UBurger

My Grade: 86 out of 100

More than a mouthful – because really one mouthful would be a lousy burger

The next contender for the title of Boston’s Best Burger was the area fast food chain UBurger. I don’t know why it’s called “UBurger”; at first I intimated something primal (“Ur-Burger”), but their vast and creative menu was enough to convince that this wasn’t what they were going for. Possibly the u is a result of the post-Apple vowel-appending frenzy; possibly an iBurger was somehow less appetizing than a burger meant for u, built how u like it. Maybe it’s just near Boston U. Whatever.

As a dining experience, UBurger was fairly traditional fast food in its presentation. You basically just roll up to the counter, spell out the manner in which you’d like them to customize your burger, and wait a minute or two for the guys at the stove to tenderly craft your meaty little bundle of joy. UBurger suggests several versions of burgers, but you can always build your own. To BYO, you start with a basic bun and patty ($4), and can add tons of condiments, which are all reasonably priced (~30 cents and up). A straight up cheeseburger is pretty cheap, but if you get fancy your burger can get pricey quickly, especially considering that it’s served a la carte. Fries and drink are fair as standalone orders, but will add 3 or 4 bucks to your order, so a meal here will run just south of $10.

UBurger’s Yuppie burger. Bleu cheese is underneath the patty; ketchup has been added.

Because they offer so many customizations, it took me about 10 minutes to figure out what burger to order. I finally settled on a personalized version of the Yuppie Burger – sautéed mushrooms, bacon, crumbly bleu subbed for swiss, with a standard patty all on a bun. What I didn’t expect to find was that the lettuce and tomato had gone missing. Some advice for those of you who hit up UBurger: Make sure you ask for lettuce and tomato, if you want them! I tacked on a side of fries, and picked up my food a minute or two later. Everything was presented on a cafeteria-style tray, and the burgers were wrapped in foil, which I guess makes sense for takeout.

The burger patty itself was pretty good. As far as fast food burgers go, I’d go so far as to call it excellent. UBurger prides itself on using fresh beef – as does, say, Wendy’s – but here it holds up and the result is much better than Wendy’s. The burgers don’t taste frozen or anything. Our group was in general agreement on the seasoning: The burgers were heavily salted and even more heavily peppered – on the Yuppie, the black pepper taste carried through even over the bacon and bleu cheese. Somehow I found that this served to compliment the other flavors, but I could see how someone else might find it offputting. The bacon was cooked to perfection, and the bleu was generous but not overwhelming, similar to the bacon and bleu I received at RF O’Sullivan’s – not a small feat for a counter stop! My mushrooms were not gourmet, probably from a can, but had been well sautéed and were enjoyable nonetheless. UBurger’s burger buns are soft, almost chewy, clearly fast food bread, which is appropriate.

I expertly raise my lip to initiate bite mode

As stated, the big disappointment was the lack of lettuce and tomato, but a little proactivity (or awareness) on my part would have remedied that. An additional markdown was again partly my own fault – being hungry, I should have added a second patty for a buck. After eating my burger and a side of fries, I wrestled vocally (much to the chagrin of my fellow burgerleurs) with the idea of getting another sandwich. Moderate to large appetites will want to double up.

UBurger served up a pretty solid fast food burger experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to send a friend there for a quick bite to eat, but there wasn’t anything about the shop that overwhelmed me either. I’ve had better fast food burgers – but not many, so I would label UBurger as significantly better than average. UBurger is very good, but in a city with several notable boutique fast food burger joints, I don’t think it will be a prime candidate for the title of Boston’s Best Burger.

My Grade: 85 out of 100

I think UBurger needs to be considered within the realm of fast food (which is not a realm in which I often dwell) – and, considered as such, it’s quite good. I had just the regular burger (with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and “house spread” – a sort of “secret sauce” that dribbled everywhere. I’d probably ask to leave it out next time). It was a thin, sort of dry patty, but was pretty flavorful and the toppings and bun all seemed very fresh. I also found the fries to be quite addictive, and I’d probably order more of them next time.