There are 2 locations for Burger & Beer Joint restaurants. This one is in downtown Miami. They opened their first location in August of 2009 and then followed up with this restaurant in July of 2010.
You can dine inside or ‘outside’ in the enclosed mall area just outside the entrance.
The Burger & Beer Joint was quite busy…with a little wait required before we were seated. Of course, it was a Saturday night in Miami, so one would expect the place to be bustling!
Laurie took this photo of Dawn Marie and me at the Burger & Beer Joint.
A little bit about the menu… Appetizers include some of the usual suspects. There are Wings ($10.00); Fried Dill Pickles ($6.00); Wagyu Sliders ($12.00); Pig in a Blanket…hickory smoked thick sliced Duroc pork belly bacon served with Vermont Grade A maple syrup ($11.00); Green Bean Fries ($9.00); Popcorn Shrimp with spicy garlic mayo ($14.00) or; Buffalo Chili and Sharp Cheddar Cheese over the ‘Skinny’ Fries ($9.00). We chose none of the above, opting to try a highly recommended house specialty instead!
For our shared appetizer, we ordered the Mac Daddy Cheese Gratin…a 3-cheese mornay sauce and panko bread crumbs with parmesan cheese and macaroni noodles ($7.00) It was moderately disappointing, lacking the distinctive flavors that would elevate it much above the really good mac ‘n cheese that can be found in many local southern restaurants.
The Burgers & Beer Joint is named appropriately… The food related focus is on burger! My Burger as shown above was constructed using various elements from the “Build Your Own” burger portion of the menu. I started with the 8 oz. prime Angus patty on a brioche bun ($9.00); with sharp cheddar cheese ($1.50); the Duroc thick sliced pork belly bacon ($3.00) and; a side of Duck Fat Fries ($3.00). Total = $16.50! (A 10 oz. pre-set burger ordered from the menu is at least $2.00 less expensive…but that only works if they include the ingredients that you like)
This was a good burger…perhaps not a great burger but a very good one. The bun was excellent. On the other hand, the ‘pork belly bacon’ didn’t taste that special to me, (or to Laurie)…it was decent bacon but the trumpets weren’t blowing… We’d heard about duck fat French fries before, that they were reported to be really great, a real treat. OK…neither Laurie or I cared for the fries. They were greasy and limp. Maybe it’s just us…but we would never order these again.
Laurie’s Build Your Own Burger was very similar to mine. The only differences were that she had the smoked Gouda cheese on her burger plus she asked for the spicy garlic mayo to accompany her creation. ($.75) Total with Duck Fat Fries = $17.25!
From the Build a Burger menu, you could choose an 8 oz. or 16 oz. patty. It could be a prime Angus patty ($9.00/$12.00); a Waygu beef patty ($12.00/$18.00); a Turkey patty ($8.00/$10.00); a Chicken patty ($6.00/$8.00), or; a Ahi Tuna patty, 8 oz. only available ($13.00). You could put this patty on 1 of 5 different buns or a lettuce wrap; add one or more type of cheese from the 10 offered; add an item or items from the grill (6) or from the farm (8). ($.50 each) Eleven different sauces are available as well as 11 different toppings from the ‘pure platinum’ listing. These toppings range from $1.00 to $11.00 each…
Dawn kept it simple…ordering an 8 oz. Angus burger on an onion roll with a side of the Jalapeno Cheddar Sauce and some ‘skinny’ fries. ($14.75) Her burger was cooked just the way she likes it…bloody!
For some reason, some of the ‘regular’ burgers on the menu are 10 oz. In any case, among others there is the Hotel California ($14.00), Thunder Road ($14.00); Paradise City ($19.00) and; the Mustang Sally ($16.00). No…well how about the Stairway to Heaven…10 oz. Waygu beef, 3 oz. pan seared foie gras, black truffle demi, brioche bun, served with duck fat fries with parsley and roasted garlic aioli. ($32.00). If you like sharing a burger or if you’re into food challenges, how about The Motherburger?! It’s 10 lbs. of Angus beef! If you order it with cheese, 2 other toppings and 1 sauce, it costs $150.00.
This is a pricy burger joint. It has lots of atmosphere, 99 beer or hard cider choices, and it appeared to be very ‘in’ or popular. I’m sorry, but we can do better for a lot less money. Burgers for 3 with fries and the shared Mac Daddy came to $68.85 before the tip. That didn’t count the milk shakes that we had…for free. They didn’t charge us for them because it took so long to get the shakes that we were done with dinner before they arrived.
We did find a better burger in South Florida! It will be reported in a future blog…
Beer & Burger Joint is located in the Mary Brickell Village at 900 South Miami Avenue, Suite #130 in Miami. Phone: 305-523-2244. Website: www.bnbjoint.com.
Just click on any photo to enlarge it…
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
No way this meal is on your diet
ReplyDeleteBig Dude, Actually this meal is a critical part of my diet! Fat prevents wrinkles! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDelete