An old favorite beats out another for the Best Of title
The problem of finding the best cheeseburger in the city can be reduced to a matter of geography and culture, a problem best summed up by two sound bites captured from one night in our search.
The first came after finding no burgers at Shalena (Crazy) Mama, that American-styled diner near Shevchenko University with the Rolling Stones theme. We were disappointed coming back out onto the street, but a local Best Of teamer reminded the others that this isn’t the United States, and not every place serves burgers. “Do you want to be living in Ukraine or America?” she asked. The rest of us zipped our mouths.
Then later, at beer brewery Chateau, we got this response from a waiter there when we asked her if the place had burgers.
“No, we don’t serve burgers. This is a restaurant,” she said, stressing the final word. Weren’t we told!
First up after failures at the above two places and Arena – where we were sure they had burgers – was Golden Gate. We met inside with pub general manager Robyn Attryde, who explained the high price for his restaurant’s burgers. It’s all about using the best ingredients, he said.
To make a long story short, we decided to order one, only to be told by our waitress that the restaurant was out of hamburger beef. Attryde disappeared only to return minutes later, apologizing for not having anything but T-bone steaks. In fairness, he did say he’s had a problem getting quality beef in these days, but that’s another story. The Best Of team had work to do and pressed on.
Other Options
O’Brien’s was next on our list, and after handing them the award for best classic breakfast, we had high expectations. At first glance the burger we got was certainly huge, and quite reasonably priced, but there was little to praise after that. The two-high stack of patties made the burger hard to eat, and the whole thing itself just lacked that zing we were really hoping the best burger would exemplify. Well, there’s always next year.
At the Eldorado joins the Hairy Lemon and the Opera Cafe, we got the city’s cheapest cheeseburger (aside from the jokes served up by that yellow clown), and it wasn’t a bad effort, either. The cheeseburger was thick and juicy, the toppings fresh, but as a drawback – and unlike all the other competitors, the burger didn’t come with fries. Bummer.
Past winner Arizona BBQ down in Podil has probably the city’s biggest and best reputation as far as cheeseburgers are concerned – and a Best Of Kyiv best burger award to boot. This year, however, the times have caught up with AZ, which far and away had the most expensive cheeseburger in the city. While the burger was thick, juicy, tasty – all the right things – and the toppings fresh and the cheddar cheese melted just right, it costs between two and three times what any of the others do. Just for comparison’s sake, the Best Of team could have had four Eldorado cheeseburgers, two from O’Brien’s, or more than 20 from Rotten Ronnie! But not to be all about price, the bun was not sesame topped, the pickle was old and stale, and Podil is a heck of a place to go just for a cheeseburger.
Top Two
The Drum was a surprise second-place finisher in this week’s search, what with having heard so much in the past about their nutty rice burger – the darling of Kyiv’s vegetarian, burger-eating population. Their all-beef cheeseburger was thick, juicy, served with fresh ingredients – including a lovely sesame-seed bun and what had to have been a home-style pickle made by Grandma McEwan – and it was the second-cheapest of the lot. Not that we’re so stuck on money these days, but we like good value and appreciate it when it’s there.
But the big winner again this year is T.G.I. Friday’s, which can now add yet another Best Of Kyiv title to its previous victory for its margaritas. The burger was thick and cooked just right; gooey from all the melted cheese on top; heaped with lots of lettuce, tomato and onion slices, with a dill pickle on the side, and the serving of fries on the side was the best of the bunch. The price wasn’t bad, either, and for a change the T.G.I. Friday’s service was not over-the-top, but pleasant and respectful – just like the burger.
Winner of the Best of Kyiv cheeseburger: T.G.I. Friday’s.
T.G.I. Friday’s
5 Bessarabska Square, 235-4264.Open daily from 11 a.m. till 10 p.m.
