Boogie Burger

A lot of you guys have recommended Boogie Burger to me. Well, the other day, the sun was shining, and since they don’t really have a lot of seating inside, but they have a nice patio area, it seemed like a great day for it. They share the patio attached to the Monkey’s Tail bar next door, so you can sit out there on a nice day (adults only if the bar is actually open). At lunch, at least the day I was there, it was not.

So obviously, this place is a burger joint, but they also have a few other things available- chicken sandwiches, hot dogs (from King David Dogs no less), a tuna burger and even a couple of veggie burgers. Since this was my first time, I figured I better go with a straight beef burger. However, as simple as that sounds, they have lots of various ways to have your burger—with bacon and a fried egg, blue cheese and even one that has pineapple.

I went with the ‘shroom burger which is a burger with grilled mushrooms and Swiss cheese and I also got the additional option of adding the fresh Parsley and garlic mix. It was good. And the extra mix made it very garlic-y which was fine with me, although others I came into contact with may not have thought the same thing. Probably didn’t help we also had the garlic fries, but I will get to those in a sec. So the burgers are 1/3 pound patties which is a decent size—not real small, but not so big that it turns into a monster to put in your mouth (although you can get doubles and triples). They are also char grilled, and that is one of their signature things.

So to go off on that tangent for a moment, here’s the deal with me and burgers. I have come to realize that I prefer fried burgers (as in on a griddle or frying pan type surface) better than char grilled. Yes, they are probably not as healthy, but if you are eating a burger, you aren’t going for health right? I think frying them keeps more of the juices (and fat) intact, where grilling them lets it all drip out and makes for a drier consistency. Of course, the grilling also adds a distinct flavor, but it isn’t enough for me to make up for the drier meat. This is not just true at Boogie Burger, I feel the same way with things I make at home. And this is not to say I do not like grilled food, throw a steak on the grill and I am totally into it, but in that case the juices get sealed in I guess, since it isn’t all ground up to start with. I also tend to like really thin burgers (think Steak ‘n Shake and Workingman’s Friend) that are slightly crispy on the edges. You aren’t getting really thin OR crispy edges when you are cooking on a grill.

Ok, with that being said, we found our burgers a little dry. The toppings on mine made up for this on the whole, all that gooey cheese and sautéed mushrooms gave enough moisture to let the sandwich still be quite enjoyable. Hubby had a burger with cheddar, bacon and deep fried onion rings. He liked it ok, but his thoughts sort of mirrored my own. And his wasn’t as gooey, so he felt like his was even drier. The buns are super soft, and I really liked them.
We also shared an order of the garlic fries (you really ought to share, they are enormous portions) and didn’t even finish them. I liked the garlic and parsley flavor on the fries, but without it, I am afraid they wouldn’t have been very special. They were pleasantly crispy, but again, with so many good fries in this town, they didn’t stand out.

I like the homey feel of the place and many of the combos to top your burger with sounded very intriguing (I could totally do bacon and egg) and the people who work there were exceptionally friendly and accommodating. I can totally see how a place like this would do a killing in the evening after the drinking has taken off in Broad Ripple. But hey, since we are talking burgers, what’s your fave and how come?

Boogie Burger
927 East Westfield Blvd
Indy, 46220
317/255-2450
www.boogieburger.com