If someone will ask me if I have
encountered a food establishment that is consistent is what they do, then I may
say Burger
Geek is one consistently inconsistent. Some may say that I am mean when I say this
since I encountered them during their so long soft-opening stage but having
more than 2 strikes in one seating spells consistently inconsistent.
Let me rundown all the
inconsistencies that were shown that day.
The A/C story
It was a sunny day and even if it
was December already, the heat will definitely get you. When I stepped into the store, I noticed two
A/C units on the wall but one was closed.
Since they did mention that they were still in the soft-opening stage, I
simply assumed that it was part of an expense cutting technique. Just to overhear later that there were some
discussion with the electrical crew of the place already and that the unit was
still not working. Then the other person said that you can have the unit
changed since it was still under warranty.
(How long were you in soft-opening
stage already; months?)
The Ordering Scenario
The staff was cordial during the
whole order taking scene but being cordial is not enough, you need to be
attentive and I can be the “other” party
in a group if I want to. She was at the
end of the table while I was at the other end besides the wall. She was able to get all the orders mentioned
by the other people in the group without asking for mine even if I was holding
a menu card. After repeating their
orders, she walked going to the kitchen to file their orders. It was a companion of mine who casually asked
me if I filled for my order already and I said no. They have to call her again to take my order.
(Never assume that the order given is for
the whole group. Inquire and do those
extra steps of making your customer feel that they belong to the place.)
The Milkshake story
I ordered for salted caramel while my companion
ordered for strawberry milkshake while the rest simply went
for juice and sodas. When the drinks
arrived, you know immediately that one of them is strawberry milkshake because
of the pink shade of the drink inside the mason jar. The other one seems like vanilla for me due
to its off-white tint. Come tasting, my
order does taste like vanilla milkshake and not salted caramel. I was expecting a certain saltiness bite into
it but I didn’t get it. I have to flag
them for this. They took my drink back
and gave me a new one minutes later. The
2nd one was way better in terms of taste and thickness. (I tasted a milkshake that is way cheaper
but better than the first served to me)
The Fries and Onion Ring story
The flavor of their French fries
was there, the texture was not. It was
not soggy. It was hard. But come the onion ring, which is more
delicate, it was perfect. Definitely the
fryer is not the issue here. I heard
they are looking into changing potato suppliers. (So the
potato is the one to blame.)
The Umami Corn story
Corn kernels with seaweed flakes
and it comes with a serving of dried flakes of something and a mayo of a sort,
not mixed together, simply served.
I still don’t get it.
(If it was not supposedly served that way then the staff could have
offered their service of mixing everything together upon serving.)
The Burger story
The beauty of this joint is that
all the burgers are described on the menu based on what is in it. There is no reason for you to assume differently. When I ordered for The Hangover it was
simply due to one ingredient that I love the most when it comes to burger
creations – the egg. People have
different understanding when it comes to the term fried egg – it could be sunny
side-up, scrambled or your based beaten egg minus the other ingredients making
it an omelet. Even on the concept of
sunny side-up, people have preferences: runny yolk-cooked white, cooked white
and yolk, half cooked yolk-crispy edge but not burned bottom, and too many to
mention. I asked it the yolk is cooked
or runny (in the vernacular: luto ba yung
dilaw o malasado?) and the staff answered that it was runny (malasado). I asked again to be sure and I was assured
that it was runny, so was expecting a runny yolk. When it was served, I saw the bacon, the
patty, the fries and a sunny side-up egg with a half-cooked yolk making it not
runny. A big disappointment!
You know the feeling of asking it
to be redone the way it was said but at the same time thinking of the cost it
will entail unto the business owners? That
was what I was feeling then. My business
owner side won forgetting the customer in me.
Did I enjoy it? I tasted the
sweet glazed. I find the bacon cuts
nice. The fries still has the same
texture challenge (what do you expect, it
was the same day), the bread was good for it took all the still possible
yolk into its dough. I found the logic
as to why it has that name. Did I enjoy
it? No. I miss the runny yolk that was
supposed to run between those fries, bacon and mix with the meat patty. That runny yolk that may slip into your
fingers as you eat your burger, I missed that.
That was when the joy of eating stepped out of the door.
 |
| The Hangover |
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento