Yesterday I had lunch at Noodle Asia in the Venetian Casino area, this was a lunch bistro serving and specializing in noodles and soups.  They are very busy during lunch hour but seat people very quickly as soon as they turn tables.  My party was seated in under 10 minutes but the lunch wasn’t so bad at 11am.  The place only has a few dozen tables and probably seats about 75 with an open view of the small kitchen.  Our drink orders were taken promptly where I ordered hot Oolong Tea, and my partner ordered hot Jasmine Tea.

They did not have Sweet & Low which is the only artificial sweetener that I use, so I had to settle for Equal but that happens occasionally.  We had placed our order fairly quickly once the tea was brought out, I had ordered the Yung Chow fried rice, my partner had ordered the Moo Shu Pork and the Wanton Soup.

First arrived the Wonton soup which was served in a large bowl, easily making 4 individual servings so we both had 2 helpings of the soup.  Note:  2 people can really share just 2 entrees as there is so much food it is hard to eat much more unless you really have a big stomach.  The soup was lukewarm and not as hot as it should have been, but at least you could taste it and consume it right away.  The broth was very good and slightly salty, the wonton’s themselves were soft and very flavorful, the boiled Bok Choy was also very nice.  The broth itself could have used a little more like some chopped carrots or some other vegetables, it only contained green onions, Bok Choy and Wanton Noodles, but it was a good dish nonetheless.

Up next was the Yung Chow Fried rice which was my favorite dish served for lunch.  The rice was very well flavored and the BBQ Pork and Grilled Shrimp mixed in the rice paired very well.  I had multiple helpings of this dish and used only a little soy sauce to help add a little salty flavor to the well flavored rice.  There were chunks of carrots and peas which also enhanced the flavor.

The final dish to arrive was the Moo Shu Pork, and this dish was not as good as I would have expected given the wonderful flavor of the Yung Chow Fried Rice.  The pancake that the pork and vegetables were wrapped in tasted a little doughy and too much like flour.  The Hoisin sauce was decent but didn’t have as much flavor as some other Chinese restaurants I have eaten at.

The price for Noodle Asia was what you would expect from eating at a restaurant in a Vegas hotel and the three items plus 2 hot tea’s came to a total of fourty seven dollars and change.  Which is kind of costly for Chinese food, but reasonable compared to other restaurants in the Venetian.

I would give this restaurant 3 our of 5 stars, and Ironically the restaurant is famous for its Noodles and that was one item I hadn’t even ordered.

-Dragon Blogger

Those who have been with me from early on have read my Hamburger Review Post, I do love trying different Restaurant Hamburgers and have a favorite for over 2 years.

My outstanding winner was the Chili’s Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger, so yesterday I went to the local Chilis Restaurant in Casa Grande, Arizona and low and behold they have a new published menu for October 2008.  They have discontinued this specific hamburger, when I inquired with the Restaurant Manager he said they discontinued the Chipotle sauce, but that the restaurant still had some left and could make me one last Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger.

So yesterday I ate and mourned what would be the last time I sank my fangs into this lovely juicy, tangy and spicy burger.  I savored every morsel the beef juices rolling over my tongue and the spicy chipotle sauce tantalizing the back of my throat.  I even ordered extra blue cheese crumbles just to get add some additional flavor.

This officially means my favorite burger that one can still order is now Red Robins Avacado Bacon Burger, and followed by Carls Jr. Six Dollar Burger.

By the way, the new In and Out Burger has opened in Casa Grande last week and I tried it for the first time on Saturday.  In and Out burger was just “Okay” it did not live up to the hype, it was better than McDonald’s, Wendy’s and the like, but does not compare to Carls JR. Six Dollar Burger, and wasn’t even close to the quality of a Chili’s Burger or Red Robin Burger.    I put it at a mid range.

R. I. P. - Chilis Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger

PS.  My favorite entree at Chili’s now is the Chicken Quesadilla Explosion Salad, the dressing is so delicious and pairs perfectly with the vegetables and grilled chicken.

