tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32372760419648899102024-03-14T09:12:01.570-07:00BurgerBlogjefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-7464487309977439792011-05-31T11:40:00.000-07:002011-05-31T11:44:28.970-07:00Minneapolis/St. Paul are in the top ten burger cities in the United States<span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">According to </span><a href="http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-40160065"><span style="font-size:130%;">this Travel and Leisure article</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">, Minneapolis and Saint Paul are ranked as number 8 in the nation for burgers.</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;">They mention both the 5-8 Club and Matt's Bar, although our research has shown that most of the best burgers have been on the east side of the Mississippi.</span></span>Joe Erjavechttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01375452374103632345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-3274108226698451682011-01-06T20:04:00.001-08:002011-01-06T20:07:07.718-08:00Final 2011 Schedule (or as final as these things ever get)Men,<br /><br />Here's our itinerary for 2011:<br /><br />Towntalk Diner Jan 2011<br />Skinners Pub & Eatery Feb 2011<br />Convention Grill & Fountain Mar 2011<br />Lyndale Taphouse Apr 2011<br />The Tavern Restaurant & Bar May 2011<br />Annie's Parlor June 2011<br />Vincent's July 2011<br />Lucky's 13 Pub Aug 2011<br />Tooties on Lowery Sept 2011<br />Mayslack's Oct 2011<br />Maxwell's American Bar Nov 2011<br />Dusty's Bar Dec 2011<br /><br />Here's to another year of burger adventuring!jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-43071416158430840382010-11-04T17:37:00.001-07:002010-11-04T17:37:58.173-07:00Preliminary 2011 ScheduleGang,<br /><br />Here is the preliminary 2011 schedule. We can discuss on the 15th what people think.<br /><br />Towntalk Diner Jan 2011<br />Skinners Pub & Eatery Feb 2011<br />Convention Grill & Fountain Mar 2011<br />Lyndale Taphouse Apr 2011<br />The Tavern Restaurant & Bar May 2011<br />Annie's Parlor June 2011<br />Vincent's July 2011<br />Lucky's 13 Pub Aug 2011<br />Tooties on Lowery Sept 2011<br />Sandy's Tavern Oct 2011<br />Maxwell's American Bar Nov 2011<br />Dusty's Bar Dec 2011jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-68847468982066662052010-10-24T15:00:00.000-07:002010-10-24T15:05:06.968-07:00Bulldog UptpownWe had a slightly better than average time at the Bulldog Uptown. Scores were much higher than the debacle we had the the Bulldog NE, so that was good. Overall, we were pleased with the burgers, perfect cheese curds, and the beer menu, but less than thrilled with the overall layout of the joint and the attitudinally-challenged service. Let's break it down:<br /><br />Burger: 3.67<br />Sides: 4.5<br />Beer: 4.33<br />Service: 2.53<br />Ambiance: 2.83<br />Value: 3.33<br /><br />Overall: 3.54jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-69919853218918411352010-10-24T14:55:00.000-07:002010-10-24T15:00:42.262-07:00Shamrocks RocksShamrocks does indeed rock! For only the 3rd time in club history, we have broken a overall 4 star rating! Not surprisingly, one of the other places was the Nook (still reigning champion). The other is Sweeneys. Scores and comments closely echo the voting for The Nook. I think that Shamrocks may have even won if they offered a more robust tap menu. Let's break it down:<br /><br />Burger: 4.5<br />Sides: 4<br />Beer: 3.17<br />Service: 4.5<br />Ambiance: 3.67<br />Value: 4<br /><br />Overall: 4<br /><br />You should now be able to add comments to the voting via Google Docs.