P.J. Clarke's--Las Vegas, NV

3500 S Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-434-7900
website

 Several years ago, PJ. Clarke's had served up a pretty OK burger in NYC, but I had high hopes for the Las Vegas outpost. Happy Meal were fresh off of the enormous letdown of Rambo's Kitchen, and I wanted to set things right with a high-end burger. Hope was expensive.

We arrived at a very slow time of the evening and a staff that was relatively uninformed regarding the signature burger. The cheeseburger at P.J. Clarke's was a whopping $17.60, so we were hoping for something relatively impressive. We ordered a couple of Deluxe Burgers and settled in for 20 minute wait. P.J. Clarke's was located at Caesar's Palace. The decor was true to NYC, only with more cameras.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: Meh. The burger meat arrived pre-ground from the Outwest Meat Company in Las Vegas. The beef was sourced from a ranch in Wyoming. The pre-cooked weight was 8 ounces. I mistakenly ordered my burger Med-Rare due to the assumption that $17.50 would get me something better than Chuck. I was incorrect--at least, the beef was so mild that is seemed like Chuck. Regardless, the 80/20 ground beef was moderately beefy, quite juicy, and that was about it. The beef was ground at a medium-coarse setting. The bite was tender and not oily. There were no notes of iron, blood, or aging. The beef was slightly above average.

The Seasoning: There was none.

The Sear: P.J. Clarke's in spite of being a big time steakhouse was unable to get a competent sear onto the beef patty. I found this confusing. This should have been simple and obvious. It was not. This cheeseburger would have benefited greatly from the sort of sear that a steakhouse should be capable of.

The Preparation: The 8-ounce patties were loosely formed. My burger arrived at a perfect Med-Rare, as requested. The burgers were cooked on a gas-fired griddle.

The Cheese: The American cheese was perfectly melted. The American cheese saved the day for this otherwise, ho hum burger. The cheese filled in with savory and iron notes. This properly rounded out the bite.

The Bun: P.J. Clarke's served the cheeseburger on a nicely toasted brioche-style bun. The bun was mild and slightly sweet. Sadly, the assembled burger was delivered atop a freshly cut slice of raw, white onion. The result was that the taste of onion perfused the entire bite. I did not want this.

The Meat To Bun Ratio: This was perfect.

The Toppings: The Iceberg lettuce was fresh and crisp. The tomato slices were a bit under-ripe.

The Fries: Hell yeah! The fries at P.J. Clarke's were terrific.They were par-cooked. The fries were so evenly salted that I believe they had been brined. The fries were then fried in either incredibly fresh canola oil or rice bran oil. The fries were perfectly crisped. They were creamy in the center. The potato flavor was strong, earthy, and satisfying.

The Value: Meh. $17.60 for a Chuck burger and fries was downright excessive. While the burger was pretty good, the price was absurd.

PJ Clarke's needed to contend with serious competition for both steaks and burgers. A more impressive burger would have been a welcome accompaniment to the impressive price.

Burger Review : P.J. Clarke's of Las Vegas served up a good burger at an exorbitant price. The fries were spectacular, though.

Rating...3 Bites (marked down one bite for overly high pricing)

Rambo's Kitchen--Las Vegas, NV

6085 S Fort Apache Rd 
Las Vegas, NV 89148
702-722-2626
website

The Las Vegas Review Journal pronounced Rambo's Kitchen as serving one of the best burgers in the area. Happy Meal and I decided to put that to the test. As luck would have it, The Marinater was on his way out of town, so we made the short trek from the touristy part of Las Vegas to the outskirts where Rambo's Kitchen was located. The temperature was 111 degree outside, and Happy Meal did not approve. Rambo's Kitchen looks a lot like the 60s and 70s just threw up on it. The service was a throwback, as well. Throwback---more like thrown out...the service was abhorrent. I had to track down our server no less than three times. I digress.

Parking was free in the strip mall lot where the anachronistic establishment was situated. We were seated quickly. We ordered a variety of cheeseburgers and settled in for a 15-minute wait.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: Meh. The burgers at Rambo's Kitchen were 100% Chuck. In the case of our meals, the Chuck was over-cooked, bland, and rubbery. The beef was likely previously frozen. The grind was fine, and that rarely bodes well. Finely ground beef speaks to too much connective tissue. It also creates too much surface area where new protein bonds form and create a chewy bite. The flavor was mildly beefy........and that was it. The burgers were a little dry, and the fat content was at about 20%.

The Seasoning: There was no seasoning. The cheeseburgers at Rambo's Kitchen would have benefited from some seasoning.