-Dragon Blogger

(PS,  Why do I plug Chilis for free?  They should pay me)

I was shopping at Walmart last week and decided to try some Great Value Blackberry Jelly I chose to try the Sugar Free kind that was made with Splenda, since it only had 10 calories per teaspoon instead of 50 calories per teaspoon.  It sat in my refrigerator for a week until I decided to make myself a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich today.  For some reason since I started working out, I crave Peanut Butter sandwiches, I can’t figure out why.  I had gone like 4 years without eating a single PB & J sandwich and lately I have Peanut Butter and Banana, Peanut Butter and Apple Butter (one of my favorite) and Peanut Butter and Grape or Raspberry Jelly.  I like different flavors to accompany my peanut butter.  I like my peanut butter creamy rather than chunky, so it spreads easier and I don’t have to chew nuts, I can kind of mash the bread, jelly and peanut butter with my tongue and absorb all of the flavors as if I am gaining sustenance just from tasting the sandwich.

So I always have liked whole wheat bread and I always buy brands that have a minimum of 3 grams of fiber per slice, so a typical sandwich has no less than 6 grams of fiber from bread alone and another 1 or 2 grams from the peanut butter and banana, or fruit.  I opened the Great Value Sugar Free Blackberry Seedless Jelly and right away I didn’t like the consistency, it was very thin and watery rather than thick.  It was difficult to spread congealing in small sections and seemed to “light” in color.  When I tasted it my mouth converted into a grimace.  The Jelly tasted very artificial, barely any natural blackberry flavor.  It was very light, almost like as if you poured Splenda in some water and drank it.

Fortunately Peanut Butter has a very strong flavor and I ate the sandwich anyway, but I was very disappointed.  The Jelly left a bad aftertaste in my mouth and now I am stuck with a whole jar of Jelly I don’t want to eat.  For all my reader’s out there, I warn you that if you like Jelly and Jam’s, I have yet to find a good Sugar Free kind, they all taste artificial, thin, and otherwise unappealing.

PS:  If anyone has tasted Sugar Free Jelly or Jam from any brand and you really think it tastes as good as regular, please let me know the brand and I would be happy to try it.  I am always looking for new sugar free alternatives that taste good.

-Dragon Blogger

The other night I was out on the town on some business with my lady and we got a little hungry at around midnight or so.  We were driving down Chandler Blvd and came across Juan Jaime’s Tacos and Tequila.  My wife and I both love Tequila and having come back from Cabo San Lucas a few months ago, we liked the idea of stopping for some food and a drink or two.  I am always designated driver, so I don’t drink publicly almost never, but I enjoy tequila shots at home once and a while.  The atmosphere of the place was laid back and relaxed, some light music played in the background.  They have a generous amount of seating in-door’s or out on the patio.  They have four different types of salsas and the mild and green Jalapeno salsa are both very good.

The taco’s themselves, cheese crisps were very good and actually had us come back to this place twice in two weeks which says a lot.  Their menu also has dozens of tequila’s on it listed by type Rested (Reposado), Aged (Añejo), Gold (Oro), or Blanco (Silver).  They have tequila shots ranging in price from $6 to over $30 dollars a shot to satisfy any thirst and yearning for elite tequila’s.

So, if you are out late in Chandler it is nice to have a place that serves food all night long so you can sit back and eat a little something while you are enjoying the company you are with.

I highly recommend anyone to this restaurant which has many Baja Mexican dishes including steak, chicken, mahi mahi, burrito’s, salads as well as enchilada’s.

Juan Jaime’s Tacos and Tequila
2510 W. Chandler Blvd Ste 1
Chandler, AZ 85224
480.821.JUAN(5826)

My family like most are very busy during the week and occasionally we like to get together with parents and go have breakfast out on the town.  This usually involves one of the few breakfast choices in Casa Grande, Arizona.  This post is my review of all the local breakfast places in Casa Grande and in general, since most of these are chain’s and exist everywhere else.

First off, my favorite place went out of business a few years ago after the owner came down sick.  This was called “The Belgium Waffle Haus” and was a private mom and pop cafe that opened in Downtown Casa Grande on Florence Blvd.  It had home made and super high quality (Yep you guessed it) Belgium Waffles that were so spectacular nowhere else have I tasted a crispy thick and utterly amazingly seasoned belgium waffle.  Don’t even think that any of the chain’s can compete, because they can’t touch this quality.  Alas, this place shut down and I will never know the love of a Belgium Waffle of such magnitude unless maybe I travel to Europe or find another authentic mom and pop joint.