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-26835531073738684202010-08-19T18:15:00.001-07:002010-08-19T18:20:21.259-07:00Mac's Industrial Burger Bar AARWe hit Mac's Industrial Burger Bar in Nordeast this Monday, and were largely not disappointed! We scored the best since the infamous outing to Sweeney's back in January. People universally loved the Fried Plate of Death and the cheap menu. Parking, mediocre service and less than awesome ambiance took it down a notch. One quotable came from Mr Engberg with the following:<br /><br />Parking confusion was annoying, driving around the block in Nord'east with all the non-euclidean corners and one-ways is not my favorite pastime. Speaking of non-euclidean, I have to agree with Clint, a showdown with alternate universe el-presidente would have kicked ass. And probably freed their world from his tyranny over the Coleslaw of the Month Club. El Jefe whooping wholesale ass on PBR hipsters would have been acceptable as well. ;-)<br /><br />Here's a breakdown of the scoring:<br /><br />Burger - 3.42<br />Sides - 4.25<br />Beer - 4.17<br />Service - 3.25<br />Ambiance - 2.83<br />Value - 4.50<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall score - 3.74</span>jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-76540918987316005852010-08-16T13:11:00.001-07:002010-08-16T13:19:41.604-07:00Salut Bar American - AARHere's the After Action Report for Salut in St Paul. In general there was agreement that the service and patio ambiance were nice, but disappointment at the small beer selection, the quality of the burgers (oh oh!) and the overall pricing. Honerable mention goes to the fries with bernaise sauce. Here's how the scoring broke down:<br /><br />Burger: 3<br />Sides: 3.3<br />Beer: 2.3<br />Service: 3.67<br />Ambiance: 4<br />Value: 2.67<br /><br /><strong>Overall score: 3.15</strong>jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-11639241891541836592010-06-27T19:35:00.000-07:002010-06-27T19:42:03.771-07:00Revised 2H 2010 ScheduleOK -<br /><br />The great summer weather, and 2 consecutive great patio moments got me thinking...we need to make the most of the summer! I've been doing some more research on yelp, and also have dropped 1 tavern and added another (swapped out the Town Talk Diner, and swapped in Mac's Industrial) So, I've re-arranged somethings, and here's the updated schedule:<br /><br /><br />July 19 - Salut Bar American (on Grand Ave in St Paul)<br />August 16 - Mac's Industrial<br />Sept 20 - Shamrocks Grill & Pub<br />Oct 18 - Bulldog Uptown<br />Nov 15 - The Cardinal (note, this is on the Hiawatha rail line; 38th Ave Stop)<br />Dec 20 - 112 Eateryjefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-70142459501677158032010-06-27T19:18:00.000-07:002010-06-27T19:22:52.460-07:00Stub & Herb'sThe gang hit Stub & Herb's in June as was not disappointed! We had beautiful weather, and opted to sit on the patio behind the pub proper. We were uniformly impressed with both the variety of beers and the quality service. Burgers were well received too. Here's a breakdown of the scores:<br /><br />Burger: 3.62<br />Sides: 3.5<br />Beer: 4.25<br />Service: 4<br />Ambiance: 3.25<br />Value: 3.5<br /><br />Overall score: 3.68<br /><br />Note - this finally break's St Paul's stranglehold on the top half of the ratings. Stub & Herb's falls somewhere between the Groveland Tap and the Blue Door on the burger-o-meter.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-47971279432952241852010-06-15T16:00:00.001-07:002010-06-15T16:07:50.608-07:00Happy B-Day BOTM Club!! Rankings Thus Far...We've finally hit the 12 month mark! Below are a year's worth of scores. The reigning champ continues to the The Nook, while Matt's Bar is our cellar dweller! Here's to another delicious year!