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!
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Burgermeister's Kitchen & Tap

I learned of Burgermeister's from an article I read in the Asheville Citizen-Times' Take 5 and was curious and anxious to try it out, I do love my burgers! The restaurant was very easy to find, in West Asheville right on Haywood road. The restaurant is in a small strip center with several other businesses so parking on this Friday evening was a slight problem, ending up having to park in the church parking lot across the street. However, there was a well designated cross walk to help cross the busy Haywood road.

Our group of four arrived at about 6:30 and were immediately seated in a booth, tables and a small bar area were also available. The interior was exactly what you would expect from a converted strip center business location, less than inspired decorating that included some signs and such. I'm not knocking it, they are not trying to be some kind of theme based or five-star establishment here, simple yet good food is their priority. The crowd was a mixture of mostly younger and middle aged patrons and it was a little on the loud side, not uncomfortably though. This could be in part to the large party seated next to us or the fact that there were a good number of children. A nice touch was the restaurant's policy of no smoking until after 9 PM, another fact I am sure that lead to the number of children present, not that I mind well behaved kids. "Well behaved" being the operative words!

The service was very good. The waitress was very friendly and was very prompt in spite of her busy tables. The wait staff supported each other very well and either refilled drinks or asked if we needed anything regularly. We did not wait on any item or for a refill of our beverages, important in my book! Tables appeared to be cleared quickly and the turn-over was fast. The restaurant quickly filled and we thanked ourselves for coming before the rush hit although there did not appear to be a long wait during our visit.

As for the food, it was quite good, not earth-shattering, write home kind of good, but good! The four of us split an appetizer of fried pickle chips and we did not come near to finishing them, the order could have easily served 8! The beer/spirits menu was pretty well stocked and I ordered a Boddinger's Cream Ale that was served in a pub style pint glass. The glass wasn't chilled but the beer was delicious and came with about a half inch head, just as it should.

I ordered the The Longhorn, a 1/3 lb burger with chilli and cheddar cheese that comes with a choice of potato wedges, home-made chips, or fries as a side. The burger was quite good and had just enough chilli and the cheddar oozed off as you squeezed the bun, not too messy — just right. Other possible additions to the burger are the standard, lettuce, tomato, pickle, etc plus some other selections at a slight charge. The burger offerings were good and I had a difficult time deciding which to choose. The Saint Patty's Melt looked quite good. The burger came on a sourdough style roll and was fresh and tasty. The burger and service was overall the best part of the meal.

Other items included sandwiches, salads, and 3 vegetarian sandwich selections. Appetizer prices ranged from $3.75 for Chips & Salsa to $18.95 for a pound of Peel & Eat Beer Boiled Shrimp. Average appetizer prices were about $5–$8. Burger prices averaged $7.50 and ranged from $6.55 to $8.25. You also have the option to substitute grilled chicken for the traditional beef at no additional cost. Sandwiches were similarly priced as were the salads, except for the Sesame Tuna Steak Salad.

The side of potato wedges I ordered was a combination of white and sweet potatoes which were good but not very hot, more of a luke warm than what I would have expected. I tried some of the homemade chips and was disappointed that they were room temperature, not hot as you would expect homemade potato chips to be served. They were, however, sliced to a nice thickness and well seasoned, not too salty. The sides were by far the lesser of my experiences at this restaurant.

In conclusion, I would rate this restaurant a total of 3.5 forks out of a possible 5. The burger was well cooked — I must say I wish burgers could be cooked medium rare, but that is a state issue not the restaurant's — the sides however were unexpectedly not hot. The service was very good and the atmosphere was typical of a burger style restaurant. Cleanliness was pretty good and the health department rated it a 96.5% at their last inspection. Seating was adequate but the booths were a little close to one another and resulted in a few near brushes with the posteriors of those walking by. The space in the booth itself was good, being slightly larger than average size myself, this can become a concern in cramped booths. I can say I will go back in the future, not as a destination itself, but in conjunction with some other plans in the West Asheville area. Most will enjoy the good food and service in this family style restaurant. Read more!