Cuisine: Burger Joint
Woosmash? More like Toosmash. Know what I mean? Well, that’s Ms. Hipster’s review in a nutshell. Because apparently you can just go too far with smashing a smashburger. A trend that in its proliferation is weird. Wasn’t there a time where a fat burger was best? Like the literal chain I grew up eating at, Fatburger? Which, technically, is not really that fat. Point is, at some point everyone wanted a thick, juicy burger. Save those heathens who eat their meat well done. But you craved that kind of unctuous bite filled with juicy, fatty goodness. Smashburgers took that away from us — and if you ask Ms. Hipster, this version has tipped over the edge into Flat Stanley badness.
Now, Ms. Hipster’s opinion isn’t necessarily mine. Nor is it Hipster Jr. Jr.’s. We get what they’re going for here. An entire burger essentially made of that char you get around the edges of a seared burger — mostly without the burger. A texture that is more crunch than chew. A burger that relies on the residual grease off the grill of the burger that came before it to keep any kind of moisture present within the meat itself. The toppings do a lot of work here, the American cheese, miso caramelized onions, house-made pickles and pickled jalapeños (if you’re into that kind of thing). They, in themselves, balance the crispiness and earthy char of the burnt-end method of smash. Adding creaminess, chew and, most importantly, some moisture. I eschew jalapeños because I don’t enjoy the taste of fresh-cut grass in my food (the same reason I hate green bell peppers), but I’m sure those could also add a little bit of heat to your experience. The point is, the chefs have clearly thought about how to best counteract what could, in its plain form, tip over into a too-bitter experience because of the amount of char. And the end result is a very flavorful and variable textural burger.
I realize this all sounds like more of a chemistry lesson than a food review, but it’s tough to describe just how close to the line Ms. Hipster’s too-much feelings are to my and Hipster Jr. Jr.’s more welcoming culinary experience. After all, we both liked it enough that we went back to it. In an area where there is a literal Smashburger less than a mile away from our house. And several other burger joints that Hipster Jr. Jr. has, over time, moved away from. She’s a tough customer, she is. And while she is still into Bareburger (who doesn’t do the smash thing and is admittedly pretty darned good), I’m a fan of Woosmash’s way more economic pricing. A double is $8.77 and a medium fries is $6.95, but will serve three people. They put more fries in a medium than any place I’ve ever seen. It’s almost obscene how many fries they give you. And they’re decent, too. The onion rings are Burger King style. The onions are kind of mushed up inside the fried batter rather than being a whole onion. If you know, you know.
Look, this place engendered a lot of good will with me even before it existed. We had a meal at the former iteration of their restaurant, Bloom, which occupied the same space and had a great dinner and a really nice experience with the chef/owner. I was sad for them when their restaurant closed — losing a good Korean fusion eatery seemed like a loss for Verona, which is otherwise 99% Italian restaurants — and was surprised their new venture was a relatively straight-ahead, lower-cost burger place. I’m curious to see — given the fusion nature of their former restaurant — how they go on to develop the menu here. There is a nod to their Korean cuisine with a bulgogi smashburger and even chicken wings and shakes. So, they’re really riding straight down the middle of the local burger wars (most of whom also do their version of wings and shakes) but also putting their unique spin on their version of each. While we might not get Ms. Hipster back in their good graces, but we’re into what they’re laying down.
648 Bloomfield Ave. – Verona
973/433-7256
woosmash.com
