Baltimore Burger Bar

You know, in theory, the Baltimore Burger Bar is a freakin great idea. More upscale burgers in case you’re in the vicinity and don’t wanna go down to Burger King on 28^th Street. Unfortunately, BBB never really got its poop in a group and still hasn’t gotten off the ground.
But lets start with the food.
Interestingly, the burgers were actually pretty good: unfortunately, the sides we hoped to get were not in stock. We went in during the wake of the famous GROUPON meltdown and, I swear to god, one day they didn’t have enough beef. Seriously? It’s not like GROUPON snuck this deal in on them.
Several days later, we go back, when the beef was in, the restaurant appeared to be severely understaffed: one cook, one server, one long ass line outside.
In any event, the two burgers we did get were solid, a little soggy in the bun region, but tasty. Many of the flavors provided as options appear to clash with one another meaning that one should consider what you’re throwing on there… perhaps the watermelon tomato bruschetta clashes with the garlic mayo? Perhaps. All the pieces are not necessarily compatible.
The two burgers, which arrived in a bag a’la «5 guys» appeared to be a bit inconsistent in terms of size, one of which was larger than the other by almost half. Odd.
Beyond the soggy bun the flavors we selected were pretty good. Not «RARE» in NYC, by any means, but tasty, albeit somewhat underwhelming from a culinary perspective. People have been slogging the fries, but they were pretty good: big ding on them is the portion size for the prize, which is small amount for big money. Also, the price of the burgers is, frankly, a bit high, for Hampden. More pulled together and down at the Harbor? Maybe. $ 12 burgers? I dunno. A little steep to not provide superior service, fresh well thought out ingredients in a considered manner. It all just seems a little thrown together… and, given their unexplained closures, we can’t even use a second GROUPON we purchased online. Annoying.
So, in sum, okay burgers conceptually, but not so much in practice. The place is almost never open. The website is never updated. When they are open, they’re dealing with chronic issues like understaffing and lack of supplies. There you have it. I give BBB two more months max before they’re done and another merchant moves in.

This place was very close to being 4 stars. See cons for rationale.
Pros:
— DELICIOUS combos, great selection of ingredients of the highest quality. Whoever made the menu truly knows food. I had the one pre-​set veggie burger and it was one of the best veggie burgers I’ve had. My meat eating friends were raving about their choices, too. I’m willing to forgive the high price for how good this burger was.
— Everything is so fresh, and the fries were hot out of the fryer.
Cons:
— Very slow to come out of the kitchen. I guess wasn’t terrrrribly unreasonable considering that good food takes time to perfect and everything arrived hot. They could have used more help in the kitchen, but it’s hard to justify because it’s not super busy.
— You have to go up this tiny staircase to a room with maybe 4 tables to sit down to eat.
— You could probably get a similarly good burger (albeit less organic) at The Counter for cheaper and more elbow space.

The sign out front for a maple-​bacon milkshake drew me in, and yes, that was yummy, but OH, that burger!
Perfectly cooked (rare) tender, delicately flavored meat on a lightly toasted brioche bun., This version also had a fried egg on it (yes, plesae!), a subtle ketchup and a little bit of lettuce (not iceberg). The fries were truly fresh-​cut, lightly fried and lightly seasoned slices of potato – not prepackage potato-​esque sticks.
We had the burger rare and the fries well-​done, so my only minor complaint is that the burger came out a good while before the fries, so we couldn’t enjoy them together. And the shake came first of all, and we would have liked to have dipped the fries in that (don’t judge me!). But given that it seems to be just a couple of folks making it all happen, hardly a major issue. And really – bottom line – AMAZING burger. For real.
If it’s hot, probably best to sit outside. Those pesky laws of thermodynamics make the small upstairs seating really, really stuffy.
BURGER BURGER YAY!

I needed to throw in my 2 cents, since BBB has gotten some negative reviews. The burger I ordered was great. It was cooked as I liked, had some interesting toppings and a great bun. It was really good, one of the best I’ve had in Baltimore. The BBB spring burger; veggie burger with toppings and a fried egg, was said to be really good too. The owner couldn’t have been nicer on this hot, powerless day in Charm City.
I see the price being mentioned repeatedly as an issue. I think that there are many lesser burgers being served around this town that may have a similar or lower price, but the value of the burger I had today although looking a little high on paper was not a bad deal, everything being relative. You can get your half price special or a nine dollar burger someplace, but usually it has just come off the Sysco truck and tastes the same as at the place next door. At least these were original toppings, the burger didn’t look like it came out of a pink slime processing plant in the midwest, and BBB wasn’t trying to hook you into spending $ 6 for a cheap draft beer. They deserve to make some money for providing a quality product.

