Lonnieburger Baskets: Smashburger BWF

In general we're kinda done with the whole burger review thing. Every now and again, though, something might come up that clear necessitates a return to the Lonnieburger Basket world.

Calen has mentioned that her family enjoys a burger from the Bridgewater Falls SmashBurger, and The Best Man and his wife mentioned the same thing. When we checked out SmashBurger, we'd gone to the one on Cox Road and found it a little greasy. At the recommendations of our friends, though, we gave SmashBurger another try...but at a different location.

Did things come out any differently? Let's see...

Burger

• Last time I commented that the burger was a loose-meat style burger reminiscent of a thicker Steak 'n' Shake burger. The Cox Rd SmashBurger burger was more well crusted than this BWF burger, Neither was spiced to my preference, but they had gotten at least a bit of salt and pepper on the patty. The meat is too fatty for my tastes. I don't know whether this is a product of the cut of meat that the chain chooses to use or if it's a product of their cooking method - too much oil on the griddle, perhaps? - but we've seen it on all four of our burgers now, so I'm thinking it's not a fluke. This is a plain, decent, but greasy burger. Burger - 6 

Toppings

• It went for the standard mustard, ketchup, pickle, fresh onions, bacon, and cheddar with the addition of haystack onions. The girl went for the same thing. The mustard, lettuce, onion, and ketchup were nothing of note. The tomato was nicely fresh, particularly for early winter/late fall. The haystack onions were outstanding, nicely seasoned and peppery, crisp and good. The bacon was crisp and decently flavorful. The cheese was melted nicely. Toppings - 7 

Fries 

• The fries are thinner than I would care for them to be, and they're not as dark as I would like. That being said, they were served hot and crisp, clearly freshly cooked to order. Again I went with Smashfries which include olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. The garlic taste was thinner than I would have liked it, but I'm the guy who eats the garlic out of the bottom of the garlic fries at Great American Ballpark. The rosemary was tasty and a strong flavor. The olive oil is a little over-applied and left a puddle at the bottom of the wrapper/metal container. I still haven't tried their plain fries or the sweet potato fries, either. Fries - 6 

Ambiance 

• The Bridgewater Falls SmashBurger is pretty solidly identical to the Cox Rd location: white walls with black, industrial, exposed ceiling. The restaurant has red accents and a mix of appreciably private booths and open tables. The one attractive accent is a wall of iridescent tiles behind the ordering counter. Ambiance - 6 

Cost 

• My bacon, bbq, and cheddar (bbq held) was $5.99 (the Big Smach would've been an extra buck). The fries were $1.99 - the same cost whether you went for garlic and rosemary or not. Sweet potato fries would be an extra quarter and a nickel. The coke - serve your own - is $1.89. That's a total of $9.89 plus tax. That's average as far as I'm concerned. Cost - 5

Other stuff 

• SmashBurger now offers an option of a pretzel bun for no extra charge. The Girl went for the pretzel bun and reported that it was tasty, fresh, and sturdy. +1
• Seriously, the greasy feeling on my hands and in my mouth from the burger and fries was gross. -1
• The burger and fries are served on an open piece of paper - butcher-ish paper, I guess - on top of an open-mesh metal tray. The fries in a paper in a metal cone/bowl. Both left the food touching the metal which The Girl and I found a little displeasant. -1

Overall point values...

• 1 -1 -1 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 7 + 6 = 29...not bad but in a very crowded part of the world...

• Terry's Turf Club - 45
• Cafe de Wheels - 44
• Senate - 43 
• City View Tavern - 40 (scaled from 32/40)
• Stuffed on Vine - 38
• Five Guys Burgers and Fries - 36 
• Roxy's - 36 
• FlipDaddy's - 35.5
• Sonny's Three Meat Burgers - 35 
• VanZandt - 34
• Gabby's - 34 
• Oakley Pub & Grill - 34 
• Gordo's (Norwood) - 33
• Quatman's - 32 / 34.5
• Troy's - 32 
• By Golly's - 32
• Wildflower Cafe - 31.25 (scaled from 26/40) 
• Sidetracks - 31 
• Zola's - 30
• Trinity Pub - 29.5
• SmashBurger (BWF) - 29
• Virgil's Cafe - 28 
• Tank's Bar & Grill - 28
• The Pub at Rookwood Mews - 28
• Smashburger (Cox Rd) - 28
• Habits Cafe - 28
• Graffiti Burger - 27
• Arthur's - 26
• Sammy's - 25 
• Skinny Legs - 25
• Zip's Cafe - 24
• Gordo's (Fairfield) - 20