C. Williams Sonoma

People have been reading our blog! This makes me rather happy, especially when things like my beloved football team (WHY DALLAS WHYYYYYY) tend to put me in a state of melancholy.

So au contraire to the lack of reviews, we have actually been eating burgers. We've already crossed off the trifecta of Oahu Burger joints (Teddy's, Kua'aina, the Counter) off our list so we've been just going places and eating...well, burgers. SURPRISINGLY, we have found some really tasty ones! The way I think of it is like we're discovering all the underground (figuratively) burger places that people know of--but never SPEAK of--because they aren't well...the big three! Off the beaten path. I guess.

But anyway. I have a gift certificate at Williams Sonoma (there's one at Ala Moana)...that I've had for almost a year now! Its like money that’s burning a hole into my pocket. I want to spend it. :] Brandon says we should wait until we move and have a bigger kitchen, which TOTALLY makes sense because there's almost no place to put my ceramic knife (While I was in Okinawa, I bought CERAMIC KNIVES. Idk. It seems just like a really sharp knife so far. Haha.)! I also have no idea what I'd want from there anyway (aka so pricey).

So let's see. Would you buy this?

Adjustable Burger Press $36

I guess this is kinda handy. I guess. You can measure the weight and it'll make perfectly round patties. Also useful for loco mocos?

Chef's Press $24.95 for a set of 3

I kinda like this one! It's cute but we don't grill nearly as much as my Dad does. I think he'd scoff at it but it'll make your food cook more uniformly and whatnot. And you can use it when you cook asparagus. Yum. :]

Square Slider Burger Press $26.95

For some reason, when I look at this, I think: White Castle. I've never been there yet. I've seen them in the freezer section at Safeway (and by watching Harold and Kumar go to White Castle). I don't know about this one, I'm not a slider person!

Olive Wood Salt Keeper $49.00

It's pretty. I like it. The price? Not so much. Do I use kosher salt? No. But isn't it pretty?

K more (eating and reviewing of) burgers later. :]

A. Where to Next? + Manda Guest Blog!

Well. Football Season is here. And being the good fans that we are, Sunday mornings are now dedicated to watching Eagles [and Cowboys GO DALLAS] games...so our blog will probably be slowing down for a bit. I'll compensate by putting other yummy burger things up! :]

So we've already hit the mega-trifecta of Oahu Burger joints: The Counter, Teddy's, and Kua'Aina. Now we'll probably be going to all these smaller restaurants, not so well known but with a reputation for tastiness!

1. Forty Niner Restaurant, Aiea

I've lived in Pearl City/Aiea my entire life, and I have never tried the food at the Forty Niner yet. It's not that the food is bad (it's actually got quite the reputation with the old-timers!), its just...I dunno. I've got plenty of excuses that range from the parking to the fact that it looks so hole-in-the-wall-sketchy. Imagine my surprise when I hear that they supposedly make a pretty good cheeseburger! I actually got scoldings from my grandparents cause I haven't eaten here yet, so if I take Brandon on our usual cheeseburger tasting, then that's two birds with one stone. Win.

2. The Alley Restaurant Bar and Grill, Aiea

One more in Aiea! It makes sense, since we're here all the time anyway. I don't know why didn't do this earlier. But anyway, I always knew Aiea Bowl had its own restaurant, but I've never eaten a meal there. Everyone I know goes here just for the "tasty chicken" so we'll see if they make a good burger as well.

3. I Love Country Café

How many "I Love Country Café" places are left on this island? I know there used to be one at Kahala Mall and there used to be one near Ala Moana, but that one is still closed/closed down cause of the fire a couple years ago! [I cheated. I looked on yelp and apparently, there are a lot.] This one (in the NEX food court) is the only one left that I know of. This burger is supposed to be tasty in that healthy, "local" kinda way. If that means teri-sauce, I know Brandon won't like it (I agree. Teri and cheese...is sorta..like W&M. HAHA). Even if the fries are freaking AMAZING, he'll probably give another teri-burger a...D at best. And I dunno, I have an ominous feeling about teriyaki and this place. Oh well. I want one of those giant slabs of banana bread that they sell at the register.

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K those were the 3 main ones I had in mind. More of the Take-Out variety then Gourmet...until I went to Ala Moana last weekend! Brandon and I bought pots and pans from Macy's. I swear, nothing will ever beat their One Day Sale. But anyway,

4. Panya Bistro

Name sounds kinda familiar? Its that Japanese bakery on the Sears side of the mall. Its neighbors with Longs, Victoria's Secret, and Genki sushi! Their baked goods are all nice and flakey. :] It wasn't until I was reading the Ala Moana magazine that I knew about their "hand-crafted" burgers. From the picture, I'm guessing something similar to MOS Burger (I MISSED OUT ON MOS BURGER WHILE I WAS IN TOKYO), a Japanese burger joint.

[THERE USED TO BE A MOS BURGER in Hawaii but I missed it! :(]

K that's all. We went to Teddy's again since our last post, and I swear to the Burger Gods, that that is my favorite burger on this island. So far. ;]

#6 Ruby Tuesday, Ala Moana

Ruby Tuesday
Ala Moana Shopping Center

Category: Gourmet Burger

Menu Item: Classic Cheeseburger

Price: $10.69 w/ Endless Fries

Burger Size: 8 oz.

Bun: Wheat

Cheese: American

Toppings: Lettuce, Tomatoes, Red Onions, Pickles, Ruby's Mayonnaise

Description:

Most of you probably have eaten at a Ruby Tuesday before, so I'll keep this review short. I actually had not planned to do a burger review on this place, but I ended up eating here and figured that I would offer my thoughts on the burger. Also, the burger pictures were taken with my phone because I didn't have my camera on me.

