San Diego Burger Week 2017 Recap

San Diego Burger Week just passed us by! I have to admit that it seemed to have snuck up on me and if it hadn’t been for Lynn of oh-so yummy posting about it on Instagram I might have missed out entirely. I didn’t eat very many burgers for Burger Week. I just couldn’t do it. I kept trying to gear myself up to eat more and then failed. Oh well. Here’s the small effort I did make!

This year the price for burgers during San Diego Burger Week went up by one dollar. All specials were now $6. The first burger we tried for Burger Week was at West Side Tap House in Point Loma. This is their Maple Pork Belly Burger which comes with a 100% Angus Beef Patty, maple pork belly, grilled pear, cheddar cheese & garlic aioli on a brioche bun. The burgers are a little smaller than their normal sized burgers (I believe these were 4oz instead of 6oz). I have to admit the grilled pear threw me at first but when eating the burger I didn’t really taste it. There was hints of sweetness in here that I really liked which came from the maple flavor and I’m sure the grilled pear. 

I really, really, really liked this burger. I loved the pork belly on it and I felt it was a winning combination. T got his own burger (which is hiding in the background) – it was a blue cheese something something and he paid full price for it. He wanted to try something else. 

Jake and I both got our own burgers and he didn’t seem as impressed by it as I did. He said his burger wasn’t medium rare but mine was (evidence above). 

The other nice thing about West Side Tap House is that it’s dog friendly! Here’s T with Little Bit who was being a grouch that day.

Maya was her usual happy going self! 

Later in the week I treated myself to lunch at Common Theory in Kearny Mesa. The burger week special here was the CT Torta Burger which came with a seasoned burger patty, mayonnaise, lettuce, avocado, and pickled jalapenos. Those jalapenos were the first thing to come OFF my burger because screw that. Spicy and pickled?? Gross. 

This burger wasn’t too bad. The patty was a little overcooked but it had a good flavor. I liked the guac on top!

For dinner on the same night, Jake, T and I visited Heart & Trotter in North Park to check out The Donny which comes with 100% Grass-fed patty, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, special sauce with American Cheese. They ran out of American so we actually got cheddar on our burgers which was fine with me! 

The burgers were cooked to a perfect medium rare. The meat was incredibly juicy and simply seasoned. The high quality taste of the beef really comes through on this simple burger. One of my favorites of the week! I also liked that they gave you chips with the burger to help round out the meal.

Heart & Trotter normally serves burgers on Saturdays so stop by and try one out!

For our final stop of Burger Week, Jake, T and I met up with Lynn at the Dog Haus in Downtown San Diego. All seven of their burgers were available for the Burger Week special so we sampled a few of them. First up is the Holy Aioli Burger with smoked bacon, garlic aioli, white american cheese, and caramelized onions. The flavor on this one was quite strong – and actually felt really overwhelming to me. I couldn’t handle more than one bite because I felt like it was too rich for me. 

The Ringer was my favorite of the bunch with smoked bacon, bbq sauce, cheddar cheese, and onion rings. This burger was more lo-key for me and turned out to be my favorite. I liked their bbq sauce a lot and loved the onion rings and bacon. At the Dog Haus they use four of the mini King’s Hawaiian rolls for the bun. I haven’t seen anyone do this before so it was a nice twist on a traditional bun. 

The boys liked The Hangover that came with smoked bacon, haus chili, white american cheese, mayo, and a fried egg. This burger looked so messy to me and I cringed at that runny egg on top… Jake gave me a bite with no egg on it so I could at least sample it. It was okay. I wasn’t totally into the chili but the boys dug it. 

At the Dog Haus all of the burgers were a nice medium rare which we appreciated. Hooray for nicely cooked burger and hooray for another San Diego Burger Week! Until next year!