When it comes to burgers, I’m a purist. I don’t like complexity or tons of toppings. Give me a juicy, well-seasoned burger, topped with gooey cheese, served on a perfect bun, and I’m happy.
It is from these points that my burger-rating methodology was derived. All Lehigh Valley Burger Blog burgers are reviewed based on a 30 point scale, with the point breakdown being as follows:
Burger – 10 points
Bun – 10 points
Toppings – 5 points
Sides – 5 points
28-30 Burger Points – Burger perfection. It doesn’t get any better than this, and you’re about the experience the upper echelon or burgercraft. Get in your car and drive here now.
24-27 Burger Points – Near perfection. Overall, a superior burger, but a few minor improvements could have taken this burger to the top. Worth trying a 2nd time, just in case the cook was having a bad day. (Or a really good day?)
20-23 Burger Points – Very good, but not great. There’s nothing wrong with this burger, but it’s still a distant reach from the top.
16-19 Burger Points – Adequate, but could use enhancement throughout several aspects of the burger. Many times, these burgers might be good in some aspects, but lacking in others.
10-15 Burger Points – Mostly edible, but needs serious overall improvement. The type of burger you’d have to think twice about ordering again. These types of burgers usually come paired with unsatisfactory sides and toppings.
Under 10 Burger Points – Not worth your time or hard-earned money. Avoid at all costs, unless you’re fleeing town from the impending zombie apocalypse, and this is the only place left open. (Luckily, we have yet to review a burger this bad)
You may be wondering why the bun is given the same weight as the burger. Well, I’ll answer your question with another question: would you serve a beautiful, 30-day dry aged burger on a stale kaiser roll that you picked up from the discount baked goods table at Weis? No, you would serve that wonderful burger on the best bread you could get your hands on. In my opinion, the bun is just as important as the meat.
Burgers are ordered as they appear on the menu, without any alterations or additions. If a choice of sides is offered, I’ll usually order fries, since everyone knows fries and burgers are best friends.
Clearly, we will not review the “fast food chains”, although I do believe there is a place for regional quick-serve burger chains in the Lehigh Valley such as Five Guys and Jake’s Wayback Burger, because let’s face it, they make some pretty damn good burgers.