This past Sunday myself and a group of food friends descended like ravaged hunters upon a charming little place called Charm City Burger Company located in Deerfield Beach. The owners Michael Saperstein and Evan David had absolutely no idea what to expect when their greatest fan, The Burger Beast organized this little burger fest of enthusiastic foodies. True to form, some 25 of us crowded this unsuspecting venue like paparazzi at the Kodak Theatre on Oscar night. There is no greater group of passionate and zealous “food people” like my South Florida Foodies; each of us as different as different can be but when it comes to food, lookout! the ties that bind are strong.
As overwhelming as a group of 25 can be we were greeted and welcomed with open arms. Michael and Evan, the perfect hosts sent out samples of appetizers to tease our taste buds. We indulged on a variety of Chicken Wings, Volcano, Soy, and BBQ and baskets of thick cut peppered bacon, I could feel the excitement rising or may it was my arteries clogging, but damn it sure tasted great! Fresh Beer, THE Microbrew Source in South Florida was also at Charm City Burger for this “Foodie Fest” sampling some its great brews, such as Dale’s Pale Ale, Native Lager and Old Scratch Amber Lager. I don’t have a favorite, I’m an equal opportunity drinker. Dale’s Pale Ale was strong and powerful, the Native Lager was smooth and easy, Old Scratch was broody; each brew tempting and playing with my palate.
We are quite a lively bunch of people from all walks of life with lots of different opinions, tastes and styles so when it came to ordering our burgers it gave much insight into our real personalities, think about it, someone ordering a ‘vegan’ burger versus a half pound burger with the works and extra bacon speaks volumes. I sat next to 4theloveoffood and we were looking at the menu deciding what to order and in true form, without missing a beat 4theloveoffood says, ”ooh, look they have salad on the menu” I almost fell off my chair killing myself laughing! Now that was one of those you had to be there kind of moments but trust me it was a riot and there was no way that 4theloveoffood or myself or anyone else at our table was going to order salad with the vast choices of hunky premium beef and all its magnificent toppings.
Not that I’m remotely interested in dabbling into the psycho-world of Sigmund Freud but I do believe there is some correlation to ones burger choices and their personalities.
The burgers at Charm City are 1/3 of a pound proprietary steak blend (otherwise noted) giving them their universal name Premium Steak Burgers. I ordered The Cowboy, a burger with thick cut bacon, aged cheddar, sautéed mushrooms and grilled onions with a side of Tater-Tots. 4theloveoffood ordered The Emperor, 8oz Kobe Beef Patty Melt, aged gruyere, truffled mushrooms, with seared foie gras and French Fries. OK and now you know why I thought”ooh, look they have salad on the menu” was so hysterical!
My burger was insane! Perfectly cooked and perfectly topped. One of the best ways to judge a burger is can you bite into it and not have fall apart all over you? Again, perfect. Not one onion, not one mushroom fell out or on me during my voracious indulgence. I only ate half and that was a struggle, that was one big cowboy! Then again maybe because I had 3 microbrews and a handful of Tater Tots, which by the way were fun and delicious, talk about bitesize food you could eat 50 and not know what you’re doing, dangerous, very dangerous!
4theloveoffood had The Emperor talk about royal food. If my Cowboy was insanely delicious then The Emperor was off the charts! Keep in mind this is a burger joint and to nail flavors such as gruyere, truffled mushrooms and foie gras with Kobe beef on brioche is definitely a work of art. As great as these two burgers are the pièce de résistance is “The Burger Beast melt” named after the ‘greatest Charm City Burger Fan” a double melt, double bacon, aged gruyere, papas fritas, topped with a fried egg on brioche toast, this my dear readers is food rapture at its finest. Lest I forget the famed Blue Bell Milkshakes, now all I can honestly tell you is how great it looked there was no way I could even take a sip of water let alone a Blue Bell Milkshake but two of my dinner companions sucked it down in 2.5 minutes, so what I believe that means is Run! do not walk to Charm City Burger Company and taste what food fun is all about.
Charm City Burger Company
1136 East Hillsboro Blvd.
Deerfield Beach, FL, 33441
954-531-0300
