted american cheese and slapped on the swiss. It was quite a sight to watch this.

I kind of knew what was coming to me after all these mistakes. I even noticed that the cook had an unusual technique of toasting the bun. Instead of laying the bun directly onto the grill, he just balanced the bun on top of the patty, the cheese and the bacon while he was waiting for the cheese to melt; interesting.

Verdict: I usually don't stage my burger documentation. But the presentation today was just awful (note: tear in the bun). A coworker (fellow burger enthusiast) suggested I dress the burger up a little. I attempted to take a cross section, but was pretty grossed out by the result. The cut basically exposed all the rotten chopped lettuce, and a couple of soggy tomatoes and a pretty disgusting looking patty. Trust me, you wouldn't want to see this. The burger today sucked big time. I barely finished one half and tossed the other half away.

Also, a restaurant with an exposed kitchen only works if it's clean and presentable. I suspect that the exposed kitchen at Flame's probably has a handful of healthcode violations - and it seriously grosses me out everytime I go.