915 Pub and Grill

Burger #40: 915 Pub and Grill - black and bleu burger 6.75$

 

Ok, I have to admit that this writeup will NOT do 915 justice like my other reviews have done for the other burger places I've been to after it.  915 was the first burger I've had in my new year's resolution in early December.  I did not eat in, I took my burger to go.  Also, I did not know how I was doing this whole comparison between the burgers yet either.  I did not take notes like I have for every other burger place I am going to on my list.  I feel bad about the fact that this establisment will not get an equal review because it does deserve it.  Well, here goes...

You know those cold weekend nights where you just want to hang out at your own house and watch a movie, that's what started all of this.  It was a cold Friday night in early December when I was debating between cooking some thai curry or maybe something with goat cheese, because goat cheese makes everything better in life!  It was on this thought of great cheeses that my mind wandered over to the burger list.  There were tons of great cheeses on these "best of" burgers.
I decided that I'd have to find a burger in a place that no one would want to join me, so I decided to go to the farthest South I could find on the list.  915's black and bleu burger can be found about 12 minutes south of Newport by following 10th st. into Ft. Thomas.  I called my order in without a menu because I found their website wasn't up and running.  It's easy to find 915 but I there was no easily identifiable parking lot.  I'm sure locals know where to park when they get there, but I didn't, so street parking it was.   I managed to find street parking a block down.
When you see 915 on the outside and in the small area that it's in, you wouldn't think one of the best burgers in the city.  Upon walking in I was greeted by an impenetrable wall of smoke.  I am a non-smoker just to be clear, so I'm sure it's not even noticeable to the rest of you.  I'm fine smelling like the smoke from a grill, or a campfire, but not cigarettes.  It's funny that over the past few years I have gotten so used to people NOT smoking in bars and restuarants, that this is the first thing I notice when I enter a Kentucky establishment.  There was the normal bar on the wall on your right, and small, dingy looking tables pushed together for diners on your left.  At the bar there were what looked like a bunch of older regulars you'd see at 915 most nights of the week.  At the tables were younger folks there to enjoy the food.  I was there to get my burger to go.
A second reason I chose 915 was because it was in the top 10 burgers in 2010 on cincinnati.com.  When I got home with the meal that will start my heart attack, I was very pleased with my choice.  Every burger I get will be ordered to be cooked medium so that I can use that as a measurement tool.  I can say that the black and bleu burger was a half pound cooked perfectly with a little pink in the middle, and the bun was a fresh and tasty.  All that was on the burger were onions and bleu cheese sauce, plain and simple.  The blackened seasoning really made a difference on this burger, not overpowering just well balanced and it made it great.  The bleu cheese sauce was just that, a sauce.  It wasn't too salty and overpowering like when you put crumbles right on top of a burger. Also, there were reviews raving about the Asian slaw as a side, so I decided to have that with my burger.  This was one of the best slaws that I have had, since I hate creamy, white slaws.  If you love a sesame oil flavor, that this side is for you!  The price of the burger was supposed to be 6.95$ but went up to 7.95$, which still doesn't break the bank for this level of burger.  Overall, this was probably the best choice I could've made to start my 40 burgers in the next year resolution.

I didn't see a menu so I can't tell you more about this place so I will add some more info I found online.  915 actually has an italian which is like a pizza burger or the Mett which is topped with a grilled mettwurst, saurkraut and cheddar.  Wednesday's has burger mania for 5$.  Wings are 35 cents monday.  Apps are half prices sundays.  There is a cool app that is the Portabella which is crabcakes garnished with champagne horseradish cream...I want this!  Too bad I didn't get an app.

I think this is pretty good for a month late and exactly 4 words worth of notes.

Not my picture, but close enough.

The asian slaw that got me into my rant about how much white, creamy cole slaw usually sucks!

Keystone Bar and Grill

Burger #9: Keystone Bar and Grill - keystone burger 7.99$

 

Ok, I know it's been farrr too long since I have written one of these reviews.  I have been to 4 of the 40 burgers joints in the past month so my resolution is going great!  My waistline is not doing as well since I packed those in around thanksgiving and Xmas time.

The 4th burger that I hit was #9 on the list, Keystone Bar and Grill.  It's located in Covington and is across from Chalk.  It looks like any other bar from the outside.  That's the funny thing about great food, it's hidden and you have to search it out.  On the inside it's a dimly lit bar with quite a few pictures of celebrities and sports items. There was an abnormally large amount of people here on a Tuesday night at 8pm to say the least. The beer selection is definitely NOT sub par like some other bars in Covington.  The had Kentucky bourbon barrel beer, which is awesome.  I decided on a belgium beer to go with my burger.  It is probably because Keystone is not your normal pub food.  There are the normal foods, and then there are the kinds of foods that bring will bring me back to this establishment.  One of these is the extensive Mac n' Cheese menu which is half price on Mondays.  The other thing is the quesadilla menu, which is half price on Tuesdays.  You can't go wrong with either of these choices in my book.

