Burgermeister's Kitchen & Tap

Well, after reading the review from my fellow diner, Carb Boy, I would say I would agree with his overall assessment of BurgerMeisters. It's a good, fun place to go for a great burger and great service. I was quite impressed at how well the staff stepped in to help each other out on a busy Friday night. Many places here could take a lesson from that. Now, on to those fried pickles...!

Having heard of fried dill pickles, but never actually having tasted them, I was delighted to see them listed under Appetizers. After a little arm-twisting of my fellow diners to try 'em out, I ordered a basket. At $6.25, I thought them very pricey, but then I saw the size of the basket! The four of us ate a good many of them, and I still took home a good two more servings. What's interesting is that the pickles were in chips, not in spears. They were battered with a seasoned batter and fried light golden brown. Just enough salt and still crunchy yet not greasy. MMMmmm is my humble assessment! I would recommend them as a fun and different appetizer for a group of 6 to 8 to try. However, even in the oven, they do NOT reheat well - they get soggy. Eat 'em while you're there!

For my beverage, I chose a very nice heifeweise beer, served in a pub type glass. The glass wasn't cold but the beer was correctly served with a lemon, even though it was a wedge, not the traditional thin slice on top. I was impressed that the waitress took the time to mention that the heifeweise was cloudy as it was supposed to be. Burgermeisters has a fairly impressive beer, wine and spirits selection and the nice thing is, the spirits are grouped by prices, which are actually listed! Nice touch, as I really hate ordering a drink I think will cost $4.50 and it ends up being nearly double that. Other restaurants should take note of adding drink prices to their menus!

For my burger, I chose The Bo, a 1/3 lb. sesame feta burger with lettuce, tomato, carmelized onions and homemade mayo. The feta covered the top of the burger and while feta crumbles don't really melt much, they had at least "merged" on the top of the warm burger. I chose chips as the side, which were homemade, thick cut, seasoned potato chips. I was disappointed in them as they were cold and I had expected them to be warm, like fries would've been. And, they were quite overdone in my opinion. Two of my fellow diners will tell you how much time we spent at the County Fair last year, looking for perfectly cooked, not overdone, ribbon fries....! And, I agree with Carb Boy, I'd prefer my burger more medium-rare, but again, that's a state-mandated rule to cook 'em at least medium well, not a restaurant choice. The burger itself was very tasty, especially with the different toppings and that, plus chips and fried pickles and beer, was very filling. No dessert for Zippy!

The service was wonderful throughout our meal, we never lacked for a refill of water or anything else. Next time, I would choose a different booth, as my side was next to the very narrow aisle by the small bar and I spent a lot of time with people's fannies in my face. Not exactly appetizing, but I kept my focus on my meal and dinner companions so all was well.

Overall, a fun and different place to try and next time I happen to find myself in West Asheville, I may stop in and try something else on the menu, like the Sesame Tuna Salad or the Shrimp Po Boy.

Until next time, Zippy Spice sez, keep on eating good food and let us know what you think of our blog! Cheers!