A Revisit to 5 Star Burgers in Southglenn

For the proud few who follow this blog, I wanted to send a friendly reminder to visit 5 Star Burgers in Southglenn.  Seriously, this is one of the finest burgers I've found in Denver...as I've visited burger joint after burger joint in the last few months, I keep wanting to go back to 5 Star Burgers.

So I stopped in there today.  I wasn't able to eat, but I did spend some time talking to one of the managers.  I asked some questions about their business (going well, but need more burger lovers to visit them!), and their beef (ground in-house, locally sourced, cooked on a grill).

Seriously, this place is worth a visit.  I can't wait to go back and get the Green Chile Cheeseburger again.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse

A while back, I read a glowing review of Fleming's $12 burger on my favorite blog A Hamburger Today.  I mean, the pictures looked incredible...the beauty is, we've got Fleming's in Denver, and before 7:00pm the burger is only $6.00!

So, myself and a few friends gave it a shot.  One of those friends is a fellow reviewer on this blog (Mark), so without further ado I give you the SECOND OFFICIAL REVIEW of Pure Burger.

I really don't want to be overly negative here, so I will say upfront that a lot of the blame for this experience falls on me.  I think my expectations were simply too high after reading previous reviews of this burger.   The presentation was nice...

Beef: As soon as this burger plopped down in front of us, we knew we had a problem on our hands.  Previous pics had led us terrible astray, and a short chat with the waiter revealed the ugly truth: PREFORMED PATTIES!!!  The flavor was decently seasoned, but the meat itself was just...preformed.  Juiceless.  Tightly packed.  Perfectly round.  Bad news.

Bun: While the waiter mentioned sourdough, I think he was wrong.  This was a decent sized, pretty tasty, challah bun.

Cheese: Mark and I both kept it simple with cheddar (unfortunately, they don't sell American), and my wife and other buddy got a very moldy (in a good way) bleu cheese.  The bleu was very high quality, but unless you like your burger totally overpowered by bleu cheese, then stick with cheddar. (In general, I've moved away from super strong cheeses to let the meat speak for itself.)  Swiss is an option, too.  Sadly, the slice of cheddar was about the size of a credit card.  Pathetic.

Extras: Mark came through with a stroke of genius here, and ordered a side of 1000 Island.  Otherwise, the burger comes plain.  It comes with either 2 big onion rings, or sub fries at no extra charge.

Produce: Standard burger produce.  LTO.

Ratios: A decent ratio, although maybe a but too much bun.  Overall, nothing outlandish.

Price: $12 regularly, $6 before 7:00pm

*Pure Burger recommendations: I'm serious when I say that I am quickly getting to the point of calling a restaurant beforehand to see whether they use preformed patties.  It's just a flat out disgrace for any burger attempting to actually BE a burger as opposed to a second rate menu addition (as Fleming's burger clearly is).  Even for $6.00, we'd recommend visiting a spot like Park Burger, 5 guys, or possibly even Smashburger.  Fleming's just didn't satisfy.

Hopefully we'll have a positive review soon!!!

Old Mill Brewery and Grill

Hey everyone. Ben here. Time for another burger review. This burger comes from a restaurant right off Main Street in downtown Littleton...the Old Mill. I think it used to be some sort of italian place or something...but now they are your classic brewery/grill/bar outfit: lots of seating, cool atmosphere, TVs, and the like. We sat on the patio, which is always nice.

In order to fully immerse myself in the most fundamental aspects of burgerdom, I ordered the Classic American Burger. Kudos to the restaurant for a name that, while not original, is steeped in history and lore. American cheese (of course), medium rare beef (never frozen), lettuce, tomato, and red onion. The bun was a basic Kaiser...a bit tough, and nothing to write home about.


First, the good. The beef had an immediate char-y flavor, reminiscence of the grill, and was pleasingly seasoned. The American cheese melt was great (side note: my wife got bleu cheese, which is notoriously hard to melt...hers was melted into a gooey oblivion. Awesome.). The produce on my burger was fine, and the fries are tasty in both regular and sweet potato variety. As an added bonus, the fires come with a spicy dipping sauce that actually works pretty well on a burger, too.


