Let me let you in on a little secret. When I don't go out to eat, I try to eat clean. I do. Other than meals that consist of sweet potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, there's a lot of green juice and juice fasts that goes hand-in-hand with all the lavish lunches and dinners that I am very thankful to be invited to.
But when I go on a burger binge, all bets are off. This is a rare occurrence, as I rarely find burger joints I really like. Once of them used to be the now defunct Boulevard Diner near Ateneo that had closed up that rivaled my other favorite burger hangout, Charlie's Grind & Grill. So you could imagine how over the moon I was when I was told that Alvin Ong, the owner of Boulevard Diner, had put up the new Burger Company in the intersection of Scout Reyes and Mother Ignacia.
You can't miss this place - the outside of the store has so much character, it looks like something you'd probably find in Harlem. I thought it was just me, but the graffiti of the Statue of Liberty scrawled on the wall is just too obvious not to miss.
The inside of the restaurant has a cool industrial vibe going on, with splashes of red and yellow to give the place some color. Jericho and I drove over from Las Piñas, and after all that traffic, we were starving! We met up with some of the foodie fambam and ordered up a storm! I sheepishly have to admit: we ate a lot. A LOT.
I love my spicy food, so I thought a side of Buffalo Trax (Solo- P65, Sharing- P110, Party- P165) would nicely compliment my burger. Alas, I found the crisscross fries tossed in cayenne pepper and paprika too overwhelming. I think this is best had with a cheesy burger to offset all that goo. They could go a little lighter on the cayenne though it was still pretty good.
Watching the guys cook the beef and melt the cheese outside on the grill is intense! They have to wear a gas mask and goggles to protect them from the fumes, which I'm assuming can get pretty heady if you're manning the grill all day. It's almost like watching an episode of Breaking Bad with a Pinoy Walt Whitman.
Most of the cheese and the ground beef went into our order of Nachos Overload (P210). The colorful red and purple nachos smothered with gooey cheese and sour cream was enough of a sight to have me give it a go. The gooey mash up of cheesy and sour was really nice on the palette, without it being too filling. We did, after all, have a slew of burgers to obliterate.
The other half of the hot cheese went into Burger Company's Fries Overload (Sharing- P160, Party- P240). The thick fingers of American fries are topped with the gooey cheese sauce, some ground beef, and little bits of bacon.
Don't forget about the diner favorite, NY Buffalo Wings! The sizes come in Bantam Weight (P135 for 6 pieces), Medium Weight (P195 for 10 pieces), and Heavy Weight (P260 for 14 pieces), and you can choose from a variety of sauces, from the New York Classic, the sweet Louisiana, the weirdly good Cocoa & Chili, or the face-melting Global Warming. Alvin shared how their Global Warming sauce only comes out in limited supply a few times a year, since they use habanero chilies, which is only available in around August.
To wash away all that spice, Jericho got himself a Soda Float (P99) - two big scoops of ice cream with some Cherry-flavored Dr. Pepper! This was more 50-50 soda and ice cream at one point. Not that I was complaining. Who doesn't want a lot of ice cream in their soda float, that's what I want to know.
With our appetites sufficiently whetted, we all dove head first into our fresh off the grill burgers!
Lynn tried Burger Company's Cheese Classic (Single-P159, Double- P275), an angus patty burger topped with lettuce, tomato, and cheese. The couple from En Route believe that the basic burgers say the most about the burger joint as it has less frou-frou. The verdict? A thumbs up!
Lynn's significant
My friend Eric is what I'd call voluntarily allergic to vegetables, so his Bacon & Cheese (Single-P175, Double- P289) came with just that - no lettuce and tomatoes on his burger!
Vlad tried their NY Buffalo Chicken Burger (Single-P185, Double- P249). You can choose what kind of wing sauce you'd like your buffalo fillets tossed with (he went with the NY Classic), before being sandwiched in between some lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, and Gorgonzola dressing.
Jericho tried the Green Chile & Sour Cream (Single-P199, Double- P315). Their classic burger is pimped up with pickled green chili and sour cream. I expected this to be hot because of all that green chili, but it was very mild.
I had the Mexican Chipotle (Single-P189, Double- P305) that's topped with cheese, braised chipotle sauce, and sour cream. I found the smoke-dried jalapeño quite overpowering. This stuff gets up your nose and all over your tastebuds, so if you're not a huge fan of spice, it would be best to skip this. I liked it, but found the sauce a tad cloying.
Doc Gelo struck gold when he ordered The Striker's Burger (Single-P239, Double- P355). This bad boy has your usual lettuce and tomato, with a slice of cheese, double bacon, criss-cut fries, and mushrooms, all covered in a golden waterfall of cheese sauce. Talk a bout one very photogenic burger!
We ordered Alvin's ode to Elvis, the PB&J. The classic burger is also sandwiched with a slice of cheese, homemade peanut butter, bacon jam, and actual bacon, before being smothered in Louisiana BBQ sauce.
Richard tried another of Burger Company's newest creations, the Hawaii Five-O. This is topped with grilled and seasoned pineapple, cheese, chipotle aioli, and raw red onions. Richard was expecting it to be sweet from the grilled pineapple, but it the chipotle gave it that cloying spiciness he didn't like. So if you want keep your Hawaii Five-O sweet, let your server know to nix the aioli!
Abet ordered the humongous The Volcano - also a newbie on the menu. This Burger Company bad boy has all your favorite toppings on top of your Angus Patty - lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, chipotle aioli, and a few battered onion rings for good measure.
When you find yourself mucking around Quezon City and craving for a burger with all your favorite fixins, seek out Burger Company! Enjoy your fresh off the grill burgers with your choice of fixins, and diner drinks such as rare soda floats and classic milkshakes!
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Images taken by Jericho San Miguel of Lightbulb Photography
Burger Company
+63 2 949 2269
72B Scout Reyes Cor. Mother Ignacia Avenue,
Paligsahan, Quezon City
Open Daily: 11am - 11pm