My partners in crime for this little venture on a cold Tuesday night went with the mac n' cheese menu.  These are some pretty serious portions of this old comfort food.  Being from Wisconsin, I never thought I'd be praising the mac n' cheese in Kentucky of all places, but I am.  I feel like I'm cheating on my home state here, but it was just that awesome!  The first mac n' cheese was the Black Sabbath (8.50$) which was a steak and mushroom deal.  There were some pretty nice sized pieces of very tasty steak in there.   The next was the Buffalo Springfield (7.50$) which had a buffalo chicken mix in it.  Again, very generous pieces of chicken and alot of taste.  I am always partial to wing sauce, so I have to say that this was my favorite of the two.  I was amused by some of the other names they used such as Pink Floyd (bacon and caramelized onion), Red Hot Chili Peppers (jalapeño and tomatoes), and Green Day ( spinach and sun-dried tomato).  Also, my friends tried the potato soup and the general consensus was that you could probably skip this side as it was lacking the viscosity that they were expecting.

I guess I should move on to the burger, you know the main reason for this trip.  The list said to get the keystone burger, a 1/2 lb ground beef patty with lettuce, tomato and onion.  Unlike some of the burgers on the list, this was a no frills burger.  It was a great burger with the right amount of seasoning that complements the meat, it doesn't over power it.  For being just a plain burger it was pretty damn good.  My only problem was that I ordered it medium, I order all of my burgers medium just for another measuring tool, and it came well done.  It was smaller than it should've been because it was over cooked.  The fresh cut fries were a pleasant side and they were cooked just right, golden with a little wiggle.  They have other burgers you can try with sun dried tomatoes + artichokes, chili, or bbq + bacon + caramelized onion.

Even though my burger was a bit over done, I would still recommend this restaurant as a weeknight stop for all of it's interesting and delicious menu items and beer / bourbon selection.

The top 40 burger LIST

New Year's Resolution 2011: Top 40 burger joints

Ok So I am doing an anti resolution this year so far as weight gain goes, but who cares, this'll be fun!  I am looking to hit the top 40 burger places on the list I was given at work 2 weeks ago.  I have been to a few already, which I may revisit, and some are closed down (ex. Bootsie's).  If you want to grab a burger at new or awesome burger place, let me know, I am looking for some company on this crazy voyage.  Or I could use suggestions on how to fill in the closed ones.  Or even suggestions on where to start?  I think by the end of this year, I may get the "itis", as Zack would call it.  When you eat so much greasy food you just can't move.

So, here's the list, which is in no particular order for me, with location and prices.

40. 915 Pub and grill: Black and Bleu burger (ft. Thomas) $6.75
39. Black Angus burger and Brews: Everyday Angus (woodlawn) 7.99$
38. The Black Sheep: Bah Bah Black Sheep burger (cheviot) 6.99$
37. Fatburger: Fatburger with Cheese (milford) 3.89$
36. By Golly's: Route 50 burger (milford) 7.50$
35. Gordo's: Gordo's burger (rookwood) 8$
34. Mayberry: the burger (over the rhine) $8
33. Sammy's Gourmet burger's and beers: sammy's burger (blue ash) 8.95$
32. Skinny Legs: Black and bleu burger (bellevue, ky) 6.95$
31. Quatman Cafe: Cheeseburger (norwood) 4.50$
30. Quarter Bistro: the quarter burger (mariemont) 11$
29. Hamburger Mary's: black and bleu boy burger (downtown)  $10
28. Doris and Sonny's homelike restaurant: quarter pound burger with cheese deluxe (miamitown) 4.25$
27. Maribelle's tavern: 100% Natural beef burger (east end) 10$
26. Five guys: hamburger (norwood) 4.49$
25. Chalk: the bison burger (covington) 11.75$
24. Zola's: zola burger (covington) 7.25$
23. Zip's cafe: zip's burger with cheese (mt. lookout) 5$
22. Habit's cafe: the godzilla burger (oakley) 8.25$
21. bootsy's: the bawe burger (downtown) 15$
20. Ollie's Trolley: the Ollie burger (west end) 3.95$
19. Cafe De Wheels: wheels burger (mobile mofo) 5$
18. Anderson Township pub: federal Hill (anderson) $7.95
17. Arthur's Cafe: boursin burger (hyde park) 9$
16. Friendly Stop: garlic burger (glendale) 5.50$
15. The Rookwood: the barnsdale (mt. adams) 12$
14. lavomatic: green acres burger (over the rhine) $11.49$
13. Gabby's Cafe: angus beef burger (wyoming) 8.49$
12. Sleepy Hollow Inn: cheeseburger (loveland) 7.95$
11. Daveed's: the black angus burger (mt. adams) 16$
10. Senate: senate burger (over the rhine) 12$
9. Keystone: keystone burger (covington) 7.99$
8. Paula's gourmet cafe: 7 minute burger (downtown) 6.95$
7. Oakley pub and grill: the soul burger (oakley) 6.95$
6. Virgil's cafe: beef hamburger (bellevue, KY) 10$
5. Vanzandt Restuarant and tavern: VZ classic (college hill) 10$
4. gas light cafe: gas light burger (pleasant ridge) 5.75$
3. Terry's Turf Club: burger with Burgundy Wine, wild mushrooms & truffle sauce (Linwood) 10$
2. City View Tavern: big ted deluxe (mt. adams) 6.95$
1. Wildflower Cafe: the world's best burger (mason) 10$


I think that Bootsy's and Fatburger is closed.  Any more that you know of that are closed? I have been to #'s 3, 22, 23, 24, 26, 35, and 40.  I am willing to retry some of them for this next year for good measure. 

 

This will be my profile picture by next year!!! Who's with me?