B Spot-- Revisit

The other day the family and I headed back to B Spot. The first time we sort of hit or miss, and we attempted to make it work better this time. One of the things that bothered me the first time was that the bun got really soggy. 

So I got the “Thin Lizzy” ($8.99) again because I wanted to perfect my experience from last time and I generally like the toppings on it. I had them add lettuce to the bottom to hopefully prevent it from getting so soggy (I was thinking it would work as a barrier between the mayo and juices and the bun). It comes with griddled onions, cheddar, pickles and mayo. Sadly, it didn’t really work. It still suffered from the soggy problem. The beef and the brioche buns taste good—they are good quality-- but the burgers are a little too fat for my preference and I hate how soggy the bun gets still.

Hubby went with the bacon cheeseburger, which is pretty straightforward—it’s a beef patty with melted cheddar and bacon ($9.99). My son got the same, but off the kid’s menu.  Because their burgers had no kind of sauce on it (mayo, etc.), they held up much better. They both really enjoyed their burgers. Hubby said if I didn’t want my bun to get soggy, I need to order something like this. However, I like sauce (at least mayo although I typically prefer something more interesting) on my burger.

My daughter had a turkey burger topped with provolone cheese, cilantro and a Sunnyside egg. It was a beautiful egg, and they do manage to keep the turkey fairly moist, but honestly, I thought it had a bit of a gamey taste to it this time.

I really like the “Lola” fries they do with rosemary ($3.99)—they have a nice deep rosemary taste to them and they cook them nice and crisp. We also all enjoy their onion rings ($6.99)—they’re battered and very tasty. Honestly, the sides are my favorite part probably.

The kids loved their chocolate banana marshmallow shake ($6.99) and they do a good job with milkshakes for real. Love the crispy slightly blackened marshmallows on top.

The server was very nice, and it was very efficient--this place seems to have lost a lot of the business it had the first time I went. Honestly, I am wondering how they are really doing. People were into the celebrity chef thing at first, but I’m wondering if it has staying power based on the crowd (or lack of) that I saw. Who else has been lately? How was the crowd? And I can’t say the food wows me enough to make me even think about it when I am looking for a place to go. Anyway, look forward to your thoughts.

B Spot

2727 East 86^th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46240

317/802-7678

www.bspotburgers.com 

B Spot

The fam and I hit B Spot the other day. I was kind of psyched about the idea of a hopefully good fancy burger place pretty near us. And I had generally heard good things (with a couple of notable exceptions), so it was time for me to decide for myself. If you aren’t aware, this is a project of celebrity Chef Michael Symon. Apparently the crowds were pretty fierce when it first opened, but we walked right in early on a Friday evening.

Their thing is all their main dishes start with a “B.” They have burgers, brats and bologna sandwiches (ok, and also big salads). I ordered a burger—the “Thin Lizzy” ($8.99). The thin lizzy is a beef burger with griddled onions, mayo, dill pickles and cheddar cheese. The quality of the meat is very good and they cook it properly to order (there’s even a chart on the menu to show you what’s what.) My problem with the burger is how soggy the bottom bun got within a couple of minutes. The burgers are thick and need a good bun to hold up to it. I’m not sure if it’s because my burger was medium rare and juicier than a more well-done burger might be, but it kind of bummed me out. I think I would ask for some lettuce on the bottom next time or something to try and prevent it.

My daughter had a build your own turkey burger (the base is $7.99 plus toppings) with provolone and cilantro. Actually, I was a little surprised at how good this was—I imagine a turkey burger as totally dried out, but this was not at all. It was very tender. Surprisingly so. She was quite pleased with her choice.

Hubby had the “New School” bologna sandwich ($7.49), which I liked more than he did. It is interesting—they take a really thick slice of bologna and score it with a knife, which keeps it from getting tough and hard to bite into (if you can imagine a piece of inch thick bologna that’s been fried on its own, it might be too much). It also was nicely tender and I liked all the toppings pretty much. It had Russian dressing, pickled red onions, sweet hot pickles and a sunny side up egg. There was something that had a slightly odd taste to it that hubby didn’t love. I am not sure if it was from the pickled onions or the sweet hot pickles, but it put him off a little. I thought it was tasty though, and loved the way the egg added to the dish. But then again, don’t I always?

We had Lola fries ($3.99) and onion rings ($6.99). The sandwiches don’t come with sides, so you need to order them if you want them. And I think you do. I really liked the fries—they fry them in lard, so that should really be all you need to know about that to know they’re going to taste good, but I also liked the sprinkle of rosemary. I asked for a side of blue cheese dressing to dip them in, and all was right with the world. Hubby loved the onion rings the best, and they were good as well—the batter was super hot and crisp. They are just really thick, which are not my favorite kind—because sometimes when you take a bite of them, the onion slithers out of the breading. They’re knife and fork onion rings for me. But they did taste good.

Um, have I mentioned the s’mores milkshake ($6.99)? It was the seasonal shake special when we were there and both my kids had it. And it was delicious. Really delicious. They served it with toasty marshmallow stuff on top, which they then slowly stir in as the pour the shake into a class. So you get little sips throughout with that toasty marshmallow flavor. They are also huge—you can easily get two full glasses out of one shake, so I would recommend sharing. We ended up bringing two full shakes home, stuck them in the fridge, where they turned into delicious ice cream later.

They also have a pickle bar. That’s right you heard me right. A whole bar full of pickled items that you have full access to. So that can’t be a bad thing right? Service was friendly, although pretty slow at times, particularly when you wanted a drink refill. They do have food runners, so even though it was hard to get the server’s attention, the food came out in a pretty timely fashion (getting it ordered on the other hand was another story). 

It’s a place with some really great burger meat. I really enjoyed the sides as well. They just need to work on service and figure out how to keep the buns from getting so soggy. It’s a good place to take kids though, and they do have a nice patio (need to work on some sun blockage there though based on where it is located during sunset). I know some of you guys have been-- what do you think?

B Spot

2727 East 86^th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46240

317/802-7678

www.bspotburgers.com