So now we can hit the main list of restaurants, for those who live in Casa Grande these are pretty much your only choices for breakfast.

• Mimi’s Cafe

This is one of the newest chains to open in Casa Grande and the funny thing is, I love this restaurant in Chandler, but for some reason all of the food served in the Casa Grande office is either burned, uncooked or just doesn’t taste as well.  I think maybe the kitchen staff needs to be retrained or replaced because we have gone here 4 times and every time were disappointed with the food.  Yet every time we went to the one in Chandler or Mesa the food was terrific, so don’t know what it is about the local restaurant.  One thing I will say, I really love the sausages at Mimi’s they are thick and natural casing sausage links that are well seasoned and delicious.

• Denny’s

Denny’s is about bottom of the barrel as far as food quality goes, there egg’s are mediocre, pancakes are marginally better than McDonald’s and their sausages are soggy and limp.  I have gone here several times when we just wanted to give it “another” try, and was disappointed every time.  I even stopped at Denny’s while in Showlow and tried their new Flapjack Skillet Breakfast, which was just as mediocre as the rest of the food.  It serves its purposes as a meal, but is barely above a fast food meal.  In fact I would prefer a Jack in the Box “Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich” to almost anything at Denny’s.

• IHOP

This is just about my favorite place in Casa Grande as the food is consistently the same high quality.  The sausage links seem to be the favorite of my kids, and I love the pancakes and specials they run.  Now, my favorite are the Harvest Grain N’ Nut pancakes not the original buttermilk, but those are good too.  I like the omelette’s and the scrambled eggs are always well cooked and not too dry.  IHOP also has some of the best pancake specials, in the last few months my favorite were the “Washington Apple Crisp Sampler” which had their buttermilk pancakes covered in cooked apples in a cinnamon sugar sauce with brown sugar on top and whipped cream.  Very delicious to say the least.  Georgia Peaches and Praline were my other favorite with caramel sauce and peaches coating the pancakes, the peaches were in a syrup that was heavenly.  IHOP is consistently one of my favorite chain restaurants.

• Cracker Barrel

Another very consistently good restaurant, the biscuits and gravy are among the best anywhere I have had.  The sausages are patties which are thick and fresh and taste very well.  The eggs are always cooked well, and their pancakes are more home style large and delicious.  My only complaint is they don’t seem to have as kid friendly of a menu as IHOP, and their food takes longer to be delivered on average from kitchen to table as a whole.  Their menu choices are small and they never vary, which is another disadvantage.  IHOP has at least thirty to fifty breakfast items and specials every week, Cracker Barrel has the same twenty or so items with one special rotating a month, and the special usually is something already on the menu, nothing new at all.  Cracker Barrel prides itself on home style which is why they have a very rigid and non-varying menu I am sure, but they could use some innovation and creativity in the cuisine to help vary up the meals a bit.

• The Cookie Jar

This is a small time cafe in Downtown Casa Grande, and is really a diamond in the rough.  Their food is delicious and home made, and their pancakes and french toast are excellent.  My favorite dish here is the Breakfast Quasadilla which is loaded with Scrambled egg, Cheese, and large diced chunks of ham.  With a nice mild salsa on the side, this is a perfect breakfast dish.  My only complaint about this restaurant is that the food takes too long to be cooked and served.  Probably because it is fresh cooked and they have a small kitchen with only one (maybe two) cooks on staff at the same time.  The staff is always friendly and they have coloring books and crayons for the kids.

There is a JB’s Restaurant but I haven’t eaten there, I friend of mine had a bad experience at JB’s in Phoenix, and I just won’t go there as a result.

So thats my story of Breakfast places, by the way my favorite breakfast place in Arizona is called “The Good Egg”, and they are located in Chandler, Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix.  They have the best sausage links, and the highest quality food.  There are none in Casa Grande though, and it isn’t worth the 45 minute drive to the nearest one on a Sunday morning though.