<br /><br />The Nook - 4.25<br />Sweeney's - 4.21<br />Blue Door Pub - 3.88<br />Groveland Tap - 3.67<br />The Happy Gnome - 3.5<br />American Burger - Bar 3.41<br />5-8 Club - 3.3<br />Herkimer Pub - 3.13<br />Ike's 3.04 -<br />Burger Jones - 3.03<br />Bulldog NE - 2.81<br />Matt's Bar - 2.38<br /><br />Interesting to see that the top 6 taverns are all in St Paul, and the bottom 6 are all in Minneapolis. You may have the lakes, but we got the burgers <br /><br />:-)jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-24104075880035341672010-06-15T15:30:00.000-07:002010-06-15T15:53:11.035-07:00Catch Up Time!!OK - <br /><br />Sorry for the hiatus. We've had spotty voting, and that's led to spotty postings. I'm going to be bringing back the old-school ballots for our June outing! Here's our backlog of (averaged) voting:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">March - American Burger Bar</span><br /><br />Burger - 4.5<br />Sides - 3<br />Beer - 3<br />Service - 3.5<br />Ambiance - 3.5<br />Value - 3<br /><br />Overall Score - 3.41<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">May - Burger Jones</span><br /><br />Burger - 4.5<br />Sides - 3<br />Beer - 3<br />Service - 3.5<br />Ambiance - 3.5<br />Value - 3<br /><br />Overall - 3.03<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">June - The Happy Gnome</span><br /><br />Burger - 2.8<br />Sides - 3.2<br />Beer - 5<br />Service - 3<br />Ambiance - 4.2<br />Value - 5.8<br /><br />Overall - 3.5jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-72166868952071644892010-03-01T18:19:00.000-08:002010-03-01T18:21:24.922-08:00TwinCitiesBurger.comOne of the guys I work with sent this my way. Here's a like-minded BurgerMan who's also on a quest for burger-perfection. Check it out!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.twincitiesburger.com">www.twincitiesburger.com</a><br /><br />One man - going it alone. Truly, an inspiration for all of us.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-87314649671830079212010-02-22T20:12:00.000-08:002010-02-22T20:14:34.640-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthOfqv4SJ4OtWIFAGuYMOAF00qeyzH5RgUnCfjLysFtBcaGWE8E5H3j74rY-ZKrDIAcZ1nloNmSIMBIurv2RRAX4fzFO1oTgt2SfVLPPeBr2buL5xat3KIHdVZOLcimbY5tOhhL_tBRI/s1600-h/blueDoorPub.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthOfqv4SJ4OtWIFAGuYMOAF00qeyzH5RgUnCfjLysFtBcaGWE8E5H3j74rY-ZKrDIAcZ1nloNmSIMBIurv2RRAX4fzFO1oTgt2SfVLPPeBr2buL5xat3KIHdVZOLcimbY5tOhhL_tBRI/s320/blueDoorPub.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441287071098567938" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Blue Door Annouces...The Lumberjack Blucy!</span><br />The Lumberjack ($8) is a burger stuffed Jucy Lucy-style with smoked Gouda, thick-cut bacon and cayenne pepper. The burger itself is finished off with a maple syrup glaze on the outside and served naked on a bun. Before you head out to try it, just know that no matter how delicately you put it, anyone who hears that you will be eating this will think that you are a filthy animal.<br /><br />YES!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.vita.mn/story.php?id=84627522">Details here.</a>jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-32087508874342460772010-02-22T20:05:00.001-08:002010-02-22T20:08:57.309-08:00Herkimer AARThe Club hit Herkimer's in Uptown in February. The pub came in very average, with scores for everything floating around the "3" mark. Club members seemed universally disappointed with the beer. For a brewpub, there was a strange lack of flavor across the spectrum of beers we sampled (and we sampled 'em all!). Let's break it down:<br /><br />Burger: 3.2<br />Sides: 3.4<br />Beer: 2.8<br />Service: 3.2<br />Ambiance: 3.2<br />Value: 3<br /><br />Overall score: 3.13<br /><br /><a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvTmdgDoxUjhdE9CZ2p5Y1o2dURWQ1h2a1M4c1ItZVE&hl=en">Link to detailed scores and comments</a>.