The Sear: The sear on my thicker patty was adequate. The sear on the 1/4 pound patties that The Marinater and Happy Meal ordered was nonexistent

The Preparation: The burgers were consistently over-cooked/steamed on a gas-fired flat top. The staff cooked the burger patties under domes. This caused the thinner burger patties to steam rather than fry. The burgers were formed during morning prep. The beef arrived pre-ground. My burger, The Cheesy Cheese Burger was stuffed with cheese, since this was the award-winning burger. Rather than being good, it was simply really cheesy. I gave most of it to The Marinater and Happy Meal. My burger was the most palatable of the lot. My burger had a bit of pink due its thickness.

The Cheese: The cheese was properly melted, but it didn't stand up to the overly sweet bun or the over-cooked, rubbery beef.

The Bun: The bun was really nicely toasted and crisp, and it delivered a satisfying crunch to each bite. Sadly,the bun was overly sweet, and this was a major distraction.

The Meat To Bun Ration: The soft, fresh bun would have been a better match to a moist and properly cooked burger patty.

The Toppings: The Iceberg lettuce and tomato were both ripe and fresh.

The Fries: The fries were properly seasoned, but they were cooked to the point of translucency. Beyond that, the fries were more like fry bits. They averaged about 1/2 inch long--that was a little offputting. It seemed like we were getting whatever was left after the end of a long rush. The fries at Rambo's Kitchen were properly seasoned.

The Value: My Cheese Burger was $11.49, and that was way too much for over-cooked Chuck, vulcanized fries, and piss poor service. The value at Rambo's Kitchen was exceedingly weak.

While the service was lousy at Rambo's Kitchen, the real issue was that the cheeseburgers were equally lousy. Maybe they were having a bad day, but I review them on the day that I am there. Happy Meal does not endorse patronizing this establishment.

Burger Review : The incompetently prepared burgers were a perfect match to the incompetent service.

Rating...2 Bites

Fat Choy--Las Vegas, NV

595 East Sahara Ave.
At Eureka Casino
Las Vegas, NV 89104

Happy Meal and I were on a Las Vegas pilgrimage. Las Vegas continued its burger renaissance, and Fat Choy had been making some lists of up and coming establishments.We made Fat Choy our first stop. Parking was free in the attached, uncovered lot. That also meant that the car got nice and hot in the 111 degree heat as we dined. Fat Choy is located in the Eureka Casino. This is a tiny casino a few blocks off of the strip. I ordered a $10 Fat Choy Burger with all of the messy toppings on the side. My burger arrived in about 20 minutes.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: The beef in the Fat Choy Burger was 100% Certified Angus Chuck. While the cheeseburger was moderately beefy, it lacked any further complexity. That was probably why the routine at Fat Choy was to obscure their burgers under heaps of toppings. The Fat Choy Burger came with braised Short Rib. Bacon, a Fried Egg, Lettuce, and Tomato. Without these things, the beef was left to stand alone. The beef was sourced from National Beef. The 8-ounce patties arrived pre-formed. It was juicy. The fat content was 20%.  All told, the burger meat was just fine.

The Seasoning: The exterior of the burger patty was sprinkled with a little salt...just enough to enhance the beefiness from the ample collagen in the ground Chuck.

The Sear: The kitchen at Fat Choy got a decent sear onto my burger with very hot, gas-fired grill. As I watched the burger patty cook, I was pleased to note that the kitchen did not fuss with it. This allowed the sear to develop.

The Preparation: There wasn't much to it at Fat Choy. The 8-ounce patties were pre-formed. The kitchen delivered a competent Med-Well burger, and the egg was a perfectly runny, sunny side up.

The Cheese: The White American cheese that topped my cheeseburger was nicely melted. It provided just enough salt and iron to round out the bite.

The Bun: The burger bun at Fat Choy arrived courtesy of La Brea Bakery. The Brioche-style bun was adequately toasted, and it delivered a slight crunch. Otherwise, the bun was completely neutral.

The Toppings: The Iceberg lettuce and tomato were both fresh and ripe. The Short Rib was savory and tender. It reminded me of my mom's pot roast. The bacon was savory and smokey. The fried egg was perfectly prepared. I re-assembled my Fat Choy Burger. The result was a very sloppy and unfocused bite. I gave up after two bites and made a trip to the restroom to wash my hands.

The Fries: The fries at Fat Choy arrived par-cooked and frozen in bags. The kitchen cooked the peel-off, shoestring fries in properly hot canola oil. The fries arrived hot, crisp, lightly browned, and properly seasoned.

The Value: Ten bucks for a half-pound cheeseburger with bacon, egg, Short Rib,and fries....not bad.

Fat Choy was our first stop on our second burger crawl of the year. It was a fine way to kick things off.

Burger Review : Fat Choy served up a better than average cheeseburger at a better than average value.

Rating...4 Bites