So readers, let me know what your favorite breakfast restaurants are?

-Dragon Blogger

Jenn from BeforeIAmFamous writes that she frequents Denny’s for lack of other choices and the good coffee and great hours.  You can read about it on her site.

Supernova Splash blog writes about a former Friday Tradition of eating breakfast at the Waffle Shop.

My second day in my trip to San Francisco I ate with my co-workers at Henry’s Hunan Restaurant located at 110 Natoma Street.  I have always loved Chinese cuisine of any style (Hunan, Cantonese…etc).  The restaurant’s is a small hole in the side of a large building (as most places are in a big city).  My co-workers and I walked into the restaurant which isn’t terribly busy between 11am and 12pm, though if you don’t want to wait for a table, I am told make sure you come in the 11 o’clock hour not after noon, or it gets quite busy.

We sat down on the table and were swiftly brought our hot tea and water.  The menu has eighty seven items on it, five appetizers, two soups, three salads and the rest are seventy seven entree’s or sides.  We ordered the food family style instead of the lunch specials so we can sample all four entree’s, plus we ordered a pork fried rice on the side.

I did ask for some Sweet & Low, a bad habit, but I became dependent on having this sweetener added to my tea beverages, but the restaurant only stocked plain sugar no substitutes.  They also advertise that they do not use MSG, so anyone who can’t tolerate MSG, this should be a good option.

The fried rice was delivered first and the pork bits were large and crispy, the rice itself was fried very well and well mixed with the vegetables.  It was a very savory dish and made an excellent base for the saucy dishes that arrived just a few moments after.  The next dish to arrive was the Spicy & Hot Rock Cod Fillet, and I can tell you this was one of the best dishes I have ever tasted.  We ordered all of the food “Mild” because I don’t have tolerance to spicy food anymore.  The Cod was battered and fried and soaked in oyster sauce that was so flavorful it sang on my tongue on the first bite.  The oyster sauce was slightly sweet and salty, and the fried crispy batter encased the very soft and tender cod fillet chunks eloquently.

The third dish to be served was the Shrimp with String Beans which was no less appealing and satisfying.  The small shrimps were perfectly cooked and balanced with crispy green beans in another very thin and flavorful sauce.  This dish was slightly spicy even in the mild form.  The last dish was the non-spicy menu dish Chicken with Peking Sauce and was also another crowd pleaser, this sauce was much sweeter but less salty than the oyster sauce.  Everyone at my table heartily sampled and ate from all four entree’s and I must admit I had more than one helping of several of the entree’s.

Gorged and stuffed to the brim I covered the check for the group as we departed the restaurant and head back toward the office.  I took some photo’s of the restaurant here.

Henry’s Hunan Restaurant was one of my highlights of visiting San Francisco and I highly recommend anyone working in the downtown area to give it a try.  It is a hop skip and a jump away from all the major offices on Market Street, and with the beautiful weather in San Fransisco today at eighty four degree’s it was like paradise coming from a one hundred plus degree weather in Phoenix.  Most of my coworkers were actually complaining about how hot it was, and it was one of the hottest days they have had this year.  Ironic, if they consider that hot they would literally disintegrate from the summer scorcher’s we have in Arizona.

