The New Burger Bar

Me outside with my menu!

This week I was presented with a very valuable opportunity. My close friend Natalie Stahl was given 4 free tickets to an opening of a new burger place right on Figueroa by campus. Due to her mom's friend, who is a PR manager for the company, we were chosen as some of the first guests to try out "Built: Custom Burgers" and give our feedback to the restaurant. Besides the obvious free meal, I saw this as a great opportunity to use my critical evaluation skills for the new restaurant. Built is a new branch of The Counter- the upscale "build your own burger" chain of California. The idea was to create a fast and casual version of the place, that is cheaper in order to appeal to the population of college students in the area.

Natalie and I arrived at the location around 1, where we met Cary and Katherine, our two other friends joining us. There were a few other people standing outside and a crew member with a clipboard checking in the different parties. I didn't realized that it was a closed event and you had to be on the "VIP List".

I liked the outside decor for opening day. Brown paper bag like material lined the windows. It gave the place a modern urban feel, a style that definitely attracts the university's students. I thought it was funny that the restaurant was placed right next to the "Pizza Studio", a build your own pizza joint. This style of restaurant, like Chiptole (also on the street) works well for college students. It's fast, cheap, and customizable. This makes it easy to grab something when your on the run, or go with a big group because there is something for everyone.

The Burger Bar

The doors finally opened and we jumped in line ready to build our burgers. The assembly line was set up with chalkboards designating which step of the burger process you were at. You began with which type of patty you wanted. I decided to stick to the basics and get an all beef burger. I wanted to customize all the ingredients I would topple on. The next station was the bun. All of my friends ordered the "bun of the day"- the pretzel bun. I wasn't feeling like anything too salty so I stuck with the original here as well. Yes, this was a boring burger so far. As we waited for the line to shift one of the crew members encountered a problem. One of the oversized pretzel buns got stuck in the toaster! Reminded me on the time the toaster oven in my apartment got stuck and one of my roommates almost started a fire! Luckily he handled the situation pretty well and was able to remove the bun and continue helping customers. Next was the fun part: the condiments. Because the meal was free we could add on as many regular or premium condiments that our heart desired. Cary's goal was the make the biggest burger they'd ever seen. Not too difficult because we basically the 5th customers. I chose the coleslaw, sautéed onions, and the roasted tomato. For the sauce I went with the Roasted Garlic Aioli. I liked how you could test the different sauces, so many to choose from. At the end of the line I picked the featured fingerlings for my side. These potatoes were similar to the smush potato fries from Umami. Small little round potatoes with the crispy skin still on.

One of the employees adding my
roasted tomatoes (a premium
ingredient) to my burger.

My burger and fries! Don't know how a normal fry ended
up in the mix?

We grabbed one of the bar tables and started to devour the burgers. I really liked the combination of all of my ingredients. The coleslaw was fresh and not too mayonnaise-y. I asked for only a little bit of it, but the burger builder piled on basically a pound. Both the sautéed onions and roasted tomato brought a lot of rich flavor complimenting the aioli that I used my fork to dab on before each bite.  It is a little strange how they serve the sauce on the side.  But I guess it makes sense because the burger is already so messy.

My messy tray.  Not an easy or glamorous meal to eat.

Unfortunately my patty was a little dry and pretty cold.  It was so large that it barely fit in the small cardboard box they serve it in.  It's a good idea because most of the burgers end up being pretty sloppy with all the ingredients.  I'm surprised Cary's double patty and bacon burger with almost every vegetable possible fit inside.
  

The line took a while to work through and by the time I sat down the whole meal was basically cold. I'm sure once the staff works out all the kinks the line will become more efficient. No potatoes will beat the smush potatoes at umami, but a did enjoy the the crispy skin on the fingerlings. They were just a little bit too oily for my taste.

The restaurant also offers a burger bowl option.  You can get your burger in a salad bowl, without a bun, with all the same options for your combinations. This is great because the restaurant can cater to even more people (those on diets, gluten free, or just not feeling the bun).

The lady sitting next to me ordered
the burger bowl.  When I asked her how
she liked it, she said "it was just ok".

I very carefully filled out my evaluation card, trying to be as critical as possible.  The overall ambiance of the place was great.  No complaints there!  The staff was very friendly, but they obviously still had a few issues to work out.  The bun incident was just an example, but there were a few other times in line where it didn't seem like the employees were communicating efficiently.  When I asked for the sautéed onions the staff member just yelled sautéed onions to the kitchen, I don't think anyone heard.  But at least I still got them on my burger.  I also gave them a low mark on accuracy because of the coleslaw.  I specifically asked for less but the guy piled on more!  The value was pretty good.  Even though this time my burger was free, $10 is a pretty good deal for a burger with anything you want on it.  Definitely cheaper than the counter.

Overall the employees were very friendly and I could tell they were all excited for their first day on the job. Built is a great addition to the restaurant row slowly developing on Figueroa just off campus. I'm positive this place will be a big hit with all of the students!

My evaluation card.