Grading Five Downtown Bacon Cheeseburgers
By Tyler Jensen
Fargo and Moorhead have plenty of places to sell you a hamburger with bacon and cheese. But which burgers stand out either as very good or not worth the time and money?
I went to five restaurants in the downtown area to check which bacon cheeseburgers were up to snuff and which ones hungry carnivores can pass on. Here’s the criteria used to judge the bacon cheeseburgers. I selected restaurants based on what I heard about them, either from people I know or on Yelp, if they were a burger place or based on my prior experience there.
Ranking Based on Scale of 1-10
Taste X/10: How does the burger taste? Is it tender or overcooked and tough? Does the meat itself taste good? How are the bacon, cheese and other toppings?
Eatability X/10: Is it possible to eat this burger without getting a mess all over myself? Can I grip and eat the burger without burning my fingers and hands?
Value X/10: Is the burger worth its price?
Some other things to note: None of the restaurants knew I was reviewing the burgers when I bought them. The food and presentation I got was what any customer would get. For value I’m calculating a burger and fries. I’m not judging fries for the other categories, but when it comes to a meal worth my money in a sit-down restaurant I expect a side with my burger.
My scoring process was simple: Whenever I noted a deficiency with the burger, I took off a point in the applicable category.
- Old Broadway Grill – The Old Hickory Burger
Taste: 8/10
Eatability: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Total: 25/30 = B
The Old Hickory is a good burger. I’d have it again when I go to Old Broadway Grill. However, it did have a few flaws. The burger itself was OK but didn’t have the good charbroiled flavor that allows it to be tasted along with the bacon, cheese and sauce. In addition, the bacon was chewier than it should have been. For eatability, the only problem I had was the bun was overly hot and moist on the bottom due to the hot plate below and the burger on top. I had to set it aside for a few minutes. Overall, the burger was good but adding sauce to it wasn’t enough to justify raising the price from $9.99 for the regular bacon cheeseburger to $10.99 for the Old Hickory Burger.
- Usher’s House — Classic Burger with Cheese and Bacon
Taste: 7/10
Eatability: 9/10
Value: 6/10
Total: 22/30 = C
This burger was simultaneously the most expensive burger on the list and the one with the worst score. In addition to lacking a good charbroiled taste for the hamburger, both it and the bacon were overcooked — not burned — but too dry and crispy, respectively. Unlike many restaurants that use vegetables to cover the patty in one go, Usher’s put a small side salad on top of the burger. “The salad” moved all over the place, to the point that I finally took off three tomato slices to make eating it somewhat manageable. Finally, the value did in this sandwich. It’s the most expensive yet it’s average quality at best. Also, it was more expensive than special burgers at other places while being just Usher’s normal burger with cheese and bacon added. It’s not larger than others, or better than others but it’s the most expensive one among the five.
- Vic’s Bar and Grill — Bacon Cheeseburger Basket
Taste: 8/10
Eatability: 9/10
Value: 10/10
Total: 27/30 = A-
If I could give extra points in one category for a burger it would be in this one. You get this meal for just under $8 normally and for $5.24 every weekday from 4-7 p.m. as part of Vic’s hamburger happy hour. What keeps this burger from being perfect, though, is taste and eatability. It’s a very greasy burger, running down your fingers and chin. In addition, the ingredients are just piled on and don’t melt together like some of the other burgers do, leading to you tasting one flavor after the other rather than getting a mix of tastes at once, and the toppings overshadow the actual hamburger meat. Still, value-wise, this is the best burger on the list and it’s a good burger – messy hands and all.
- JL Beers — 1st Avenue
Taste- 9/10
Eatability- 10/10
Value- 10/10
Total- 29/30 = A+
This is one of the best burgers on this list and one of my personal favorites after trying it. The burger starts at about $6. Once you add $3 for house-made chips or fries in three flavors and an additional topping with your bacon, cheese and sauce, it still ends up as the second least-expensive burger on this list. While more expensive than Vic’s, it’s devoid of taste problems except once again the actual burger is overshadowed by the toppings.
- Pounds – Green Eggs and Ham Burger
Taste- 10/10
Eatability- 9/10
Value- 10/10
Total- 29/30 = A+
The final bacon cheeseburger features a delicious burger patty with a great charbroiled taste, a fried egg, bacon, salsa verde and pepper jack cheese — and you can taste all of it. You also get this for the same price as the Old Hickory Burger and for 50 cents less than Usher House’s Classic Burger. The only problem is the egg yolk explodes out onto your fingers and chin and it is a pain to get it out of your clothes or, in my case, beard.
What Do I Know?
I’ve been ordering bacon cheeseburgers since I was old enough to copy my dad when we’d go out to eat. I’ve had them all over the country from Hawaii to Washington D.C. Overall, a good bacon cheeseburger should taste good top to bottom, you should be able to eat it without looking like a mess afterward and it shouldn’t empty your wallet. Downtown Fargo-Moorhead has some of the best I’ve eaten and I barely scratched the surface of options. If you know a burger that you think needs attention talk about it in our comments section.
Doing it Downtown 