For most, Burger Month ended on May 31st, but I have never claimed to be like most and feel like every month is Burger Month. This is why, despite being the first week of June, I’ve opted to tackle a burger. This particular burger comes from a little place in Beverly Hills called The Hill. By day and early night, it is a restaurant, but when night comes around is a bar in no uncertain terms.
Despite the Beverly Hills address, the menu was packed with good old fashioned American food at reasonable prices. One burger, though, was anything but old fashioned. Called the Surf and Turf Burger, this thing was topped with lobster tail, garlic aioli and asparagus. Then, like many other burgers, it also came with lettuce, tomato and onion. I ordered without the asparagus and the other veggies, then picked fries out for my side.
Soon enough, the burger arrived and not only did I find it packed with veggies (other than asparagus), I also found a frightening pickle spear threatening my entire meal. A couple of fries had already succumbed to its juices, along with a bit of bun, but I removed the pickle from the scene before any more damage could be done. With my unwelcome guests evicted, I got a good look at the burger and found it to be a sort of clash of burger cultures. The lobster and garlic aioli were certainly from the gourmet side of the burger world, while the bun and the patty were more along the lines of a diner or sports bar.
And in this case, looks were right on the money. It made for an interesting juxtaposition of flavors and textures that ended up falling a bit short of its potential. Surf and Turf is something I consider near the epitome of fancy, but this burger only kind attempted to reach that standard.
I am all about diner burgers and I am all about gourmet burgers, but this one ended up in a strange middle ground. I applaud The Hill for not turning their burgers into something pretentious, yet I left more happy about trying their burger than excited about the taste and any possibility of a return. The pickle spear and other assorted vegetables didn’t help them out either.