Enjoy all that you eat

-Dragon Blogger

Like most people in this day and age, I have a quite hectic and busy schedule.  I do occasionally go out and party and stay up later than we should to get our 8 hours of sleep that is required for optimum health.  When fatigue and weariness set in people can turn to many different sources for energy.  I used to drink coffee, though I never really liked hot beverages, I preferred Iced Coffee, but as I aged my stomach cannot handle the acidity of coffee anymore.  I really can’t drink any coffee and haven’t for almost two years now.  I drink various hot tea’s and brewed Iced Tea’s, green, black, oolong, white…etc.  But Tea’s in general are nice in flavor but very low in caffeine and “pick me up”.  Occasionally I do drink Ginseng tea, and when you first start drinking Ginseng tea you do get a great pick me up, but if you drink enough of it, you become immune to ginseng and it has very little energy boosting power, so I drink ginseng tea occasionally, but have mostly become immune to the energy boosts I used to get from it when I first started.  So I delved into Energy Drinks of various types, the good about energy drinks is they can give me a quick boost without having the painful side effects of coffee.  You can get jitters and accelerated heart rate from drinking too many, and sure pure sugar, caffeine, taurine and other chemicals are pretty much hard on the system, but who thinks about the long run when they need a pick me up right now.  But like anything, if you drink too much you build up resistance, if you are used to drinking 1 energy drink a day, then 1 or 2 won’t give you a “pick me up” anymore.  Just like excessive coffee drinkers who can pound down two or three cups and not feel any increase in energy.  This tolerance is what keeps people looking for more and more “energy” solutions.  So moderate your energy intake, drink only one energy drink every so often when you really need it.  Don’t make it a daily habit, and you can still benefit from the “energy boost” when you need it most.

Don’t drink too many, I did drink four red bulls in one evening and had all sorts of complications.  My heart was beating so fast and hard, I was light headed, nauseated and felt like I was going to pass out numerous times.  So here is my review of the various energy drinks, both flavor and the effect it has on my energy level.  I am trying to take tolerance out of the equation.  Most energy drinks don’t taste especially well to me.  I didn’t like all the sugar and drank several “Diet” energy drinks but noticed Diet ones clearly don’t provide as much a boost, the “Sugar” rush definitely helps with the boost.

• Red Bull and Diet Red Bull

Red Bull is the most popular and I still drink these quite regularly as most clubs and bar’s only stock red bulls still.  I still get a boost of energy if I need it at one o’clock in the morning, by drinking a red bull.  If you have a full stomach, you may need two red bulls to feel the energy kick, they work better for me when I only had a very light meal or have an empty stomach.  The flavor is okay, though the sugar level is very high and Red Bull’s taste very syrup like to me.  Diet Red Bulls don’t taste as good as regular, and the energy kick is much less for me.  I have to drink two diet red bulls to feel the same increase in energy as a single regular Red Bull.

• Monster Energy Drink

These energy drinks also have a very sweet and thick syrup like flavor, and I had the least energy boost from a Monster energy drink.  At least that was my perception, out of all the energy drinks I have tried, Monster was one of my least favorite.  I just didn’t like the flavor and didn’t feel it gave me a boost that was worth my while.

• Rockstar Energy Drink & Diet Rockstar

I was drinking these for quite a while, these taste better in my opinion than Red Bull’s and Monster Energy Drinks, and they do provide a nice energy boost. They are larger can’s than Red Bull, so I assume you are getting more chemical input which is why you gain more energy.  I drink Rockstar energy drinks whenever Red Bull is not available.  Diet Rockstar Energy drinks don’t provide as much a boost, but do taste okay as far as diet goes, they taste almost as good as regular and better than the Diet Red Bull in my opinion.

• Full Throttle Blue Demon

This I had for the first time on a visit to Pacific Beach in San Diego, there was a Full Throttle advertisers on the beach just tossing out free samples of the Blue Demon energy drink, so I grabbed two and drank them on the long 5.5 hour drive back to Arizona from San Diego.  I have to say, the Full Throttle Blue Demon is one of the best tasting energy drinks I have ever had, and in general the flavor of this beverage is so unique that I can’t compare it to anything else.  I wish they made a non-energy drink that had this flavor, so I can taste it and drink it more often.  Blue Agave is the flavor of the Blue Demon drink, and an Agave plant is a succulant, Arizona is no stranger to Agave plants as they grow all over here.  I know certain alcoholic beverages (Tequila and Mezcal) both are distilled from Agave plants actually.  Flavor is an A+, and very unique you either like it or you don’t.  Energy level was very good, I didn’t get bored or tired during my 5.5 hour drive and I always usually do, really I was enjoying the flavor so much I kind of got a mental boost just from experiencing the drink.  Full Throttle Blue Demon energy drinks do still taste quite sweet, but not as syrup like as Red Bull’s.

