Bangin’ Burgers

February 9, 2010

San Diego, California – It was lunchtime and I was looking for a place to eat. Bangin’ Burgers immediately came to mind. I have eaten here maybe ten times before today. “Why not write a review?” I said to myself. Sounds like a delicious idea.

Bangin’ Burgers is located in a strip mall across from MCAS Miramar. The parking lot is a bit cramped as they are competing with other establishments for lot space in the mall. And as I mention later, certain times can be busy, which means the parking lot will be busy, too. Okay, we’ve worked up an appetite already. Let’s go inside.

Just a couple of steps inside you’ll see the board with the day’s specials. To your left is the bar area with a couple of pool tables. You can sit at the bar or in the main seating area. Up ahead and to your left is the counter. On the wall behind the counter is the menu board. The people behind the counter taking your order are very friendly and will even offer suggestions if you are undecided.

The seating area is wide open. Plenty of tables and chairs. Booths line some areas of the northern wall. On the walls are about six or seven flat screen televisions, powered by DirecTV, usually tuned to various sports channels. The televisions share their habitat with signs from local breweries.

Let’s get back to the menu. Bangin’ Burgers serves primarily just what you’d expect judging from their name. But if a burger is not your thing, they also have hot dogs, salads, sides, milkshakes, and desserts. What restaurant that caters to sports fans would be worth its salt without an impressive assortment of beers? San Diego area breweries are well represented in their collection.

For my meal today I chose the Blues ($6.95), one of their signature burgers. It comes with smoked bacon, bleu cheese, grilled onions, and Dijonnaise. Usually, though, I’ll just build my own. If you decide to build your own, for an extra charge you’ll have six different cheeses to choose from plus ten other toppings like bacon, pineapple, onion rings, or chili to name a few. Looking for an alternative to red meat? Bangin’ Burgers has a vegetarian patty or boneless, skinless chicken breast patty to substitute on ½-pound burger selections. Burgers come in ⅓ pound ($4.50) or ½ pound ($6.95) varieties, made fresh from 100% ground chuck right on the premises. They don’t cook it until you order it so there will be a bit of a wait.

We can’t leave that burger undressed now, can we? Bangin’ Burgers features copious amounts of condiments in their condiment bar. My favorites are the chipotle ketchup and chipotle mayonnaise. The flavors of both have a noticeable kick, further improving the taste of an already delicious burger. Of course, you can add lettuce, pickles, different types of mustard, onions, and on and on.

As you can see from the photo, the burger is quite hefty, especially the ½-pounder. So they ‘secure’ it with a plastic knife.

Above, I mentioned the chipotle ketchup and mayo. I didn’t add them to my burger today because of the bleu cheese. With that in mind, I wasn’t really sure what to put on it, so I left it as is. My first bite revealed my mistake; I should’ve asked them to hold the onions, which would, of course, have removed it from the rank of a signature burger. My tastes can be very picky at times, and this was one of those times. I like onions on certain dishes, just not on my burgers.

The bleu cheese, however, was outstanding. Softened, but not to the point of melting off the patty, it had that signature bite that bleu cheese is famous for. Bangin’ Burgers puts just enough blue cheese on to make a bold statement, but not so bold as to drown out the taste of the patty, which was perfectly cooked. It was very juicy and flavorful all by itself. Nice beefy taste. Best of all, you could tell it was fresh.

I almost forgot about the fries. I ordered the combo so it came with said fries, plus a drink. My drink today was an iced tea. Nothing special there. The fries have a nice crispness to them. They stand up well to being dipped in a container of ketchup, or dragged across the paper that you’ve poured the ketchup on. But I didn’t have ketchup today. Lately I’ve been using Ranch dressing to dip my fries in. Fortunately Bangin’ Burgers has a delicious Ranch dressing among their condiments.

For the adventurous among you, Bangin’ Burgers serves a peanut butter bacon burger. Yes, you read that right, a peanut butter bacon burger. The description on the menu simply says, “Just trust us.” I had my doubts at first but I took their word for it. Not knowing what to expect, I was very pleasantly surprised by the way the flavors somehow worked together. Without revealing anything more about this burger, I’ll just repeat what the menu says: just trust them.

Groups will have a great time here, as will families. It can get noisy due to the number of diners and the acoustics of the room but don’t let that deter you. Bangin’ Burgers is a very popular spot for lunch so if you want to avoid the crowds, plan to arrive before 11:30 am or wait until the lunch rush thins out.

Bangin’ Burgers – 4.5 forks. Highly recommended. Their name says it all.