When In Doubt

It was a pretty easy decision, really. Anyone's natural reaction as soon as you realize some seriously heavy storms are headed your way (resulting in the cancellation of your softball game) and you may lose power for what's turned into several very long hours (and who knows how much longer)? OH! And did I mention a husband who's been craving a burger?!

We were OFF to the latest neighborhood hamburger joint - Elevation Burger.

*okay, disclaimer, had it not been on our way home, we never would have made it since just a few blocks away in our neighborhood, things like this (below) were happening...

So I'm not really one for restaurant reviews (though admittedly, I have attempted one before)... however since very few things in our house were working last night, my camera being one of them, I decided some pictures might be a fun way to amuse myself for at least 5 minutes. Yes, it's true - in the middle of a huge storm, power outages and running around trying to find candles and flashlights, I was taking pictures of our food. There you have it.

But back to Elevation Burger and our dinner. Since the restaurant is just a few quick blocks from our neighborhood, I'd passed their clean, fresh storefront more than a few times in the past few months. Not having a clue what it was all about (it sure looked like a modern version of our beloved Five Guys and dare I say In-N-Out Burger) and being the internet-researcher I am, I read up on the new neighbor.

Okay fine - I'll bite and it was officially added to my "I'd like to try that out one day, preferably with a coupon" list.

We ordered their regular cheeseburger, a "Big Phat Burger" (I'll call it the BPB), and two orders of fries. All burgers come with their special Elevation Sauce which I was told was a creamy tomato-based sauce. The BPB was ordered without anything but cheese and the special sauce while the cheeseburger had only cheese, lettuce, and tomato. I must note that after we got home and sat down to eat, we realized that the BPB actually had been made with both lettuce and tomato ("whoo hoo, free vegetables" was the reaction I heard - thus clearly not a problem - but I thought it warranted commenting on).

My immediate reaction after my first bite was "wow, they use cheddar cheese" - which didn't so much mean that I don't like cheddar but it must have been one of the stronger cheddars I've had because it kind of overwhelmed the burger. But after I got used to the cheddar, I did enjoy the burger on the whole and didn't feel like I'd paid much more than I would for another other burger... and while I'm not into "free-range" or "organic" food, I figured eating a 100% organic burger every now and again can't hurt, right? Their (cooked in all olive oil) fries were also pretty good though I don't think I gave them a fair shot because the poor guys had to make it through the parking lot in a torrential downpour all the way home and then sat waiting to be consumed for about 20 minutes while (I took pictures) and we gathered candles and other storm supplies.

*I'd read some reviews saying that the portion sizes aren't huge (which is all by design - this is supposed to be healthier); I did notice that the burger wasn't HUGE and while I'm all about the most for my money, I'm potentially even moreso about eating wisely for my waistline. So my final say on this is that for the $3.69 that my cheeseburger costed, I think it was plenty for us ever-growing Americans.

My rating for this (rating system initiated all of 13 seconds ago) was "wouldn't have been worth it if my house had had a tree fall through it but since we were all-clear, it was just what the doctor ordered" or maybe "best enjoyed by the candlelight (cause that's all we got)".