Tampa Burger Aficionados ---- ACHTUNG!

When I visit a new non-ethnic family restaurant, often I'll try their burger to see what type of effort is made... I do that all the time, but a couple years ago, for about a month, I bounced all over the area, and over all the bridges trying burgers from every recommended nook and cranny, and although some were OK, I can't say I hit many jackpots... Man, I sure miss Jimmy Mac's!

Some friends and I do that with Cuban Sandwiches too, but that's another topic we'll talk about soon... 

I still have yet to try a couple of the newer burger places that recently popped up, but because of the nature of my business, when I heard there was a specialty burger joint on wheels, I had to track her down because we'd inevitably be crossing paths from time to time...

A couple weeks before my standard New Years' resolution is no time to be planning the exploration of an interesting, newly discovered, but thankfully limited, menu ----- but I finally sought out the Burger Culture food truck at their supposedly frequent (lunchtime) location at Kennedy & Henderson, next to State Vacuum... 

With food trucks, you can never be sure where they'll be so it's best to check their FB page... 

Here's theirs... http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burger-Culture/232020266846654

A few days ago I had a KILLER Gyro at Mr. Souvlaki on Pinellas Avenue in Tarpon Springs so I decided against the Greek Burger for now... I love love love a sandwich of Thanksgiving components, so I was excited to see a 'Thanksgiving Burger' on the menu, consisting of a Turkeyburger, stuffing, cranberry, and gravy!  

Yeah, it was just Thanksgiving--- and yeah, last week I made a big ol' 'Thanksgiving Wrap' that turned out surprisingly well---- and even though I'm not a turkeyburger kinda guy, I'll try their Thanksgiving Burger before the end of the week... If it's ANYTHING like what I got today I'll be getting another one to go...

Ya know, for my wife...

I still had another job scheduled so I passed on the Santa Fe Burger after a future-flash of me squishing Guacamole & Pico de gallo all over my cleanest dirty shirt---- so I went for the 'Cajun Burger', just to order something already...

Do I want fries? Yeah, sure...

Near the bottom of the menu it said 'Add Patty $2.00' ---- "Excuse me, could you make that a double? Pink inside if possible?" 

She said; "Medium rare?"

I opened my eyes wide and shook my head yes...

Still, I wasn't excited about getting a Cajun Burger... I thought they were gonna overdo 'something'...

People have enough trouble getting a plain burger to taste good---- the odds were they were not going to nail it...

Have you ever ordered a Cajun type burger, or one of those other infrequent specialty burgers from Checkers? I love my salt, but the sodium, and whatever other over-the-top flavor boosters they use often hit my tongue like battery acid and cause a heartbeat in my left ear halfway thru the meal...

But everything was being grilled and made fresh... The burgers sizzled and the fries gurgled in the oil... While very friendly & professional, they moved like a machine putting my order together, and in a few minutes I walked to the passenger side of my van, hopefully facing away from judging eyes, small children, or security cameras, and I set up a towel like a tablecloth on the seat...

When I opened the burger-styro I giggled a little, like a maniac...

Sometimes people post pics of burgers or sandwiches and all you see is the bread...

I might not express it right then, but I get mean inside when a burger is smaller than the bun... I won't stand for it! ;-) Certainly that rule doesn't apply to backyard BBQs--- I mean from a burger place...

Man, I almost screwed myself out of years of invitations!

But look at this gift they made for me... And they were so casual about it... Like they were serving me something normal...
This post is getting crazy, I need to wrap it up... 

The bun was soft and fresh and I immediately tasted a depth of grill flavor in the dripping- juicy- beefy- lightly cajun seasoned burger patties... The damn Chipotle secret love sauce (not what they call it) was gorgeous, the mushrooms were juicy, with some falling into the pool of captured burger juices in the styro, only to be scooped back up by the last few bites of burger...

When I was done I felt compelled to yell RAAHH! scaring flocks of birds from trees and telephone wires...

The fries were fine... Crispy, fresh, golden, well salted and peppered as you can see... For me, there's a slight flavor dimension that's missing, keeping them from being 'great', but it's not much of a tweak... Oil type or species of tater, I'm not sure...
Hell, some of that Cajun sauce would be the schniz!
--- but I'm not really talking about condiments...

Now here's the thing---- normally I advise that for a truly transcendent  burger experience, often you'll need to order a double, medium rare---- but, but, I'm not going to say that you need to order this mammajamma...

This was advanced scarfage!

I think this burger was so well thought-out, and so tasty, no doubt it would be great even as a single patty burger... Not for me---- but for you...

Put it this way; if you get the double and you're with respectable company or on a first date, ask for a knife and a fork... Otherwise go by yourself, or with someone who will tell you without rolling their eyes in contempt that you have Chipotle love sauce on your ears...

To be honest, I didn't get a drop on my shirt...
It paid to stand up and lean forward like them boys in Chicago eatin' those beef sandwiches!

Bye double Cajun Burger---- see you again soon...