A Tale of Two Burger Joints

This past month we visited two good burger places in the area: Chuck's in Raleigh and Bull City Burger & Brewery in Durham.

Chuck's is another one of Ashely Christensen's places and is located right next door to another of her places Beasley's Chicken & Honey which we enjoyed back in January.  The waitress walked us through the menu since it was our first visit and there is a lot to cover.  Choice of burger size, meat or veggie, special combinations with explanation that they would not make some substitutions if the combination was not going to be flavorful (important point considering the intensity of the cheeses and other toppings), explanation about the fries and details about the various fry sauces.  Finally, a review of the limited draft selections that did include some good local beers. 

We both opted for the larger half pound version of the burgers with the idea that we would take home leftovers and we shared an order of the half pound Belgium fries.  The sauces we selected were Espelette Aioli and the Comeback Sauce. The fries were worth fighting for and next time I think I would opt for a sharing one burger and each getting our own half pound of fries.  They are the good, hand cut, steak-style true Belgium fries meaning large and "meaty".  And the choice of sauces was fun but we definitely preferred the Comeback Sauce (horseradish, mayo, ketchup blend) over the Espelette Aioli.

Notice I started with the fries and that is because while the burgers were good, the fries were the stars of the meal at least for me.  Brad ordered the High and the Valley which has avocado, bacon onion jam, and blistered red peppers.  I had the Spirit Animal which has cream cheese, roasted poblano chilis, grilled tomatoes, and tortilla dust.  The burger toppings on both were very tasty and the meat was cooked perfectly, tender and juicy.  We had heard several people complain that the burgers are too salty but we did not think that at all but maybe it depends on the toppings.  One other note about the burgers is that my sister-in-law got the smaller size and it came on the same size bun and about the same amount of toppings as what I had only it had a much smaller burger patty.  The ratio of the toppings to bun to burger is certainly better on the half pound so I recommend ordering that and sharing if you prefer smaller amounts of food.

Not long after visiting Chuck's we paid a visit to Bull City Burgers & Brewery.  There is definitely a difference in style and decor with Chuck's being a small basic eating place and Bull City being a working brewery with a large bar and picnic style seating.  Chuck's has table service for ordering while Bull City is an order at the counter and take a number to your table for food delivery.  We opted to sit at the bar and the bartender gave us a walk through the beer selections as well as the menu options. 

First off if we are just talking about a cool place to hang out then Bull City wins simply for being a brewery with a full bar with a great selection of beverages.  Brad started with The Bulls IPA and I had the Clay Street British Style Ale from the beer engine.  Both were very good.  The bartender had recommended the Clay Street as a highly drinkable beer and I agree.  Second round Brad stayed with the IPA and I went for the Boar's Russian Imperial Stout which I much preferred to the Ale not only because I prefer stouts but also because this was a very good stout.

Another area where Bull City wins is the selection of bar snacks and a selection of hot dogs on the menu.  To go with our beers we opted for the Bull Nuts which are NC peanuts heated with their house cured bacon, sugar and salt.  YUM!  Meaty pieces of really good bacon with really fresh peanuts.  For the main feast we decided to share the Southwestern Burger which was the special burger of the day: onion loaf, gruyere, house bacon, bbq sauce, lettuce on poppy seed bun.  Third area where Bull City wins is the house baked buns versus purchased potato rolls at Chuck's.  The burger was fantastic and once again I loved the topping combinations but what is more I enjoyed the flavor of the meat.  This burger was much more flavorful than what I recalled having at Chuck's.  I was disappointed to be sharing the burger because I wanted more.

On the downside, I was not a fan of the Duck Frits.  They were fine but they are the very thin fry crisps in duck fat with rosemary and salt.  The rosemary and salt flavors were great but I prefer meaty fries so next time will order their Dirty Fries instead.  To be fair the menu does describe them as skinny fries but I felt they were more like potato crisps than fries.

Both places are fun for trying interesting burger toppings but for us we would prefer to go back to Bull City for the flavor of the actual meat in the burger and the use of the house baked buns and of course for the nice beer selections.  However, don't be surprised to see me happily wolfing fries at Chuck's!

January's New Place for Us: Beasley’s Chicken + Honey

So our new place for January was one of Chef Ashley Christensen’s Restaurants: Beasley's Chicken + Honey. We had heard really good things about this place via newspaper and friends so wanted to give it a try. We went early on a Thursday night and had no issue getting a spot inside but opted to sit at the bar because of how short the stools were at the tables. That would be one word of warning about the place itself (not the food). It is very down to earth or rudimentary for lack of a better description: metal stools with no backs, sparse décor and just the basics for dinnerware/plates and mason glasses for drinks. It is a part of the ambiance but I have seen it and the prices complained about on some review sites. My take is know why and what a place is about and either accept it as part of the experience or don’t bother going.

 The menu is written out on a large chalkboard above the bar and focuses on basic comfort foods centering on fried chicken. Options included a quarter fried chicken with choice of white or dark meat, chicken and waffles, chicken biscuit, chicken pot pie, a pork shoulder meatloaf, and an entrée salad. Sides are a la carte and the night we were there included items such as cabbage, snap beans, greens, potato salad, sweet potatoes, a mac and cheese item, and more. We asked about portion size and it was recommended that if we each ordered something such as the quarter fried chicken that as a couple we could easily share the veggie plate option which let you pick three sides to share. So I ordered the quarter chicken white meat, Brad the chicken and waffles (white meat) and we picked snap beans with garlic and toasted peppercorn, cider braised greens, and the Ashe County cheddar pimento mac and cheese custard. Iced tea comes unsweetened but you are given sugar syrup to sweeten it to your liking. They had a nice range of beers on tap and an interesting listing of wines and champagnes to select from. When we were there I was not able to drink alcohol so I cannot wait to go back and try fried chicken and honey with a glass of champagne!

Our order came out really quickly and was served on metal plates which according to Brad were just like the ones used in the kitchen where he works for staging foods before plating. The chicken breasts were huge and had a really nice crispy crust that was drizzled with honey and the meat was tender, moist, and flavorful. Who knew honey on fried chicken could be so tasty? Brad’s also came with maple syrup on the side in addition to the honey drizzled on the chicken which was sitting on top of a very nice sized waffle. His was also very good and for me the first time I had tasted chicken and waffles. I am glad I tried it but since I am not a fan of waffles it is not something I would personally order but he loved it. The braised greens had a nice cider vinegar kick to them and were cooked right, tender but not mushy. The snap beans, which were the recommendation of the bartender serving us, were peppery and had a nice al dente texture. My absolute favorite of course was the mac and cheese. It was a casserole style with layers of the pasta with pimento cheddar that was rich yet light at the same time. Brad had to fight me for his portion of the serving. I enjoyed it so much I would love to have this recipe for myself. 

Brad noticed that the kitchen appeared to be shared with her place next door, Chuck’s. We have that our on list of places to try soon but in the meantime we hope to make Beasley’s part of our regular rotation when we can.