The choices overwhelmed me, and I left it up to the lady running the cash register to pick a burger for me.
I got the vegetarian special, with beef instead of veg. :) It was fantastic, cooked exactly as I like, and with goopy delicious toppings.
Also ordered a shake, which they make from really good local ice cream. The burger, however, was so substantial that I could only drink part of the shake and brought the rest home.
It’s a good thing my friend and I walked down from a few blocks away. I needed the exercise after packing away that burger.
Not cheap, but really tasty!
Probably one thing I’d change if it were my place would be to make the menu a little more sensible. Toppings and extras all seem to flow together with the types of burger you can get. You can even get toppings on the shakes.
If they clean up that presentation, it wouldn’t be so overwhelming to a new visitor, like me, who will stand there slack-​jawed before the awesome possibilities, unable to decide.

This place deserves its mixed reviews. I’ll be brief. I recently ate the «Spring Fling» burger — grassfed beef, bacon, white american, orange+olive vegetable slaw, herbed ketchup, and I drank a coconut shake. I sat upstairs.
The burgers are very good (and so are the shakes). My burger was nicely cooked.
True, the place is expensive, but the product is high quality.
But the girl at the counter was rude, or should I say cool? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. I’ve encountered this sort of place before: they know they have a good product, so they act like you can take it or leave it. I don’t like that sort of business, so I’ll probably leave it.

I’m updating my review. The first few times that I visited this place, I was impressed because the burgers are just that good.
I returned on a Friday night @ 7. And this place was packed, so it looks like the word is spreading. No worries, though. I felt bad for the young lady working the counter. She seemed overwhelmed. She was taking orders, operating the register, running orders back to the kitchen, and running completed orders to customers. The food was coming out pretty fast though.
I’m downgrading my original review to 2 stars (down from 4 stars) because of the fries. Half of them were burnt and served without Old Bay. I am assuming that they were out of Old Bay, but it would have been nice to know that before ordering them so I could have saved myself @ $ 4 (I don’t remember how much they cost).
I understand that mistakes happen, but this wasn’t first time that I received an order of fries where 50% of them were really charred. I haven’t decided whether or not I will be returning here. But, if I do, I order a bag of chips instead.

4.5 Stars
I finally made it here and I’m SO glad that I did. I was sad to see all the poor ratings, but I do think it’s tough with the discount-​coupon idea. Okay, to my experience:
When I first walked in the place as dead empty, which was weird. There was no on in front. Once the girl came forward, things started to click — this place didn’t have a lot of extra staff. I went in totally disheveled about how to/​what to order. At first, the staff seemed unamused with me (I dumbfoundness about toppings/​sauces/​chef special was no unique). She quickly warmed up to me and made some great recommendations. I got a medium-​rare burger with sauerkraut and garlic mayo. YUM! I rarely eat buns with burgers (normally find them too dry and like to really overdo it with mustard), but this one was great great great. I was really impressed with my burger, but I can see how long small things are lacking in this place and that it can likely get slow once there is a bigger crowd.
I just do not think this is a 3 star place. I think the food is great, the staff is accommodating, and the ideas are unique. It’s not just a regular burger joint — some on those toppings and sauces are really well thought about. So, all in all, I think it is definitely a 4 star option.
Hope everyone gives it another go!

I had the BBB Veggie Burger.
It was pretty good, yet extremely overpriced. $ 13 with no cheese and no sides. Is this Georgetown?
I’m glad it wasn’t a squishy Morningstar Farms-​esque Black Bean Burger like the one that they sell at Golden West down the street.
If the prices were a little more Hampden-​affordable and the upstairs seating area wasn’t FRIGID, we might have a 4-​star restaurant right here