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-83380372188081898022010-02-20T13:09:00.000-08:002010-02-20T13:16:38.735-08:00Sweeney's SaloonWhile some of the BOTM Club were MIA in Jan, the rest soldiered on. The reviews were solid; Sweeney's definitely stands out for beer, service, ambiance and value. Also also decent burgers. It comes in #2 in our overall pub race thus far! Let's break it down:<br /><br />Burger: 3.3<br />Sides: 4<br />Beer: 4.5<br />Service: 4.5<br />Ambiance: 4.5<br />Value:4.25<br />Overall: 4.21<br /><br /><a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvTmdgDoxUjhdHBPTEZmdjg2QldZd0o0OVd2R2J4S1E&hl=en">Link to detailed scores and comments</a>.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-12569514336729581932010-01-18T21:52:00.000-08:002010-01-18T21:52:09.455-08:00Sweeney's Saloon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3dK7NQ5Aqb50kbI6V2mqUm1j8a3QxvnniTO7ut6tfhZrbuYMdgEr08zba1bJe13sRTNQXEDeJdF9x3MBOOOhuuarzz7b04n0VAp0xDctRkxDBBHSIxkrEVVFYd3vQ_fSuZUEZ-2KqWs/s1600-h/DSCF0226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw3dK7NQ5Aqb50kbI6V2mqUm1j8a3QxvnniTO7ut6tfhZrbuYMdgEr08zba1bJe13sRTNQXEDeJdF9x3MBOOOhuuarzz7b04n0VAp0xDctRkxDBBHSIxkrEVVFYd3vQ_fSuZUEZ-2KqWs/s320/DSCF0226.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436201698772120808noreply@blogger.com096 N Dale St, St Paul, MN 55102, USA44.9442825 -93.126210544.9404855 -93.133506 44.9480795 -93.118915tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-22789337532552953082010-01-08T18:42:00.000-08:002010-01-09T14:03:59.664-08:00Preliminary 2010 ScheduleTeam,<br /><br />Here's the preliminary schedule for 2010. Based on your feedback, I've added Bulldog Uptown back on the list.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sweeneyssaloon.com/">Sweeney's</a> Jan 2010<br /><a href="http://www.theherkimer.com/">Herkimer Pub</a> Feb 2010<br /><a href="http://americanburgerbar.com/">American Burger Bar</a> Mar 2010<br /><a href="http://www.burgerjones.com/">Burger Jones</a> April 2010<br /><a href="http://www.thehappygnome.com/">The Happy Gnome</a> May 2010<br /><a href="http://www.stubandherbsbar.com/">Stub & Herbs</a> June 2010<br /><a href="http://www.112eatery.com/">112 Eatery</a> July 2010<br /><a href="http://www.crnook.com/">Shamrocks</a> Aug 2010<br /><a href="http://www.cardinaltavern.com/Cardinal_Bar/Cardinal_Bar_%26_Tavern,_Minneapolis_Minnesota.html">The Cardinal</a> Sept 2010<br /><a href="http://www.salutbaramericain.com/">Salut</a> Oct 2010<br /><a href="http://www.towntalkdiner.com/">Town Talk Diner</a> Nov 2010<br /><a href="http://www.thebulldogmpls.com/uptown/">Bulldog Uptown</a> Dec 2010<br /><br /><a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvTmdgDoxUjhdF9tU05mdHlkWHd0anEzQjNrVWprNVE&hl=en">Schedule on Google Docs</a>jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-51399457673974150322010-01-06T16:16:00.001-08:002010-01-06T16:24:46.980-08:00Ike's Food & Cocktails - After Action ReportThe December club meeting came perilously close to not happening as we had a flurry of last minute regrets. A special congrats goes out to Rob and Kate who are now the proud parents of a baby girl!!! But the hard core alcohol- er, I mean members, braved the cold and checked out Ike's Food & Cocktails. Ike's was able to just barely break 3 stars out of 5 on our Burger-o-Rama scale. Let's break it down:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Overall Score: 3.04</span><br />Burger: 4<br />Sides: 3<br />Beer: 4<br />Service: 4<br />Ambiance: 3<br />Value: 3<br /><br />Here's a link to the <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvTmdgDoxUjhdDliVkVHYTdFTzRHd2J6UC1SVlNaQUE&hl=en">detailed scores</a>.