Now, the bad. Upon biting into the beef, my burger-alarm went off. Although seasoned and charred, I noticed a distinct lack of juice for a medium-rare burger. Sure enough, upon close inspection of the patty, I had a sinking feeling these were pre-formed. The grind was too small, the meat too densely packed. It's a burger no-no, because although it's efficient, too much can go wrong. Namely, the juiciness, texture, and beefy flavor of the patty. That was the burgers biggest downfall by far.


For my companions (one of whom ordered a nice sized burger with avocado, cheddar, and bacon), the experience was overall pleasant. And I am inclined to say the same, except for that darned pre-formed patty.


If Old Mill could grind their own beef and upgrade their buns, this would be a formidable burger. As it is, I just have to rate it a 6/10. Passable, but not noteworthy.

OG Burgers - a burger food truck

Hey everyone. Ben here. This is another caveat blog post…just a singular review, not to be taken into account of the overall ranking of “best in Denver” (our other judges were absent). Here goes:

In the future, my buddy and I own a burger trailer of sorts. We travel around Denver serving up fine examples of the American cheeseburger. Quality and flavor are our motives. With that in mind, I decided to visit Civic Center Park last Thursday to try what I believe to be the only burger-only “food truck” in Denver: OG Burgers. Here’s their website: www.ogburgers.com.

I was excited. I am always game for a new burger experience, and I was interested in trying a quality burger from a food truck. “OG” stands for “original grass-fed”, and they tout their beef as local, Colorado cow…from farm to bun. The offer a wide range of clever toppings and sauces, and a decent brioche bun. The truck itself is very minimal: spray-painted, old, and lots of character.

I decided to keep my order simple, as I feel that’s the best way to:
1) Try a new burger spot and even the playing field
2) Let the quality of the beef really shine
3) Judge the overall experience, because if the basics aren’t satisfying, then I doubt a more complex burger would be.

With that said, I ordered a medium-rare burger, with sharp cheddar (they don’t offer American cheese…a TRAVESTY!), lettuce, tomato, onion, and mustard/ketchup. Then, things went downhill. FAST.

After a brief conversation with the owners, I had the distinct feeling they were not burger connoisseurs and that the whole idea of grass fed burgers in a food truck was some kind of novelty to them. As if burgers were just a route to profit instead of a true passion. The quality of the burger I was about to eat bore this out…I was massively disappointed. The guy flipping burgers even remarked, “Uh, I think this is closer to medium instead of medium-rare…just want to make sure it’s cooked…” What?

The meat was gray. There was SO much mustard and ketchup slathered on the burger that I literally couldn’t taste the meat anyway. The lettuce was shredded (which gets soggy, in my opinion). They don’t serve fries. It was like eating a bun covered in mustard. I felt like there was no concern for the almighty “ratio” of a good burger: beef to bun to cheese to toppings. It was just a total mess.

I left disheartened, and realized I probably should’ve visited the neighboring food truck from Steuben’s and got a burger there. To all you burger joints out there: for the sake of everything sacred in burgerdom, PLEASE do us all a favor and get out of the business if you aren’t obsessed with burgers! I bear no ill will towards the owners of OG Burgers…maybe it was off day for them…but unfortunately I won’t be returning.

Park Burger: Pearl Street

All of the Pure Burger bloggers can't resist the chance for a great burger experience. So, as Ben mentioned in his post below we are offering our insight individually, if necessary, to keep you hungry for more.

Mark and I (Jenna) had a chance to go out (sans kids) for a bite last week and headed for Pearl Street.

Park Burger delivered on flavor and atmosphere. We sat outside and enjoyed a lazy, quiet evening as the sun set. It was probably the perfect time to go for a couple of "old" people: Monday night, 7pm.