Like many other Hampdenites (or ex-​Hampdenites) when this place first opened I was really excited and wanted to like it. It took me FOREVER to finally give it a try last week. The BF and I had a Groupon and decided to finally cash it in on a Friday night.
I’ll start with the positives… The concept is simple and good: grass-​fed beef (or veggie burger) with unique and changing topping options, fries. That’s it. It’s a burger bar and nothing else, for serious. The artwork is fun and I think most of it was by Charlie Barton in case you want to look him up. The upstairs dining area is cute albeit a little cold.
The vibe we got when we arrived did not overwhelm us. The woman at the counter was not very welcoming and only offered help making a selection of the menu after we had been staring at it for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out which toppings would best go together. I ended up going with the burger (medium rare) with the bean, pork belly, pickle mash, sweet & sour ketchup and cheddar cheese. The BF went with burger (also medium rare) with the onion slaw, garlic mayo and provolone cheese. And fries. We had a groupon and we were getting our meal to go. We sat upstairs while we waited for it to be ready and I’m glad I did because the downstairs soon filled with smoke. I feel for the people who work there having to deal with that all day! They need to invest in some better ventilation.
When we got our food everything smelled fantastic and I was super psyched to dig in. The mash I had on my burger tasted fantastic, really delicious but the burger was under-​cooked and almost completely rare in the middle. BF’s burger was also under-​cooked but not as much as mine. But they forgot the cheese and gave him a paltry amount of the onion slaw. Like a few onion pieces and that was that. The fries had potential but were over seasoned with salt, pepper and possibly some other seasoning I couldn’t quite identify. The BF was more upset about the quality of his meal than I, but he had a point that it’s not exactly a cheap burger and even though the beef itself was good quality, it was disappointing that they didn’t get it just right. If the only thing you do is burgers, you should do it fantastically.
I think if they could fix their inconsistency and nail the execution this place would be hit but it seems from my experience (and some of the other reviews) that they just haven’t worked it out yet. I hope they do. I really did love that mash with the sweet & sour ketchup.

Wow, I guess based on some of these reviews that this place can be hit or miss.
I came at the right time, because it was a hit.
I also seem to surmise, based on reviews here and other places, that if your only experience of any establishment is the time you come strolling in with a LivingSocial of Groupon coupon, blissfully unaware that that business is taking a major financial hit, dealing with a huge influx of business and a maxed out bandwidth, then expected to be treated like delicate royalty, I wish upon you the curse of having your own retail or restaurant business.
I like the vibe in here. The art work was fantastic. I was mesmerized by a few of the pieces. Relief work in grey and vibrant pastels.
I was the only customer in line (I didn’t look upstairs).
There was a counter person and a cook (who I heard but didn’t see).
I ordered a veggie burger with a few toppings and some fries ($ 13).
I sat outside on one of the little tables while I waited for my order (to-​go).
The counter person brought it out to me within an expected amount of time.
I ate it a few doors down at my friend’s art gallery.
In the bag was the veggie burger and the fries (no condiments or napkins). Maybe they were inside and it was my fault not getting them, I don’t know (the reason it was 4 and not 5 stars). Since anywhere else I have gotten take out like this, it is standard to have few ketchup packs in the bag, I didn’t think to look or ask.
Anyway, the veggie burger was magnificent. I had to check to make sure it wasn’t a real burger. I has told the counter person I liked wicked spicy food and this one didn’t disappoint. The melted cheese had a healthy amount of pepper seeds/​flakes embedded in it.
The fries were piping hot and well seasoned.
5 stars on the service and food, –1 for lack of condiments in the bag (again, this may have been my fault).

BBB is a dive-​y, hipsterish gourmet burger joint, doing a decent sandwich at a premium price.
Stopped in on a Saturday afternoon, and they were already out of several things on the menu board. OK, no problem, we’ll still give it a shot.
Two burgers, fries, brownie, two waters. About $ 25. The burgers were pretty good, plenty of flavor, beefy, hearty, and juicy. The fries weren’t bad, either — kinda crispy, but I’m actually partial to well-​done fries. The beef, however, arrived nearly well done (although still juicy) even when I ordered it medium.
Overall, not bad, a bit pricey, fairly tasty, with quirky service. It can take a while to get your food, too, so don’t bet on being able to get in and out in a hurry.

Being an ex-​Hampdenite, I really wanted to like this place. I think the chef knows what she’s doing when it comes to food, but maybe not so much when it comes to running a business? Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad… but it certainly wasn’t great.
The ingredients used seem to be fresh and high quality. The burgers were good, but a little over priced. The fries, were actually not fried, but baked. We showed up about 2 hours before closing time and they were already out of quite a few things like, certain cheeses, the salmon, bacon, and some other items. This was a disappointment because these items were key components of the signature burgers on the menu.
I ordered the peanut butter burger (cooked medium) anyway. The flavor was good, but it was cooked rare. I mean RARE… like I had to take the lukewarm gooey middle out of it, rare. The BF’s burger was better than mine. He did the build your own and topped it with fried onions, provolone and some other tasty toppings.
The seating upstairs is in a small room overlooking 36^th street… so cute! However, it was freezing. We sat in the window seat and the draft was nearly unbearable. Despite the space heater pointed directly at us, we had to eat while wearing our coats.
The owner/​chef/​cashier/​waitress was pleasant enough, but certainly didn’t wow me. Great customer service and likability really goes a long way… especially if your small business isn’t booming. I could hear her arguing/​talking down to the cook in the kitchen.
As we were leaving, another couple was trying to come in, but BBB was closing… a half hour early. To avoid disappointment, call to make sure they’re open and fully stocked before you go.
*On a somewhat unrelated note, there was another customer eating upstairs. He smacking his lips and loudly chewing with his mouth open. Disgusting! There was no music or background noise in the restaurant to disguise his gross habit. There was a TV set up right next to our table. Eventually, we had to turn it on. Luckily, it was set to a channel that played early 90’s music videos. That was pretty sweet.

