Wednesday, January 4, 2012

First Date - Smashburger (North Miami)



As many of my loyal followers know, I'm a big burger fan. As I indicated in my last Tiers of a Burger ranking, I've cut back on my burger intake recently primarily because of the over saturation of burger joints and food trucks in South Florida.  Nevertheless, I couldn't resist stopping by the newly opened Smashburger located next to Total Wine in North Miami.


Smashburger is a rapidly expanding fast casual burger parlor that employs a highly complex and top secret "smashing" technique.  It's doubtful that you will find a medium rare burger on your plate after being smashed but you never know.     

On my first date, being a burger purist, I opted for the classic smashburger which was accompanied by American cheese, ketchup, leaf lettuce, tomato slices, red onion, pickles, and smash sauce on an egg bun.



My burger was good but flawed. It was overly salty which may have been the work of a heavy handed smasher or the result of the smashing procedure. Hopefully, it was an isolated incident because over seasoning doesn't work for me.  Additionally, the American cheese was on the thick side and slightly overpowering.  The smash sauce which appeared to be a mustard, mayonnaise, relish combination was good but awkwardly placed on top of the large leafy lettuce instead of the burger.  The egg bun was properly sized to support the burger and toppings but I wasn't crazy about the taste or its texture.      


I'm a big french fry fan and had to try their Smashfries as well as their traditional ones.  Both were a huge disappointment. So weak that I doubt I would order them ever again and that is nearly impossible when ordering a burger.  Gun to my head I would opt for the Smashfries. 

I know I'm sounding overly critical for a first visit but they are national big boys and should be ready to play.  In fairness, I actually liked the patty itself and thought the smashing provided a nice crusty texture.     

It's not in the same league as Shake Shack but that's a lofty comparison since most aren't. The jury is out for me but I will definitely be back for a second date.   

Smashburger on Urbanspoon


14730 Biscayne Blvd
Miami, FL 33181

4 comments:

LAX2MIA said...

Are you sure the oversalting wasn't a result of your tears from the Jets loss? In all seriousness, of all the chain places opening up Smashburger was the one I was most looking forward to (aside from In n Out which would be a pipe dream if I were to ever hope it'd open in Florida) or at least most curious about. It seems to defy convention to smash the juices out of a burger but it seems the patty comes out OK. Too bad about absolutely everything else. Next big burger place to wait for: Umami burger which is supposedly openig in the DD this year.

The Chowfather said...

Lax, very good observation- no tears but I did go after the Jets were knocked out of the playoffs and was in a salty mood...the burger wasn't bad and has potential. I'm hoping it was a newly opened execution issue.

The fries were a flat out bust

Kris Berg said...

In all fairness smashburger is designed to give you options compared to regular burger joints, they are salty, but I'm not sure
if the staff adds salt. Did you try the sweet potato fries, the fries are salty and the spice looks interesting but does not compensate,
the chain has potential but it needs a few fixes, the burger bun could be bigger to make sure the toppings fit nicely that you can eat and bite in.

Unknown said...

Maybe it's not all that bad. That place still looks like a good place to go bring that girl you met on some dating sites for a first date.