I have a number of things I'd like to share with you that I've been doing over the past couple of weeks, but the first thing I want to talk about is Burgers on the Edge. If you're not familiar with it, it's a relatively new burger joint that opened in what's referred to as "Safeway Center" on Kapahulu Avenue. I read about this place, which is owned by the owners of Formaggio, and a friend of mine recommended it highly. He forewarned me that ordering can be complicated because of the various choices, and he suggested I get the truffled fries. He also forewarned me that it's a little pricey.
This is kind of a quasi-counter service place, similar to the way Kakaako Kitchen is run. You place your order and pay at the counter, they take your name and give you a number, and they'll bring the food out to you. I like this kind of set up. I neglected to take a picture of the outside, but I ordered my food to go, so here's a picture of the bag:
The style of the bag is actually pretty reflective of the decor and ambiance you can expect from BOTE. It's kind of chic and modern, especially when you see the digital menu on the lcd tv screens as you walk in. There are a lot of stainless steel touches as well. There's limited seating in the building, but quite a number of tables can be found just outside, some lining Kapahulu Avenue, and some on a patio area between Kapahulu and the Safeway parking lot.
As a side note, I don't care for the parking fronting Safeway. It's always super crowded there, and I just feel it wasn't designed very well. However, I LOVE the rooftop parking. Everyone is so busy trying to get a prime spot downstairs that it's rarely crowded on the roof. And besides, the stalls are much bigger, and there's a nice view from the glass elevator.
Back to BOTE...because my friend warned me about the complicated menu, I did some advance research and found the website (see the link above) and studied the menu. There are 4 steps:
(1) Choose a burger: the "standard" is a 1/2 lb. ground chuck patty, which starts at $8.49, and this is what I got.
(2) Choose one cheese: there are ten to choose from. I selected the gruyere.
(3) Choose a sauce: there are 12 to choose from. These are fancy sauces. If you just want ketchup and mustard, they have that readily available at a condiment station. I chose the roasted garlic aioli.
(4) Choose up to four toppings: there are 16+ toppings! These range from veggies to fruit to more meat. You can even add an egg! I selected only three: apple wood smoked bacon, romaine hearts, and roasted red peppers. The cashier asked if I was sure I didn't want a fourth topping, but I was sure -- my mind was made up before I arrived.
So, let's put it all together in one place -- I had an on the edge burger with gruyere cheese, roasted garlic aioli, topped with apple wood smoked bacon, romaine hearts, and roasted red peppers. this turned out to be a great combination! The bread is kind of focaccia-like. Different for a burger, but good. It can be a little hard to eat since it's softer and more crumbly than a traditional hamburger bun, but I still liked it.
The burger itself may not have been the best I have ever eaten, but it really worked together with all of the ingredients. The burger was juicy and had a smoky, charred flavor to it, and it was cooked medium, which I was happy to see. One newspaper food reviewer really enjoyed BOTE, but said that on several occasions, the burger was overdone. One thing about BOTE is that they don't ask you how you want it prepared, so if you want it a certain way, be sure to tell them.
With regard to the toppings, the quality and taste of everything was very good, but I have to say that the bacon was particularly yummy! Gruyere makes a nice cheese for a burger too.
I also ordered the truffled fries for $4.89. A little steep for fries, but it was a HUGE order (two people could easily share), and they were mighty tasty! My only slight disappointment was that I hoped they would be fresher when I got them, especially since I had to wait about 10-15 minutes for my order. But they were still good, and tasted like garlic fries. The poor couple in the elevator with me were jealous!
So I spent a total of $14.01 for these two items, which is kind of a lot for one person (and I didn't even order a drink). But I would say that it is worth an occasional splurge. If someone else were with me, we could have easily split the fries and still had leftovers. You can get "plain" fries for $2.89. they even have sweet potato fries! Even though it was pretty pricey, for me, this was a lot of food, and I ended up only eating half the burger (after all, this burger is half a pound!) and less than half the fries. I took the rest to work the next day for lunch, and shared some of the fries with my coworkers. Fries aren't too bad if you heat them up in a toaster oven.
The combinations are endless. if you don't want to make choices, they have some pre-set burgers, although one of the workers commented that she'd rather build her own. They also have an "Off The Edge" burger made of Wagyu beef for $12.40. You can also get a chicken breast sandwich, portabella mushroom sandwich, or turkey burger. I'm already thinking about future orders: an Italian burger w/ mozzarella, Italian marinara, grilled onions, portabella mushroom, and sundried tomatoes. Or BBQ-style: pepper Jack, Smoked Hickory BBQ sauce, apple wood smoked bacon, grilled onions, and dill pickle chips. You could literally have a completely different tasting burger every time you go there just by making different combinations of toppings.
Besides the food being good, the service was good too, although you should prepare to wait at least 10 minutes for your food. They market themselves as "gourmet burgers at a fast food pace," but if I waited 10 minutes for fast food, I'd be pretty ticked and probably would leave. I would compare this to Kakaako Kitchen, gourmet food in a counter service setting. Slower than fast food, but quicker than fine dining. There are people standing at the door ready to help you understand how the menu works. They even have little slips of paper where you can check off the items you want and hand it to them, although I grabbed a couple as menus to share with friends.
I couldn't afford to do this regularly, especially if it's just me eating, but I would definitely go there with a friend and share an order of fries, or treat myself every pay day. I hope you'll find some time to treat yourself to a Burger on the Edge someday soon.
