What's the weirdest thing you've had on a burger?
Are you taking your life in your hands when you order your ground beef rare?
Keep watching to find out more about what you should look for when avoiding really bad burgers.
Start by doing a bit of dirty detective work. Read online reviews. A bunch of negative
sentiments from infuriated customers is a blaring, telltale sign. However, according to Food Network,
if one pessimistic comment isn't mirrored by other reviews, it just might be totally innocent.
We're also not only concerned about the burgers here. Are people chattering about the restaurant
itself? Sticky tables? Gross crumbs on the floor? Dirty utensils? Just filthy altogether?
They might make a decent burger, but was it made in a sanitary environment?
Likely not. So just don't go to a restaurant with loads of bad reviews.
"He definitely senses something that he doesn't like."
"What do you think it could be?"
"I don't know. Let's find out."
You've pulled into your burger joint of choice. You're stationed in the parking lot,
but it's littered with copious amounts of trash and the front windows are streaky.
It may be time to rethink your choice of restaurants.
Consultant Ken Rice told Reader's Digest this is a sign that cleanliness isn't too important,
and might transfer into the space where your burger is prepared. Even if the front of the
restaurant looks presentable, it may be a good idea to check out the restrooms before
you place your order. Are they in need of a good deep cleaning? If so, run fast.
A restaurant with minimal occupancy is seriously questionable. If you're
sitting down to dine around peak lunch and dinner hours and only a few hungry,
sad souls surround you, raise a brow. This is a cautionary tale that you don't want to experience.
Moreover, if you decide to dine at a specialty restaurant and no one is there,
you'll likely face bad burger trouble. Perry Groups' Restaurant and Hospitality Consultant
Dennis P. Gemberling emphasized to Insider that if the masses aren't flocking to a specific
restaurant and it's visibly not popular, chances are, you'll share the same cynical sentiments.
So our advice? If it's vacant, do yourself a favor and get right on out of there.
You just want a dang good burger, but the plethora of options is hurting your head.
According to food experts at DailyMail, long menus usually mean that the restaurant
is just serving you lousy, frozen ingredients — usually for a pretty
penny. A multi-page menu with 100 options should set off an alarm.
Shorter, more concise menus with a small handful of select burger options,
and perhaps a few appetizers, is what you want. You can also safely
infer that the line chefs have spent time perfecting those few entrees on the menu,
and the chances of you biting into a poorly prepared burger are slim to none.
Tick, tock. Your stomach is vehemently growling but you're willing to wait for the perfect burger.
But within approximately six to eight minutes of ordering, your burger is out, ready for you to
consume. It was most likely pre-cooked and waiting on the sidelines for an order to come through.
According to the New York Post, a rare burger takes around three minutes per
side and a medium-rare burger cooks for around four minutes per side. Unless you
specifically ordered your burger barely cooked, do yourself a favor and return it to the kitchen.
The server greets you with a subdued smile and brings out your burger.
It's finally here but to your dismay, it looks considerably unappetizing.
Can you visibly see the freshly grilled patty with oozing cheddar cheese that's
still slightly bubbling? How about the toppings — are they crisp or wilted? Let's not forget the
buns either. They should be soft to the touch, sort of like a carb-filled cloud.
According to The Restaurant Times, the way restaurants plate their food is a direct indicator
of how experienced the kitchen staff is. A bad presentation not only signals bad tasting food,
but it also suggests a mismanaged kitchen and poor quality all around.
So at the end of the day, if your eyes don't like what they see, we suggest sending it back.
"... I will have the spaghetti, with a side salad. If the salad is on top, I send it back."
Something sour is whirling in the air.
You remembered to take a shower before dining and you definitely put deodorant on,
so it's not you. Could it be the burger sitting right in front of you?
Your sniffer can certainly detect a spoiled burger.
According to Healthline, you can quickly detect if cooked ground meat is spoiled. The scent might
actually transform over time, simply due to an increase in spoilage bacteria. Fresh ground meat
won't have much of a smell at all, so if your sniffer starts to talk... you should listen.
It's no secret that burger doneness is totally up to your discretion.
But if you order a medium or well-done burger and bite into something particularly pink,
the restaurant should be issued a big fat ticket from the burger police.
It's also pertinent to note — when a restaurant serves super rare burgers,
this is classified as risky business that could lead to food poisoning.
The CDC states that ground beef should be cooked to 155 degrees
Fahrenheit and a rare burger is cooked to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Most restaurants always offer a suite of toppings and sauces beyond the ketchup,
especially if you're at some fancy 'designer' burger restaurant. But proceed with caution.
Condiments can sabotage a burger. It can make a perfectly seasoned patty a tad too sweet,
sour, spicy — or all of the above. According to TheRecipe,
there's a slew of tested condiments that just don't jive with burgers.
For example, Brussels sprouts. The bold, nutty flavor can really corrupt everything
and usually doesn't pair well with ground beef. How about apple sauce?
If you find this as a condiment on the menu, you should just pack your bags immediately.
Lastly, if a restaurant attempts to treat your burger like a meatball's close cousin,
lathering it in marinara sauce, you'll undoubtedly get served a soggy, sad mess.
What are they trying to hide under all those toppings anyway? We're guessing it's a bad burger.
Ahh, let's not forget about those buns, hun. Along with the actual patty and toppings,
a bun can ultimately determine an entire burger's fate.
A bun's responsibility is to act as the 'burger bodyguard,' maintaining the overall structure,
ensuring it doesn't topple over like a ruthless game of Jenga.
Sous Chef Carey Dobies at BOKX 109 American Prime told Eater:
"A lower-quality bun that is highly processed cannot stand up to the fat content of a good
burger. Let's say you design a burger that is highly fatty and you pair it with a lower quality
bun — you end up with a bun that falls apart, and you wind up eating the burger with a fork."
So, if you're served buns that are stale, frail, unsupportive, or even soggy, this is presumably
a bad burger. You might as well go to find a few pieces of crunchy iceberg lettuce to do the job.
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