"Handcrafted" Classic Cheeseburger

The Ruby Tuesday Menu includes ten "Handcrafted Burgers" and four "Prime Burgers." The Handcrafted Burgers include 100% USDA Choice beef burgers with different cheeses, bacon, barbecue sauce, and they also have a bison burger. The Prime burgers are the same except that they are made from USDA Prime Beef. For this review I ordered the "Classic Cheeseburger" which was a 8 oz. Choice beef burger patty cooked medium on a toasted wheat bun and topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onions, american cheese, and Ruby's Mayonnaise. It also came with a good amount of fries and even though they were "endless" I did not find it necessary to get another order.

Good and simple

The cheeseburger as a whole was good. It looks small when you eat it, but the 8 oz. patty makes it very heavy tasting and filling. After you eat it you probably won't want to move much. It is the opposite of the Islands burger which looked big, but ended up being very crisp and light eating. The fries were good as well, but there was nothing really special about this meal. The only thing that I noticed about this burger was that it had kind of a sour taste to it. Not in a bad way, but just different. I couldn't really tell if it was the sauce or the bun, but my guess goes to the bun.

Verdict:

In a word, Average. You probably wouldn't eat here for only the burgers, but if you wanted to order one I would probably try the Prime burger because they claim that it is the "World's Best Burger." For some reason I'm skeptical about that, but it's worth a shot right? If not, there are a few different burgers to try so you don't have to limit yourself to the classic.

Grade: C

Ruby Tuesday
1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814
Sun-Thurs 10:30AM-10PM, Fri & Sat 10:30AM-11PM
808-943-2525
http://www.rubytuesday.com

#2: Cheeseburger Factory, Ala Moana Center

Cheeseburger Factory
Ala Moana Center


Category: Fast food / Take-out burger

Menu Item: Combo 2 (Regular Cheeseburger, French Fries, 22 oz. drink)

Price: $6.39

Burger Size: Unknown

Bun: White

Cheese: American

Toppings: Lettuce, Tomato, "Sauce"

Description:

Sup bloggers. Allow me to introduce the second category of burgers in the burger blog: The fast food / take-out burger. Unlike the first post on Islands, which I considered a "Gourmet Burger", this category is dedicated to the faster, on-the-go type of places. After all, comparing a Kua Aina burger to a Burger King burger wouldn't be fair. Aight, on to the review.

Not exactly what's shown on the menu...

To be honest, I didn't even know this place existed until a little while ago. It's in the far corner of the Ala Moana food court and most of you would probably never walk there. I just remember thinkin, Hey, I like cheeseburgers. Why they gotta stick the burger place all the way over here? It should be in the main area! But then I ordered this thing and everything made sense. For $6.39, I wasn't really expecting much, but this cheeseburger was pretty bad. The burger itself was probably a cheap frozen patty that you could buy from any supermarket, and I am 90% sure the "sauce" is thousand island dressing or something similar. I probably could have made this burger myself, except faster and better tasting. The burger patty was dry and the whole thing was drenched in "sauce." Oh, and another thing. Despite the picture of the meal showing a decent amount of onions inside the burger, there are none. It's just lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sauce. The only good thing about the meal was the fries. Again, probably store bought frozen, but they didn't screw those up.



Verdict: Don't be fooled by the burger shown on the giant light up menu behind the counter. This burger is not that big and juicy and there are no onions. Honestly, I probably would have preferred any fast food burger over this place. For the same price you could get something faster and better tasting. This place is located in the dark corner of the food court for a reason.

Grade: D


Cheeseburger Factory
1450 Ala Moana Blvd
Mon-Sat 9AM-9PM, Sun 10AM-7PM
808-941-1388
http://www.alamoanacenter.com/cheeseburger_factory.htm

#1: Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks, Ala Moana Center

Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks
Ala Moana Center

Category: Gourmet Burger

Menu Item: "Big Wave" w/Cheese

Price: $10.95 w/ Endless Fries

Burger Size: Unknown

Bun: White (Also available in wheat)

Cheese: American

Toppings: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickles, Mustard

Description:

For a place called "Islands" they sure have a ton of locations outside of the islands. Just by looking at the takeout menu, there are over 50 mainland locations and only one here on Oahu. Anyway, on to the review. The restaurant and bar have a nice "island" theme with good music

and tv's. The environment is very laid back and feels like a place you would go to kick back and grab a beer. For this review I kept it simple and ordered the "Big Wave" with cheese which was, basically, a cheeseburger and fries.

The "Big Wave" w/Cheese

My first impression of the meal was that the burger looked good... but wheres the fries?! Apparently, the strategy here is to demolish the amount of french fries that they provide with the burger and ask for more. After all, they are endless and you get another "basket" full of em the next time. As for the burger, it doesn't get any simpler than this. It's a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and mustard. That's it. Nothin special. No secret sauces or special buns. Very simple. The burger was cooked medium and was juicy, yet light, unlike other burgers that just bleed grease when you bite into them. Definitely a good, simple cheeseburger and fries. My only complaint would be the fries which were covered in a ton of seasoned salt that was a little too much for me.

I got to stare at the second half of the burger while waiting for the second order of fries...

Verdict:

Islands was a nice place with a good atmosphere. The "Big Wave" cheeseburger was average. Not bad, not amazing. Just simple and good. The endless fries make up for the $10.95 price although they are a bit salty. If I came here again it would probably be to chill, grab a beer, a burger, and endless fries. Auryte!

Grade: C

Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks
1450 Ala Moana Blvd
Sun-Sat 11AM-11PM (808) 943-6670
www.islandsrestaurants.com