This is kind of a quasi-counter service place, similar to the way Kakaako Kitchen is run. You place your order and pay at the counter, they take your name and give you a number, and they'll bring the food out to you. I like this kind of set up. I neglected to take a picture of the outside, but I ordered my food to go, so here's a picture of the bag:
The style of the bag is actually pretty reflective of the decor and ambiance you can expect from BOTE. It's kind of chic and modern, especially when you see the digital menu on the lcd tv screens as you walk in. There are a lot of stainless steel touches as well. There's limited seating in the building, but quite a number of tables can be found just outside, some lining Kapahulu Avenue, and some on a patio area between Kapahulu and the Safeway parking lot.
As a side note, I don't care for the parking fronting Safeway. It's always super crowded there, and I just feel it wasn't designed very well. However, I LOVE the rooftop parking. Everyone is so busy trying to get a prime spot downstairs that it's rarely crowded on the roof. And besides, the stalls are much bigger, and there's a nice view from the glass elevator.
Back to BOTE...because my friend warned me about the complicated menu, I did some advance research and found the website (see the link above) and studied the menu. There are 4 steps:
(1) Choose a burger: the "standard" is a 1/2 lb. ground chuck patty, which starts at $8.49, and this is what I got.
(2) Choose one cheese: there are ten to choose from. I selected the gruyere.
(3) Choose a sauce: there are 12 to choose from. These are fancy sauces. If you just want ketchup and mustard, they have that readily available at a condiment station. I chose the roasted garlic aioli.
(4) Choose up to four toppings: there are 16+ toppings! These range from veggies to fruit to more meat. You can even add an egg! I selected only three: apple wood smoked bacon, romaine hearts, and roasted red peppers. The cashier asked if I was sure I didn't want a fourth topping, but I was sure -- my mind was made up before I arrived.
So, let's put it all together in one place -- I had an on the edge burger with gruyere cheese, roasted garlic aioli, topped with apple wood smoked bacon, romaine hearts, and roasted red peppers. this turned out to be a great combination! The bread is kind of focaccia-like. Different for a burger, but good. It can be a little hard to eat since it's softer and more crumbly than a traditional hamburger bun, but I still liked it.
The burger itself may not have been the best I have ever eaten, but it really worked together with all of the ingredients. The burger was juicy and had a smoky, charred flavor to it, and it was cooked medium, which I was happy to see. One newspaper food reviewer really enjoyed BOTE, but said that on several occasions, the burger was overdone. One thing about BOTE is that they don't ask you how you want it prepared, so if you want it a certain way, be sure to tell them.
With regard to the toppings, the quality and taste of everything was very good, but I have to say that the bacon was particularly yummy! Gruyere makes a nice cheese for a burger too.
I also ordered the truffled fries for $4.89. A little steep for fries, but it was a HUGE order (two people could easily share), and they were mighty tasty! My only slight disappointment was that I hoped they would be fresher when I got them, especially since I had to wait about 10-15 minutes for my order. But they were still good, and tasted like garlic fries. The poor couple in the elevator with me were jealous!
So I spent a total of $14.01 for these two items, which is kind of a lot for one person (and I didn't even order a drink). But I would say that it is worth an occasional splurge. If someone else were with me, we could have easily split the fries and still had leftovers. You can get "plain" fries for $2.89. they even have sweet potato fries! Even though it was pretty pricey, for me, this was a lot of food, and I ended up only eating half the burger (after all, this burger is half a pound!) and less than half the fries. I took the rest to work the next day for lunch, and shared some of the fries with my coworkers. Fries aren't too bad if you heat them up in a toaster oven.
The combinations are endless. if you don't want to make choices, they have some pre-set burgers, although one of the workers commented that she'd rather build her own. They also have an "Off The Edge" burger made of Wagyu beef for $12.40. You can also get a chicken breast sandwich, portabella mushroom sandwich, or turkey burger. I'm already thinking about future orders: an Italian burger w/ mozzarella, Italian marinara, grilled onions, portabella mushroom, and sundried tomatoes. Or BBQ-style: pepper Jack, Smoked Hickory BBQ sauce, apple wood smoked bacon, grilled onions, and dill pickle chips. You could literally have a completely different tasting burger every time you go there just by making different combinations of toppings.
Besides the food being good, the service was good too, although you should prepare to wait at least 10 minutes for your food. They market themselves as "gourmet burgers at a fast food pace," but if I waited 10 minutes for fast food, I'd be pretty ticked and probably would leave. I would compare this to Kakaako Kitchen, gourmet food in a counter service setting. Slower than fast food, but quicker than fine dining. There are people standing at the door ready to help you understand how the menu works. They even have little slips of paper where you can check off the items you want and hand it to them, although I grabbed a couple as menus to share with friends.
I couldn't afford to do this regularly, especially if it's just me eating, but I would definitely go there with a friend and share an order of fries, or treat myself every pay day. I hope you'll find some time to treat yourself to a Burger on the Edge someday soon.
2 comments:
Great review! I've been wanting to check out BOTE but I would've been lost just walking into it without your info!
I will be visiting BOTE one day when I'm REALLY hungry! hee hee....
and I'll make sure to decide BEFORE I go in! Otherwise I'll be there forever trying to decide huh?
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