The burgers were perfection. I enjoyed the $1.50 sliders (their Monday night special pictured above) while Mark enjoyed an off-the-menu pick with caramelized onions and American cheese. The buns are made locally by Grateful Bread Company and were a real treat. And let's be honest, even a great burger on a mediocre bun is just that - mediocre.

Fries are ordered separately and we have to recommend The Works. What I would describe as shoe-string fries are crispy and wonderfully smothered with cheese, bacon, and fresh green onions. Sharing these was a good decision.

FYI: if you go when it's busy, be prepared to sit elbow to elbow indoors; bathrooms? don't go unless you have to.

The Oven: Belmar

In an effort to keep the blog updated, we've decided to throw in a review here and there that doesn't necessarily fit into the overall ranking. This is a burger that I (Ben) had, without the companionship of my other reviewers...therefore, it won't be taken into consideration for the Best Burg in Denver. Without further ado:

I really, really wanted to like this burger. And maybe I shouldn't be getting a burger at a pizza place. But for those of you lucky enough to have ever tried the burger at Tarbell's in Southtglenn (now closed), will appreciate the hopes I set upon The Oven's burger. Both restaurants are owned by the same guy, and Tarbell's burger was unreal. So, with high hopes, I gave The Oven a try.

They cook the burger in the very same wood-fired ovens that cook the pizzas, and let me know beforehand that they could cook it rare to well-done. I ordered medium rare, but got medium well…this was not the last disappointment regarding the patty. But first, the good news.

The burger comes out on a fantastic Udi's challah roll, nicely shimmering with some grease, and spread with their house-made mayo. The mayo is no doubt one of the burger's primary draws -- with hints of garlic and basil, it was almost more of a spread than a simple mayo. The flavor was good, but I ended up scraping some off. The tomatoes (roma, I think) were fresh and flavorful, but the shredded iceberg was just standard. A nicely melted American cheese rounded out the burger.

Back to the patty, and ultimately this burger's downfall. To my dismay, upon the first bite I realized that they used frozen, pre-formed patties. Remembering the glory of Tarbell's steak-trimming, hand formed patties, I was shocked and sorry to see such a pathetic patty on the Oven's burger. It tasted somewhat microwaved, even though it was cooked in their wood-fire. Decent toppings, bun, and mayo aside, the burger simply could not recover from this abysmal meat.

Overall grade, B-. But, if they went to fresh patties and backed off on the mayo, i think this burger could really be good. Oh well.

5 Star Burgers: Southglenn

We sampled several burgers and rated the 5 Star Burger from 5 Star Burgers in Streets of Southglenn.

Here are the pure and simple results:

Beef: house-ground Harris Ranch; slightly over-cooked but still juicy and flavorful

Bun: locally baked with their own recipe, the brioche bun was possibly the best part of the burger....in a tie with the gloriously beefiness of the patty.

Cheese: gorgonzola crumbles, a generous amount that added a terrific punch

Extras: no sauce on the burger, but the green chile mayo served on the side was amazing & the perfect dipper for both the regular and sweet potato fries; bacon was crispy and delicious

Produce: all was fresh and crisp; the star of this side show was the Katy's pickle slices. all the burgers come with a side of green leaf lettuce, white onion, tomatoes, and pickles.

Ratios: excellent beef-to-bun-to-cheese ratios.

Price: $8-12 and fries are extra ($3)

*Pure Burger recommendations: the 5 Star Burger was truly great, but we'd choose the Green Chile or the Lamb burger for real "wow" factor...the Green Chile melted pepper jack over the top of chopped hatch chiles, and the lamb was a perfect mid-rare with cucumber slices and tzatziki sauce. Out of the ordinary, but awesome.

Taos Burger: That's a whole, fried green chile on top - yum!

*Pure Burger rating: our first review means first place! Let's see if they can hold on to the top.

"The Side Dish": Not a meat eater? The Portobello Stack was a nice alternative; fries were good; no complaints on service or cleanliness; although not necessarily a "family restaurant" the kids were definitely happy!

Traditional Burger Menu

It was quiet on a Tuesday night, but nice atmosphere