Mojo Grill -- Ocala, FL

506 South Pine Avenue
Ocala, FL 34471
(352)369-6656
website

Ocala, Florida is a small, somewhat rural town in the northern half of Florida, and home to a sizable horse breeding industry. It has also served as the location for several films, including the original Tarzan movies filmed in the 1930s and 1940s, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. So unless you are a horse person, or are the curator of the Johnny Weissmuller museum, you may think you would have little business visiting Ocala.

The Mojo Grill could be considered another reason to head to Ocala. It has been a standard waypoint anytime I drive up and down I-75 for several years now. A classic fat guy trap, the Mojo Grill serves up some of the best wings and sandwiches I've ever had. Recently, my concubine and I took our ritual detour to the Mojo Grill while on a road trip. She got her usual (Cuban, mojo sauce for dipping, side of grilled vegetables). I decided to inquire about the burger. Our server informed us that the meat is fresh-ground. Enough said. Game on.

The Burger Breakdown 

The Beef: Tasty. It was fresh-ground angus, cut unknown, hand-formed into a 10 ounce patty. The beef was full of the flavors I would expect from a good burger, with a slight funk from aging, and strong flavor of iron throughout the bite. It was not at all greasy, and fairly juicy.

The Seasoning: The patty was salted and peppered appropriately. I also tasted a hint of some other seasoning, but it was so subtle I could not identify it. It was just enough to add a more interesting flavor profile to an already good burger.

The Sear: The sear was fine, especially considering that it was flame-cooked. There were strong grill marks on the cheeseless side of the patty. The side that had the cheese actually had the more prominent sear, and the burger would have presented better had the cheese been reversed. There were some crispy bits on the edges of the patty that definitely added to the sandwich.

The Preparation: The burger was cooked on an appropriately-warm gas grill, flipped once, to the Medium Rare that I specified. I was pleased.

The Cheese: The burger was topped with a couple slices of Cheddar cheese. The top slice was melted well, the bottom, not quite as much. There was no sign of greasy runoff one normally sees with Cheddar, so that was one in the win column.

The Bun: The burger was served on a rustic bun of unknown origin. It was a little dense, but tasted good, and held up very well with a big hunk of meat in the middle.

The Meat to Bun Ratio: 1:1.

The Fries: The Mojo Grill serves waffle fries. They were hot and crisp. However, I would recommend one of their other fine sides. There was nothing wrong with the fries, but their grilled vegetables are delicious, and their black beans and rice are great.

The Toppings: The lettuce, tomato, and onion with which it was served were all fresh. The dill pickle chips were just fine.

The Value: $9.29 for a 10 oz. cheeseburger and a side of fries. It's not making the front page of Cheap Eats magazine, but it's not an insult to your wallet, either.

The beef was the star of the show with the Mojo Grill burger, as it should be. The only real misstep was that the cheese could have been melted a little better, and did not detract from the experience at all. I have eaten my way around their menu, and I find myself wishing I had tried the burger earlier.

Burger Review: The Mojo Grill's burger is a good representative of the fine food they serve.

Rating... 4 bites

Gold Star Hamburgers -- Glendale, CA

1623 South Brand Boulevard 
Glendale, CA 91204
818-243-6261
 

I was in Glendale for all of the wrong reasons, but a good friend was gainfully employed in the vicinity, so we decided to grab a burger for lunch. Glendale boasted a paucity of well-reviewed burger joints, but Gold Star Hamburgers stood out on Yelp with a 4-Star rating. The Yelpers touted good burgers, and Damon Gambuto over at Serious Eats was bullish in his review from a few year ago. Metered parking was easy to find along the street. We ordered at the counter and waited for our cheeseburgers to arrive at the table...about 5 minutes.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: Meh. The burger patties at Gold Star Hamburgers were typical, average, previously-frozen, thin, bland, chewy, Chuck discs. The beef wasn't bad, it was simply not interesting. It was moderately beefy. The only other note that it carried was a whiff of char from the grill. The beef was a bit dry and slightly rubbery, which was typical of a frozen product. Fat content--20%. Juiciness--none.

The Seasoning: The burgers were just barely seasoned with a moderately salty blend. Nothing special.

The Sear: Meh. What sear?

The Preparation: Our burgers were cooked on a too cool grill to Med-Well. The burger patties were clearly pre-formed and previously frozen.The burgers were only turned once, and this was a plus. The patties weighed in at about 4 ounces.

The Cheese: The slice of American cheese was properly melted. The paper-thin patty was wide enough that the cheese didn't quite make it to the edges, so the first bites of the burger were the worst bites of the burger. Once I reached the center, meat, bun, and cheese combined adequately.

The Bun: The Gold Star Hamburgers bun was a big, floppy, flat, fresh, sweet, yeasty, seeded, standard burger bun. The bun was not adequately toasted near the center, so it was a little cool. It appeared to have been wiped over a dirty flat top as an afterthought. If the bun had been  crisply toasted and hot, it would have done wonders in terms of texture. And, if a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump its butt when it hopped, broski. "If" didn't happen.

