As you may recall, once upon a time I paid a visit to Plan Check for a Stussy event. Despite being limited to a strict menu, I left the place wanting more. Finally, with a long bike ride, that moment came and I seized it. Plan Check, by the way, was started by former Umami Burger chef Ernesto Uchimura. As Umami Burger still resonates within my tastebuds as one of my favorite burgers, it is clear that Plan Check has good pedigree.
To start the meal off right, we ordered their basic Fries. These things were fried in beef tallow, which is like the beef cousin of lard. The fries are then lightly seasoned with smoked salt and served with some house-made ketchup. The result is some pretty delicious and perfectly crispy fries. The tallow adds a great flavoring and while the house-made ketchup can never quite compare to Heinz it makes a good effort. The only downside is the price, which at $5 is pretty steep for the amount of fries.
Then came the real meal. I ordered the Chefs Favorite Burger [sic], which was topped with cheese two ways, bacon two ways, ketchup leather, a sunny fried egg and hot sauce. It might sound a bit excessive, but plan check pulled it off with flying colors. First, they use a special “crunch bun,” which is topped with some sort of crispies to add add awesome to the burger. The fried egg was cooked to the perfect runniness that often only occurs in dreams. The bacon was perfectly crispy, while one of the cheeses offered the burger extra crunchy texture and the other melty bliss. And the ketchup leather, by the way is essentially like a leather fruit roll-up that melted into tasty moisture.
And, let’s not forget about the beef. Cooked to the perfect medium-rare, it was nicely ground, flavorful and essentially all that can be asked of a beef patty.
And, while I have eaten a lot of burgers with ridiculous toppings in my day, the Chefs Favorite Burger from Plan Check really took things to a new level by not simply being topped with amazing toppings, but by ensuring that each topping had its rightful place and took nothing away from the others. It was an excessive burger in perfect balance and I can’t wait to have it again.