• Glaceau Vitamin Energy

This is the newest energy drink I have ever tried, in fact I tried it for the first time this morning.  Dragon Fruit is the flavor, which by the way is another very unique flavor and one of my favorite flavor of any beverage.  Vitamin Water’s in general taste pretty good, but Dragon Fruit flavor has always been my favorite, and I know of no other beverage that makes a dragon fruit flavor.  Kudos for company’s experimenting with different flavor’s outside the normal “Cherry, Fruit Punch, Lemonade…etc” I love tasting new flavors and experiencing different sensations on my taste buds.  Now, Vitamin Energy Drink actually tastes among the best, right up there with the Blue Demon.  But the best thing about it is, it has no Syrup like flavor, it has around 1/2 the sugar of normal energy drinks and actually tastes a a lot  like a carbonated vitamin water.  This is good if you like the Dragon Fruit Vitamin Water which I do.  The energy is also pleasantly refreshing, I don’t feel as much of a kick an hour after drinking it as say a red bull, but I do feel a good energy boost.  I don’t know how long it will last, but the flavor of the drink, the light and non-syrupy taste and the mild energy boost make this my new favorite energy drink.

• In Review:

My two favorite energy drinks are “Full Throttle Blue Demon” and “Glaceau Vitamin Energy” though I still drink the occasional “Red Bull” since no club’s or bar’s I have ever been to serve these two energy drinks. My readers, what do you drink to get energy?  What energy drinks or supplements do you use to give yourself a kick when you are fatigued and exhausted and need to have a little mental and physical boost to make it through a work day or a day taking care of toddlers?

-Dragon Blogger

• UPDATE

I turned this post into a Socialspark opportunity so that people can comment and let me know what their favorite brands of energy drink are, or what they do to get a quick boost.  Here are some comments and posts from my fellow bloggers about energy drinks or how they get a quick pick me up:

Dani -http://mumsy.little-miss.org/

Tribal Fusion - http://misty-mountain-hop.blogspot.com/

Kimmie-Lou - http://kimmie-lou.com/

Emmsy’s favorite energy drink is “Energo energy drink”

Every so often I crave a hamburger whether it be a fast food hamburger, or a restaurant hamburger and I have developed a list of my favorites over the years, as well as ones that are just “okay” but fill the need once and a while.  I decided to put out my opinions on some of the burger’s I have tried over the years and tell other’s my thoughts, I will be blatantly honest.  This is not a sponsored or paid review, but if you find my opinion favorable, you can sponsor me :).

First I will talk about burgers priced between $1 and $3 dollars, the average fast food burger lets call it.
We have the following burgers I have eaten and can recall and describe in this category.

McDonald’s Big Mac & Double Cheese Burger
Burger King - Whopper and Whopper JR.
Dairy Queen - Cheese Burger
Wendy’s - 1/2 Pounder
Jack in The Box - Jumbo Jack
Sonic’s - Sonic Burger

Out of the above list of burgers, my two favorites in this category are Burger King’s Whopper and Jack in the Box’s Jumbo Jack.  The flame broiled Whopper does have a signature barbequed taste that gives the meat a charcoal type of char flavor that my taste buds really find satisfying.  The Whopper JR tastes just as good and is by far the best $1 dollar burger out of any of the “Value Meal” burgers.  The Jumbo Jack is my 2nd favorite in the above category, though it doesn’t have the “Flame Broiled” flavor it does have a nice size slab of meat that is well flavored and Jack in the Box has very good buns and lettuce/tomato…etc which add to the flavor of the burger.

Big Mac’s though small thin patties that barely taste like beef in my opinion are still quite good.  The dressing on a Big Mac is what makes me come back to them time and time again, the combination of triple bun, sauce and pickles really goes together as a nice package, but the meat itself in a big mac in my opinion isn’t that great.

Wendy’s have always been just okay in my opinion, nothing special but nothing bad.  Double Cheese Burger’s from McDonald’s are better than Wendy’s for flavor and at $1 at most stores in Arizona are actually a deal, they have more meat than the Whopper JR, but don’t taste quite as good, but still better than some of the others.

