Sometimes burgers build up a reputation. Whether by winning awards or word of mouth, it happens. This happened to Aioli Burger in both ways. Yeah, it won some burger battles, but also people told me about it and that doesn’t happen as much in Phoenix as it did in LA and Pittsburgh, so I figured it had to be real. Plus, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I got a taste of Aioli Burger at the Scottsdale Culinary Fest earlier this year. Basically, the hype was real.

So I arrived and got a look at the menu. The burger that called out to me the most was the California Burger and it’s not because I spent so much of my life in California, but because it was topped with avocado, a fried egg, pepper jack cheese, chipotle aioli and pickled red onions that I had no need for. I ordered up a side of the Signature Loaded Fries, which were topped with Kiltlifter cheese sauce, avocado, chipotle aioli, bacon and again those goddamned red onions that nobody likes. I took a number and awaited my food, hoping it would be onion-free.

It was onion-free, so that was a good start. The burger was a beautiful sight to behold and I beheld it very quickly into my mouth. The flavors played very nicely with each other and the burger was well-seasoned and cooked nicely. While I had been expecting something a bit more gourmet (for literally no reason whatsoever aside from a strange hunch), I was perfectly happy to find that this burger fit into the realm of whatever comes after fast casual.

The fries were also pretty solid, although the way they were plated made it seem like the portion was small. It wasn’t small, but it also wasn’t very big. It was, however, quite tasty. The fries were plenty crispy and able to withstand the combination of cheese sauce and aioli, but the avocado seemed just randomly thrown on and with poor intention. Honestly, if you’re just going to throw two slices of avocado on a huge plate of fries, you better be more intentional about it.

All that said, Aioli Burger has the goods. It may not be blazing an exciting new trail in burgerdom, but it’s worth eating if you find yourself near the truck or brick and mortar locale.

Some were household names with tons of locations around the Valley of the Sun, like Grimaldi’s and Zoe’s, but others seemed a bit more special and I sought them out (along with some booze, of course).

The Italiano – Aioli Burger

I’d been hearing murmurings of how great this place was for a while now, and its victory at Burger Battle 2018 further cemented my desire to get there. This burger wasn’t perfect, nor would I expect it to be in such a situation, but the combination of mozzarella, bacon, basil garlic aioli, balsamic reduction and a discarded tomato made me more eager to seek out the real deal.

Mac Daddy – Tom’s BBQ

Is it proper to describe mac and cheese as wet in a bad way? Because that’s how I felt about the Mac Daddy, which is mac and cheese topped with pulled pork and BBQ sauce. Perhaps the measurements went awry in the kitchen, because a dish like this is very hard to mess up. Yet, it was underwhelming, leaving me thinking I should have hit up another spot in the BBQ region.

Carne Asada Fries – SuperFarm SuperTruck

This is a truck that knows how to make fries. The fries themselves were perfectly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, as well as seasoned to perfection. The beef was more ground than steak, but seasoned well, and the cilantro, cheese and sauce all acted in harmony with one another. The lime juice didn’t hurt either. These were easily my booze-free highlight of the festival.

Jollybeez Wings – Good Fortune Kitchen

What can I say? I’m a sucker for Filipino food. And while I can’t say I’ve ever had wings at an actual Jollibee, I have had balut and that should pretty much prepare me for anything. That said, the wing here was pretty good, and while there may have been a little too much focus on the corn and slaw? surrounding the wing, I was definitely a fan of the crispiness, meatiness, moistness and peanut sauce.

Unfortunately, one man can only eat so much. I left the Scottsdale Culinary Festival with not just a full stomach, but also a heart full of hope for the food scene in Phoenix. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like thing are bad in any way, but the variety I saw in places like Good Fortune Kitchen tells me that better foods are yet to come.