1. Drop food multiple times.
2. Pick food up with bare hands.
3. Continue money transaction.
4. Really?
This place is not only lacking in the sanitary department, it’s lacking in the quality and time-​convenient department (s).
The burger is sub-​par to Ham Tav by a million gazillion and it takes literally almost an HOUR to get that sub-​par burger. That’s after going to BBB 2 other times to try to get a burger. Those 2 times didn’t work out because the waiting time (and this is for a non sit-​down place) was at least over an hour.
By all means, if you enjoy waiting 2 hours total for a mediocre burger that even McDonald’s could whip up better, then have at it.
If not, support the local Hamilton Tavern. You will not be disappointed.

I visited three times during their scheduled hours before they were finally open. Each time that it was closed during normal business hours, I called and checked their website to see if they were open. Never did they make it known that they were closed. If you want people to visit your restaurant, you probably don’t want this to happen.
On my fourth visit, when they were finally open, I was treated to two people at the counter who were rude and abrupt. One girl, in particular, seemed disgruntled that I was choosing to patronize her restaurant. After placing my order, and using my Groupon (which they didn’t seem happy about), I went upstairs to grab a table. I have never been in a smokier room in my entire life. I walked out of their smelling like an overcooked burger. The fries came out first, not with the burger, and were undercooked and nearly raw. They were also coated in too much Old Bay. The burgers were fine, but certainly not worth the price. In my case, I asked for a medium rare burger and it was probably more like medium to medium well.
Needless to say, I will not be going back here again. It’s frustrating because a burger joint like Hamilton Tavern or Kooper’s would be a great addition to the Block.

I am a vegetarian, and the first time I went I was disappointed because they were out of their BBB veggie and were serving a very sub-​par, overpriced alternative. Since it’s a local place, I really wanted to give them a second chance, so I went back with a Groupon. After weeks and weeks they finally put a real veggie burger back on the menu, so we grabbed that and some fries for dinner.
It was decent — definitely nice to have all the topping options — and extremely filling, but also super salty. I don’t know if it was the burger itself or the toppings, but it made it hard to really enjoy. The fries are OK — also way too salty — and they have an odd flavor that makes me wonder what they are fried in. I’d have to be pretty in love with the food to pay the high prices, and unfortunately I’ve been disappointed.

I am a burger lover. I have tried the burgers at Woodberry Kitchen (too salty), Golden West Café, (too dry), Alchemy (takes at least an hour to get your food).
Hands down this is my favorite Burger in Hamden, but really all of Baltimore.
Why it is the best:
Bun — The buns is crisped on the outside ever so slightly to a golden brown giving a subtle texture difference between the outside and the warm soft interior. It is obviously thrown on a grill right before your burger touches it giving that great dichotomy between the crisp crunch and the warm soft center.
Toppings — The topping selection changes and this is a good thing. I repeat this is a good thing. To all those reviewers who flame this place for not having a consistent online menu do you realize that they grow there own herbs and spices often clipping them right infront of you to put on your meal. The toppings change because this place is run a true food artist and she seems to only make what will be best to eat that day. I will take fresh amazing food over a McCrap like consistence in a menu.
Blackberry Onion Relish: The subdued sweetness of the berries cuts the acidity of the onions just right leaving a much more fresh palette after each bite than onions alone would have. The soft pickling of the onion added a pleasant tang expected in anything named relish.
Roasted Garlic Mayo: I am a big fan of aioli and this mayo did not disappoint. The garlic was strong enough to taste but not overpowering. The mayo is obviously made in house with skill.
Spicy Strawberry Ketchup: This is no Heintz. again obviously made by hand the strawberry adds the kinds of extra sweetness we Americans expect growing up with Heintz’s ketchup so full of corn syrup. It adds the hint of sweet while adding a bit of summer tones strawberries bring to a summer salad. Great classic re-​imagined well.
Peach Mustard: This was by far my favorite topping being the perfect blend of spicy and sweet. The peach cut the harshness of the mustard seed without overpowering it and the hint of fruit complimented the grass fed beef pattie well.
The burger pattie:
What can I say I have ordered it medium rare, medium and medium well and each time it has been cooked to perfection. The burger is juicy and rich in flavor well seasoned and of high quality.
In conclusion I do not understand how this place could have so many bad reviews. It is my favorite place to eat in Hamden.