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-81214160877503194162009-12-23T21:41:00.000-08:002009-12-23T21:41:18.773-08:00Ike's Food and Cocktails<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfA_fKGuB4ZlAYJ6crkgsDhNkkSzCmqBVk3a-QwfiwHFv4vQV_OggNsVqGtGlyUY45HKLKOTca2j_6eG3ZY8vd_V9Qygwb9i_OIPBVJNAg9_i4PJGoykF2wuLYbNaEFJncchtY5TurhT8/s1600-h/IMG_3245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfA_fKGuB4ZlAYJ6crkgsDhNkkSzCmqBVk3a-QwfiwHFv4vQV_OggNsVqGtGlyUY45HKLKOTca2j_6eG3ZY8vd_V9Qygwb9i_OIPBVJNAg9_i4PJGoykF2wuLYbNaEFJncchtY5TurhT8/s320/IMG_3245.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioygS37BTaQP9y1iaunJKuEXk91GfKhnvQIAXQ4SErtnfY1sgEUevFeOV7o_DQ-PpUqsOcQcq_RaAB4rsWmFAzuChtvL6Xr32ebPsoaD6WdI0rC3YXtnxz5NS9I3u5U_w0koHahTZSiKc/s1600-h/IMG_3243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioygS37BTaQP9y1iaunJKuEXk91GfKhnvQIAXQ4SErtnfY1sgEUevFeOV7o_DQ-PpUqsOcQcq_RaAB4rsWmFAzuChtvL6Xr32ebPsoaD6WdI0rC3YXtnxz5NS9I3u5U_w0koHahTZSiKc/s320/IMG_3243.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436201698772120808noreply@blogger.com0Downtown West, Minneapolis, MN, USA44.978217411640614 -93.27240228652954144.977268911640614 -93.27422628652954 44.979165911640614 -93.270578286529542tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-76189319952647640392009-11-29T19:01:00.000-08:002009-11-29T19:01:29.823-08:00The Nook<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwHkFg0x44dzTcbURT_W5eW8nOK7O6oQwmVuzC0d_2gRdRIf9LB56-PEatuH7AvxwKPx1wSkFXrCehnfbklg7abvkJgojRxVoeQhrWMZfGRNwKjHrgnd35ckNMvIEicgY3gtQ3jISzGw/s1600/TheNook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwHkFg0x44dzTcbURT_W5eW8nOK7O6oQwmVuzC0d_2gRdRIf9LB56-PEatuH7AvxwKPx1wSkFXrCehnfbklg7abvkJgojRxVoeQhrWMZfGRNwKjHrgnd35ckNMvIEicgY3gtQ3jISzGw/s400/TheNook.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436201698772120808noreply@blogger.com1492 S Hamline Ave, St Paul, MN 55105, USA44.9266352 -93.156811644.9228372 -93.1641071 44.9304332 -93.1495161tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-57040510439727886132009-11-27T12:10:00.000-08:002009-12-07T18:32:53.000-08:00The Nook - After Action ReportCasper's and Runyon's Nook lived up to the hype. Club members were uniformly impressed with the burgers, service, ambiance and the value. The beer took a slight hit for a small selection and the "pretzel-tasting" Cygnus X-1. The Nook easily scored at the club's all time favorite (so far), with an overall score of 4.25, a half point higher than the Blue Door!<br /><br />Let's break it down:<br /><br />Overall Score: 4.25<br />Burgers: 4.17<br />Sides: 4.00<br />Beer: 3.67<br />Service: 4.83<br />Ambiance: 4.17<br />Value: 4.67<br /><br /><a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvTmdgDoxUjhdEI3OEM5cnFuLUNJQjN2UkNpNHctRGc&hl=en">View the detailed scores here</a>.<br /><br />Up next month is <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&source=hp&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=ike's+food+and+cocktails&fb=1&gl=us&hq=ike's+food+and+cocktails&hnear=Saint+Paul,+MN&cid=6126241519945402111">Ike's Food & Cocktails</a> on 21 December. Get ready for some holiday-burger-grubbin'.