Son (Charlie):
Mesa burger was a very pleasant experience, it was a nice cool night out when we sat outside, the food came to us quicker than I had expected, and it was all very well cooked and tasted great. I ordered the Montecito with a side of sweet potato waffle fries and a sparkling water to drink. The Montecito is a burger containing a patty, one large onion ring, lots of grilled onions, bleu cheese, and arugula. And it was absolutely fantastic, the patty was dripping juices into my hands when I bit into, the clearest sign of a good burger in my opinion, and all the different flavors really played well off of each other. I’m not a very big bleu cheese fan but that combined with the arugula and onions came to together really well. As for the arugula itself, it was great. In my opinion there are only two types of lettuce that belong on a sandwich or burger. Ice burg lettuce on a burger, and arugula on either. And it was oddly enough my favorite part of the burger. But the real star of the show surprisingly were the sweet potato fries. These were waffle fries so any Chick-fil-A enthusiasts feel free to get exited. They were very well seasoned and nice and crisp, just the way I like them. Definitely the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had, but that’s only out of like, 7 places maybe. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience, the only issue I could think of was price. Between the two of us, it was about 21 dollars each. And while these burgers may be great, I don’t know if a teen like me without a job would want to drop 20 dollars on one burger and fries when I could walk to In and Out from my school and get something just as good in my opinion for 8 bucks, just some food for though.
Overall, I’d give Mesa Burger a 7/10, a regular in the future for sure.
Father (Rick):
I have been eating burgers for well over 40 years. I’ll admit, when I was Charlie’s age I was far less discerning about them. To me, as long as the McDonald’s “chef” remembered not to put those gross onion bits and that slimy pickle on my cheeseburgers I was happy. Fortunately, I have raised my expectations a bit since then. Along the way I adopted a guiding burger principle: there are “burgers” and then there are BURGERS WITH FRIED EGGS ON THEM. I have eaten at Mesa Burger several times and I was eager to introduce Charlie to it. The first time I enjoyed - deeply enjoyed - the Funk Zone burger, elated to see “fried egg” as its very first featured menu topping. This rightful place of menu priority gave me a due sense of confidence that at Mesa Burger I should expect much. Tonight with Charlie I ordered the Goodland, drawn to the fact that it features “sliced bratwurst” on top of the beef patty because...well...because sometimes you need more than one kind of meat. And the Goodland does not disappoint in terms of numbers of meat inside the bun - adding to the beef, and the brat, a perfectly cooked sliced of bacon. Now I have already confessed my passionate hatred of the onion, and you may notice that the Goodland comes with “crispy onion strings.” This works for me because from my “no onion” rule I have many exceptions, chief among them an exception for “onion in fried ring form” and secondly for “onion in fried string form.” So the Goodland passes here as well. Sadly, I must confess a major failure of ordering tonight which I can only chalk up to my excitement about this first review evening with my son Charlie. I forgot to order a fried egg on my Goodland. What a reminder to take care to remain focused and present in the important moments, like when ordering one’s burger. Even so, my Goodland was fantastic: perfectly cooked, resting comfortably in one of the best buns I remember having in a long time, each bite featuring the crunch of crispy onion strings and the complimentary flavors of three beautiful meats. Unlike Charlie I am a french fry traditionalist and the “regular fries” were great. Washing it all down with an 805, and rounded out with engaging conversation with my favorite 15 year old in the world about podcasts and movies - and you have yourself a really great evening. I do agree with Charlie about the price at Mesa Burger (and as the one who paid I think my opinion counts more here). At just over $40 with tax and tip in a comfortable but casual environment that includes ordering at counter instead of table, this is not an everyday choice for our family, but the quality of the food (and clearly the ingredients) justifies it completely.
I give Mesa Burger 8/10 and I will be back for my fried egg soon.
No eggs on burgers for me but yes to arugula. Great first review. Looking forward to reading more.
Posted by: Shelley Fogg | 02/26/2019 at 10:16 PM
Great review. My son Jordan and I hit Mesa Burger this past Friday knocking off two beautifully constructed burger masterpieces over a Q&A on Mr. Bowditch. I had the Downtown and Jordan the signature Mesa Burger. I'll be kick'n it up a notch with an egg topper next time we're in. Thanks for the inspiration.
Posted by: LaBrie | 02/26/2019 at 10:34 PM
I shouldn’t confess this but I’ve heard the shakes are pretty good too.
Posted by: Big E | 02/27/2019 at 07:20 AM
Super cool. Next time more pictures?
Posted by: Ninja | 02/27/2019 at 10:02 AM
Gross onion bits will ruin a burger. And the pickles must be cold and crisp. Back in the good old days McDonald's featured a package that kept the cold side cold and the hot side hot.
Posted by: Megan | 02/27/2019 at 11:09 AM
Just found your blog, guys, courtesy of Leah's advice. Mesa burger is one of my favorite spots out there, one of the best burgers I've had. Great fries, too - a very important feature as Charlie makes clear.
Looking forward to reading more reviews. One caveat that won't surprise Rick: I check out at the Indian places. :^O
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: D | 03/21/2019 at 01:51 PM