Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Burgers in Howard County

In my book, Victoria Gastropub sells the best burger in Howard County.

I want there to be more competition, just like reviewers seem to want Victoria to be a super-star that competes with their downtown favorites. Mostly, I want a Five Guys, which serves up a burger and fries that I'd often take over Victoria. That treat -- especially the fries -- is worth a drive to Laurel or Arundel Mills or Security Square.

But, within our fair border, Victoria's upscale burger -- with a nice bun, good fries and delicious beef -- really has no peers. I love biting into a burger with real taste, with the juice that comes from fat but the flavor that comes from meat. My grill and a home-grown tomato make the absolute best hamburger, but Victoria is the place that I drive when I'm too cold or tired to do it myself.

(And this is all just their normal burger. The kobe beef tasted different to me, but not better and therefore not worth the extra money to me. But be firm on the fries. The last time I went for lunch, the fries were overcooked and hard. I should have sent them back.)

What are the other options? Victoria isn't a burger you can grab while you do errands, and it's not the affordable treat that I used to have in my favorite bar in Massachusetts. Eggspectaction used to draw me in, but my last burger there tasted frozen and plain enough to send me across Rte 108 to Victoria. That leaves me with Fatburger's upscale fast-food, Five Guy's delicious basics, and the Red Robin off Snowden River that got some justified praise in past comments (but which can be excruciatinly loud). I wouldn't turn down any of those three, but I feel like the drive would pass by other cuisines -- a quick pho, some Mexican -- that I'd actually prefer.

This is part of the "What I Learned" series of posts. They're organized in rings. See below to continue on the ring about different cuisines. Or click to switch to the posts about shopping in Howard County or posts about areas and ideas.

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5 comments:

DAS said...

I would add Cheeburger Cheeburger to this list, though what I like most about them is their drinks (huge selection of milkshakes and flavored sodas). The burgers aren't bad and, like Five Guys, they offer a large variety of toppings.

Anonymous said...

DAS: Cheeburger x2 is def a fav of mine, but I'm afraid it's gonna have to take my #2 spot, as I have been converted!

Fat Burger is officially the best burger in HoCo! Now when I go for a good burger, I leave the fries out of it, since I'm not that crazy about them anyway. So that being said, I'll say that Fat Burger's burgers are five times as good as five guys (but they still own everyone on fries tho, so don't worry)

Anonymous said...

Try the burger at Copelands. Great flavor.

mamabear32 said...

Try the burgers at the Ruby Tuesdays in Clarksville. Fresh, handmade burgers, never frozen and their wine list and sangrias...yum!

hoco connect said...

Tried Victoria for the burgers tonight and I have to agree that it was one of the best I have ever had and the duck fat fries are hard to beat.