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-35469678357191248542009-11-08T12:28:00.000-08:002009-11-27T12:20:11.129-08:00Half Way to our Top 10!The BOTM Club has hit it's halfway point in defining our Top Ten Best Burger Joints in the Twin Cities. Here's the rankings so far:<br /><br />The Nook: 4.25<br />The Blue Door: 3.77<br />Grovland Tap: 3.67<br />5-8 Club: 3.33<br />Bulldog NE: 2.81<br />Matt's Bar: 2.38<br /><br />Up this month (November) is <a href="http://crshamrocks.com/">Casper and Runyon's Nook</a> in St Paul.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-77084052542127377932009-11-08T12:17:00.001-08:002009-11-08T12:24:24.799-08:00Matt's Bar - After Action ReportMatt's Bar was the destination in October. The club was roundly disappointed with Matt's Bar, the purported inventor of the Jucy Lucy. Matt's has the dubious honor of being lowest in the BOTM rating to date. Let's break it down:<br /><br />Overall Average Score: 2.38<br /><br />Burger: 2.25<br />Sides: 2.25<br />Beer: 2.75<br />Service: 2.25<br />Ambiance: 2.25<br />Value: 2.50<br /><br /><a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvTmdgDoxUjhdGRPbDQxVDByR1R6M0Jfc0J2cEEwUGc&hl=en">Detailed scoring and commentary.</a><br /><br />The club seemed uniformly disappointed in both the food and the service. It didn't seem that Matt's lived up to its legendary hype.jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-32140677104808891742009-11-08T11:36:00.000-08:002009-11-09T18:36:15.950-08:00Blue Door - After Action ReportIn August the BTOM Club hit the Blue Door. It ranked the highest in our quest for the perfect burger joint to date, with an aggregate score of 3.77. Let's break it down:<br /><br />Burger: 4<br />Sides: 4.25<br />Beer: 3.75<br />Service: 3.5<br />Ambiance: 3.5<br />Value: 4.25<br /><br /><a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvTmdgDoxUjhdFA2d0psUTJ4eC1NVlItWWxTbVBmakE&hl=en">Scoring details and commentary.</a><br /><br />Seems like we were consistently happy with our burgers, and really enjoyed the sides (with the exception of the SPAM bites). The deep fried green beans got unanimous praise. Club members also seemed happy with quality beers served at $3/pint. Nice job Blue Door! We'll be coming back!jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237276041964889910.post-39481293548175041622009-08-18T14:42:00.000-07:002009-08-18T15:07:19.045-07:00Bulldog NE After Action ReportAlas! The highly anticipated (and postponed) trip to the Bulldog NE was by most accounts a disappointment. Club members unanimously agreed that the service was bad (messed up orders, missing orders and an interminable wait for the bill). Most members were also disappointed with the quality of the burgers (notable exceptions were Todd and Joe). A high point for most of the club were the sides (my personal favorites were the poblano poppers), and the beer selection / quality. Below is a rundown of the voting:<br /><br />Burger: 2.86<br />Sides: 3.43<br />Beer: 3.86<br />Service: 1.29 (a new record low!)<br />Ambiance: 3<br />Value: 2.43<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Average Overall Score: 2.81</span><br /><br />Full rating and comments can be found <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tIdNNHXXk_Dj0AwTSZ7W38w&output=html">here</a>.<br /><br />I do have to editorialize a bit. The service at the bar (prior to taking our seat) was superb. The barkeep was prompt, informative, and helped reserve a table big enough for the 7 of us. His level of engagement and service easily merits a 5.<br /><br />Next up is <a href="http://thebdp.com">The Blue Door</a> in St Paul on September 21st at 7PM. Here is a list of the rest of our <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t_mSNftydXwtjq3B3kUjk5Q&output=html">tentative schedule</a> (open to reprioritizing at any BOTM meeting).jefehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12359625094723370755noreply@blogger.com0