The Meat To Bun Ratio: This was fine.

The Fries: The peel-off, thick-cut, previously-frozen, par-cooked fries were fine. They were under-seasoned, but the fries were were hot and crisp.

The Toppings: The Iceberg lettuce and the tomato slice were both fresh.

The Value: It was tough to spend more than 6 bucks on lunch at Gold Star Hamburgers. Our combos--cheeseburger, fries, and a drink were about that. The value was fine.

I wasn't sure what others saw that was special about Gold Star Hamburgers, but I was confident that it shouldn't have been the cheeseburgers. The burgers were simply average.

Burger Review : Average burgers for a good price.

Rating...3 Bites

The Back Abbey--Claremont, CA

128 North Oberlin Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711
909-625-2642
website

Ugly Bag Of Mostly Water and his concubine were in the region, and The Back Abbey was a convenient spot to convene. We had heard plenty of hype regarding this burger, and what better way to test the veracity of those claims but to show up in force. As I waited for my friend to arrive, I spoke at length with The Back Abbey's GM, Erik. Erik was very knowledgeable about the cheeseburger, and he was most helpful in helping me to understand the details associated with its preparation. One of the coolest things about The Back Abbey was that it served schnitzel in the guise of a salad. Fried pork with a smattering of greens--Magic! Natchy, we ordered this "salad" and some cheeseburgers (The Backyard). Our meals arrived in about ten minutes.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: Kaboom! The beef arrived pre-ground, courtesy of Premiere Meat Company. The beef was ground daily at 4:00 AM. The 6-ounce burgers were comprised of  a proprietary blend of Chuck and a selection of dry-aged cuts, which delivered a well-rounded bite. The burgers were potently beefy, moderately juicy, and they carried a medium level of dry-aged funk. This funk carried throughout the bite, and it was most satisfying. The grind was coarse, and this made for a hearty, steak-filled mouth feel. It was fun to chew on the coarse bits of flavorful steak that lingered on the tongue. The fat content hovered around 20%. The most notable mineral flavor that came through was iron. This was due to both the blood in the beef and the clean, cast iron grates upon which the burgers were grilled. All told, the burger meat was excellent and well-balanced at The Back Abbey.

The Seasoning: Salt and pepper were employed in just the right amounts. The seasoning perfectly enhanced the beef, funk, and steak flavors of the delicious burger meat.

The Sear: This was completely lacking. When I first saw this, I assumed that I would be sending my burger back. UBOMW had already taken a bite of his, and he urged me to not jump to conclusions. He was correct. While I remain convinced that a crisp sear would have put the excellent beef over the top, the sear was not missed as much as I thought it would have been. The burger meat was just that good.

The Preparation: The Back Abbey grilled our burger patties on a moderately hot, gas-fired grill. The burgers were turned only once during the cooking process, and this was appropriate. The uniform patties were formed during morning prep by gently pressing the freshly ground beef into circular molds. The burgers were cooked to Med-Rare as per our request.

The Cheese: YES!  The one-year aged, white cheddar was shredded and perfectly melted over the burger patty. The cheddar was fantastic. It was salty, creamy, tangy, and it contributed just enough umami to fill in the bite. The bite of the cheddar mostly compensated for the lack of sear.

The Bun: It was tricky to figure out where the bun came from--Erik was not forthcoming with that detail. However, as I waited for my friends, The Back Abbey took in a delivery of fresh buns. I caught the attention of the driver on the way out and discovered that the buns came in from the L' Artisan Vally Baking Company in Thousand Palms, CA. This was the only bakery that would prepare a brioche to the exacting standards of The Back Abbey. The brioche was fresh, sweet, and buttery. Really buttery...butter wafted from the bun as one bit into it. The bun was not toasted. A little crispness would have been nice, but it, like the sear, was not sorely missed.

The Meat To Bun Ratio: This was perfect.

The Toppings: The Roma tomato slices were ripe and rich. The Romaine lettuce leaf was a day past its prime with noticeable oxidation along the ribs and cut ends.

The Fries: The fries were an extra $8 for a full order, and they were sort of worth it. The house-cut, peel-off, standard fries were first cooked in duck fat. The fries were finished in soy oil. The result was a richly flavored, crisp, blonde french fry. The fries were crisp and perfectly seasoned.

The Value: The Backyard Burger at The Back Abbey was $11. Considering the quality of the meat, bun, and cheese. The burger was correctly priced.

Did The Back Abbey live up to the hype? Yes, yes it did. The Back Abbey delivered a pretty amazing burger. The meat and bun were both carefully crafted and guarded recipes. The cheese was spot on. The balance of flavors was perfect. The only thing that I found lacking was a shift in texture that should have come from the crispness from the sear or toasting of the bun.

Burger Review : The Back Abbey delivered a really remarkable burger composed of remarkable ingredients.

Rating...5 Bites (rounded up from 4.5)