I really wanted to like this place because I’m a fan of a good burger and grass fed beef, but, I just don’t like it. I ordered the 15 dollar burger with a drink, and two sides. It was very pricey for what I got.
The burger:
The burger was decent. I however would be willing to pay less for a burger somewhere else, the quality was not mind blowing or stellar. The bun was good, but a minor highlight over all.
The fries:
They were burnt. At first I thought perhaps it was just the style of the fry, but I realized once I got deeper into the fries they got darker and were just burnt. The helping is also small for the price.
The broccoli salad:
No idea, they never brought it to me. I eventually didn’t care because I just wanted to leave.
The atmosphere:
Generally if you are going to put a menu on a chalk board it’d be nice for it to be legible. Was this place par for the course? Nope, not really. The lady behind the counter was a little coarse too, I could hear her yelling at the cook while I sat outside waiting for my burger.
Overall:
This place seems like a good idea but just falls short on delivery in every sense of the word. I really hoped this place would be good, but I just can’t see anything good about it.

We stopped by Baltimore Burger Bar on its opening day, as Puffs and Pastries had been a longtime favorite.
Our verdict — the sandwiches were both excellent, we’re not fans of the fries, and the sauces/​toppings were full of great flavors. For the price point, the sandwiches are an okay value, but don’t live up to Woodberry Kitchen’s burger for it’s flavor and value.
His plate: grass-​fed beef burger with classic american cheese, mixed baby lettuce, and vidalia onion jam; fries
Her plate: salmon burger with thai basil tomato salad
To share: cookies, and four of the five sauces on today’s menu — caper malt aioli, strawberry rhubarb ketchup, roasted garlic aoli, and svensk mustard
D reported that the burger was cooked nicely and had good beef flavor, but would definitely benefit from some pre-​cooking seasoning. The onion jam was mellow and added a good flavor contrast.
The salmon wasn’t a burger — happily — it was a small steak, grilled lightly. It came cooked very rare, which I definitely prefer, but if you aren’t a fan of your fish rare you may want to request it more well done. The Thai tomato basil topping was excellent — great, fresh pieces of tomato and a good basil flavor. I wasn’t able to taste a whole lot of separate spice dimensions, as the butter the roll was brushed with, before grilling, was very strong. The roll is a nice brioche bun, lightly toasted, and it’s the right size for a great bun to meat ratio.
We were pretty disappointed in the fries, for a few reasons. Firstly, they’re Sysco frozen ones — we were really hoping they’d be homemade, but maybe sometime in the future. Second, though we didn’t even finish ours, we thought that the portion size was very small for the five dollar price tag. And finally, ours were served cold (as were the other two tables on the patio that were eating at the same time). We were offered new fries (the table next to us complained) but we declined — he didn’t like them, and I’m not a fan of extra calories that aren’t really worth it.
The sauces were great — so full of flavor that I think they’ll be the reason we return to try more. The malt aioli (as reported by D) was good, but not as amazing as Woodberry’s. The mustard was nicely spiced — not too hot, but with a good strong flavor. The strawberry rhubarb ketchup was strongly strawberried, but tasted great. The roasted garlic aioli was truly garlicky — not a mild interpretation, which we thought was great.
We got two chocolate chip cookies to go, and while they’re delicious and large, I’m not sure they’re priced appealingly ($ 3 each). Maybe next time we’ll stick with the burgers.
In all, a very good meal for an opening afternoon, and we’ll be back in a few weeks to try out some different menu items. The website has promised a rotating ‘exotic’ burger, and different sauces, and we’d like to see how business is doing, too.

I don’t eat fast food, if I do have a burger I prefer the one that will make my insides sing, and this one definitely did. A very nicely sized beef patty on a delish brioche bun. Fantastic selection of sides, toppings and sauces. I ordered with roasted garlic mayonnaise, strawberry-​rhubarb ketchup and a fried egg, which was still very soft so the yolk was gently running over my burger… yummy.