The worst meat burger I have ever tasted in the past few years goes to Dairy Queen, I have tried their 2 Cheeseburgers for $2 deal and the burgers were barely edible, the flavor was terrible, quality of meat just left an aftertaste in my mouth. I would rather peel the patty out of a big mac and eat it plain than eat a burger at Dairy Queen again.  Sonic’s Burgers are just alright, nothing special in my opinion.  I go to Sonic I don’t ever get a burger, I get a coney, or other item on their menu, I just don’t like their burger’s there.

Now, lets talk about premium burger’s or “Restaurant” quality burgers.  I will compare some of the “Fast Food” premium burgers to real restaurants and see how they stack up.

Burger King - Loaded SteakHouse Burger
Carls JR - Six Dollar Burger
Jack in The Box - Sirloin Burger
Chili’s - Chipotle blue Cheese Bacon Burger
Red Robin - Avacado Bacon Burger
Ruby Tuesday’s - Triple Prime Burger

Out of the above list of premium burger’s my favorite hand’s down is the “Chili’s Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger” the meat size is just right, the blue cheese crumbles, slightly tangy and spicy chipotle sauce make this a winner for me.  Red Robin has my 2nd favorite restaurant burger’s and they are all very very good, every type of burger is very good there.  The Ruby Tuesday’s Triple Prime burger was a disappointment because I didn’t think it tasted as well as the regular burger’s at Ruby Tuesday’s.

Now, for Fast Food Premium burger’s Carls JR’s Six Dollar Burger is the winner by far.  This burger is actually better than every other burger on the list except for the Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger at Chili’s in my opinion.  This burger is massive, and is almost the same size for like $2 cheaper, and they get you in and out of the restaurant much faster than Chili’s.  Ironically I only tried the Six Dollar Burger for the first time back in July of 2008, and I literally loved it when I had it.  The flavor, size and taste was exquisite and I crave them now usually once every two weeks or so.  Jack in the Box’s Sirloin burger is no sloucher, but it isn’t as good as Carl’s JR.  The most disappointing of the bunch was Burger King’s Loaded SteakHouse Burger, whereas their regular Whopper is delicious their premium burger tasted worse than a whopper and was actually one of the worst burgers I have eaten by far.  The meat quality and flavor was worse in my opinion than their Whopper JR, and the fact that the Loaded Steakhouse Burger came with Mash Potatoes, Onion Strings, Bacon, and what tasted like steak sauce only worsened the experience, the cold clammy mashed potatoes made me want to gag when I ate it.

So in review:
Best Inexpensive Burger goes to Burger King - Whopper
Best Restaurant Style Burger goes to Carl’s JR - Six Dollar Burger

There you have it.

If anyone has tried other burger’s that they think are really good, better or equal to some of the burger’s I have mentioned please let me know.  I have never tried In and Out burger’s and there is one opening in the next two months in my area, so maybe that will be good.  Let me know what your favorite burger is, whether you agree or disagree with my reviews, let me know what you like or dislike about your burgers.

But, if you haven’t tried the Six Dollar Burger from Carl’s JR.  I highly recommend it,
I literally was shocked at how enjoyable the flavor was for a fast food burger.

-Dragon Blogger

• Update:

I created a SocialSpark opportunity out of this post to get other people to recommend what type’s of burgers they like and eat.  I will start adding a list of everyone who contributes and posts their own blog, or comments on burgers.

First one to contribute is the Amazingly Me Blog, who writes about Jollibee’s Amazing Aloha burger, I am pretty sure there are no Jollibee Restaurants in Arizona, but if I come across one, I will be sure to check that burger out.

Angela from coveted.net writes that the Burger Kings Whopper is her favorite burger, but she also likes Jack in the Box Food.  Thanks for posting and taking this opp Angela.

• Update:

The other day I had a new burger at Applebee’s called the Brewtus Steak Burger.  This was a nice size patty on grilled bun with 2 slices of Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato.  The burger was very juicy and the meat flavorful.  Though still doesn’t topple Chili’s Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger, it is very good and easily comes in 2nd or 3rd place.

In addition, there is a local Hamburger company in downtown Phoenix on 38th street and Indian School Road.  This place is called “Chicago Hamburger Company” and it has some of the best burgers with cheddar cheese on the planet.  They also have the best sliders outside of the windy city.