Justin V.
Yelp
Okay, is there something I'm missing in regards to SmashBurger? I've heard people rave about them, but after my first visit I wasn't blown away. Their concept is similar to Five Guys and Mooyah, but if forced to rank them SmashBurger would place third amongst them.
At this point when I come across a burger joint I haven't tried before I tend to think big. Appetites across the country are hearty and burger joints not only have to push out tasty food but also go big with the portions. So what I had in mind for SmashBurger lined up with Five Guys and Mooyah.
The reality, though, didn't meet my expectation, at least not when it comes to size. For nearly $14 I was given 6 oz. burger, fries and a fountain drink. That's pretty expensive considering the burger is just over 1/3 lb. And 6 oz. is their large! I found that to be disappointing, but I still have to try their food.
The wait for my food took a bit, and my friend and I noticed some of the patrons were waiting a long time, too (we came in right as the dinner rush began). One family was visibly upset, and the dad had to resort to walking to the counter with his receipt and table number stand to get his food.
As for me, I dined with a buddy but our food didn't arrive at the same time. Mine showed up first, and at first glance my truffle mushroom swiss looked awesome. But alas, there was a glitch. I noticed, laying oh so comfortably on the top bun, a "nice" thick black hair which must've fallen from the scalp of the person who delivered my food. My buddy noticed it, too - it was just chillin'.
Nope! Not touching that jank! But dammit, I forgot to take a pic of it!
I took my order back to the register and I had to wait a little because the girl at the register was taking a customer's order. She was observant enough to get the expo person's attention for me, and when I showed her the burger she quickly told me she'd replace it.
To be honest, that situation was handled well, but the interesting thing is TWO replacement burgers showed up! The first runner came with only a burger, and after he said it was the replacement I thanked him and asked if my fries were coming soon. He said, "Yes," I was cool with that and decided to wait. My buddy's order arrived, then after that another employee showed up with my fries - but another burger was with them! I gave her a puzzled look and gestured to her to go ahead and take one of the burgers back, but she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Eh, don't worry about it." Two burgers for the price of one works for me, but that situation informed me that communication is lacking. It's either that or they have a policy of replacing bad food with two good ones!
Finally, I try my burger and admittedly it's tasty. Truffles in anything is delicious and it worked very well with the crimini mushrooms and swiss cheese. The egg bun is a nice touch, too, so taste gets high scores from me.
Although my experience wasn't as memorable (i.e., calamitous) as Maria G.'s, I think my visit lines up best with Joe D.'s, Gabriel D.'s and Xerxes N.'s. This location's staff has some growing pains to overcome, and they'll work it out in time. The big worry is whether or not diners will wait around for them to get organized. But ultimately they cannot control the size of their food. And since I believe their price points aren't justified, they're going to have a difficult time competing with other upscale-casual burger joints. JV