Food Faceoff: Burgers

Posted by Ashley Primis on January 26th, 2010

In the first installment of our new column — where we put a classic and new iconic dish head-to-head — we sought to test Village Whiskey’s burger against Rouge’s standard-setter.

THE YARDSTICK
The Rouge Burger — a 12-ounce behemoth made from a secret mix that includes 15% fat — is served on a brioche bun from Wild Flower Bakery, with Gruyere and caramelized onions.

THE CHALLENGER
The new-to-the-scene and already much lauded Village Whiskey Burger — an 8-ounce patty made from sustainable (grass-fed and grain-finished) meat from Maine, has a housemade bun and Thousand Island dressing, tomato, and lettuce.

THE MISSION
To taste the burgers (ordered medium-rare) side by side and determine if the VW burger is worth all the hype.

tasters_250 THE TASTERS
Tim Haas (left): eater extraordinaire and phillymag.com online editor.

Joy Manning (center): cookbook author, blogger, and food critic for Philadelphia magazine.

Jess Ward (right): food blogger and founder of Burger Club Philly.

Ashley Primis (behind the camera): food editor for Philadelphia.

THE ROUGE BURGER
Rouge_350 Jess: The patty could use a little salt and a more substantial bun. Did not get much flavor from the cheese or onion. Nice char. Found the proportions off — too much patty, not enough toppings. Rating: 3 out of 5

Joy: Juicy and beefy, but under-seasoned. Wish the onions and Gruyere had more flavor. Overall, a good beef flavor and generous size. Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Tim: A little too raw in the middle to be medium-rare. Underseasoned. The char was good, with a light crunch. The brioche roll was a bit sweet, but flavorful with a nice flakiness to the crust. The onions went beyond caramelized—no body to them at all. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Ashley: Super juicy and so loosely packed, almost has a fluffy quality; wish the cheese and onion played a more prominent role. Unevenly cooked. Rating: 3.5 out of 5

VILLAGE WHISKEY BURGER
VW_350 Jess: Cooked perfectly, well seasoned, great beef flavor. The housemade bun is light and airy, yet substantial enough to handle the patty. Thousand Island dressing is creamy and peppery and complements the burger. Wonderfully proportioned. Rating: 5 out of 5

Joy: Amazing depth of flavor, well-seasoned, evenly seared and shaped and juicy. The bun is soft, tasty, and perfect. The dressing has a great freshness and flavor, and the tomato adds a nice temperature, contrast, and zing. Rating: 5 (or 6!) out of 5

Tim: The evenly formed patty made for a beautiful cooking job — good char (though slightly less crunch than Rouge) and perfectly pink interior. The seasoning was a delight — great salt balance with a slight pepperiness that brought fried sausage to mind. I found the piece of Bibb completely superfluous, but the fresh acid of the tomato slice added snap to the dressing. Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Ashley: Consistent in taste and cooking the whole way through. The Thousand Island dressing has a bite and meatiness that elevates the burger taste. Love the buttered and toasted inside of the bun — adds a nice crunch. Well-sized. Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Let’s here what you think — did we nail it or fail it?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 11:57 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Adrienne Frangakis

I think both are sub-par. I prefer patties that are well-seasoned (and I don’t mean oversalted) to burgers that reply on their toppings for any semblance of flavor. The Village Whiskey burger is particularly boring.
John

I recently had a burger at Derick’s. It was sensational. It was much better than Rouge’s.
Sanjoy Biswas

I think the burgers at VW are OFF THE HOOK! My wife’s not a burger eater but was raving about the standard Village Burger. I went straight for the gusto with the Whiskey King which IMHO is THE best burger in this city. The meat’s spectacular, toppings and bread all combine for a phenomenal experience. Keep it coming Iron Chef!
Luke

You guys nailed it! The VW burger is by far the best in town. Try it with the Haystack Mountain Chevre next time, unbelievable! Rouge burger is always a good choice but there is a new “King” of the Philly burger scene.
http://www.SipsBitesandSites.com Maria Valetta

You guys definitely nailed it. The last time I was at Rouge, the burger was sloppy. The onions weren’t stacked properly and were falling off, and the cheese wasn’t even melted. I also kept getting a bunch of gristle in the meat- they must have changed meat purveyors or they are buying a lesser quality of ground meat they’re to save money. The Rouge burger is not what it used to be.
The VW Burger on the other hand, is top-notch quality with consistent execution of a well put together product. And, it has a much better price tag- that’s a lot of burger for nine bucks!
Patrick

Love the VW burger, but Best of Philly 09 named Butcher and Singer burger #1, why the competition with Rouge then?
Nathan

The VW burger brought me to my knees. I didn’t want to love it–I’m partial to the west-coast thin-patty format–but the quality of that beef was just unsurpassed. If there is a better burger in the city, I want to meet it.
Jonathan Beatty

I was just reading this article and felt I HAD to give my opinion, since thats exactly what this is….people’s opinion. Since hearing the buzz of the “VW” burger, I decided to give it a shot. And, though the VW burger, to me, is a top notch burger, the Rouge burger is still a more flavorful and tastier burger. Everytime I have ever had a Rouge burger, I have been amazed at the crust of the burger, quality of the meat, and the way all the components come together to give you a blissful burger that is tough to beat. I’ve been enjoying their burger for years, and still find them to be just as good, if not better. Longevitiy is a pretty powerful measuring stick for burgers, and the Rouge burger has been a GREAT burger for years, and seems like it will be for years to come
Michael

Both burgers are great (and all the other burgers in the city…), but what about the under appreciated Good Dog Burger, can’t beat the price anywhere. Just to remind you, it’s a ½ lb. ground sirloin, stuffed with Roquefort cheese, topped with caramelized onions, and served on a brioche bun. Don’t forget, the side of half regular and half sweet potato French fries with an awesome aioli dipping sauce. At the end of day, it’s nice to eat a good burger without a white table cloth and a $$$ price tag.
Shoes

From reading the review and having both burgers, my impression is that the reviewers had a predetermined outcome before the taste test began because there is no way that the Rouge burger should get panned like it did in this review. Check out the pictures, the VW burger is clean and clear whereas the Rouge burger is slightly blurry, sloppy looking, and the color looks off. Let’s not forget that neither burger is cut in half when served, therefore someone obviously took more care in staging the VW burger than they did the Rouge burger. Also, the bun on the VW burger is fluffy whereas the Rouge bun has been squashed while cutting. I’ve never been served a Rouge burger on a flat roll like that…. I call shenanigans!!! Shame on you TH, JM, JW
Laura

I concur with Shoes..shenanigans!! The Rouge burger NEVER looks like that..it looks like a hot mess!! It sounds like these guys had already made up there mind. The Rouge burger is the benchmark for burgers in this town..I have had the Village burger and it is fine, but there is no comparison. Everyone is always looking for the next, best thing..this ain’t it!! Stick with a classic, stick with the winner.

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Food Faceoff: Burgers