By Mike Thayer
This challenge started before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the stay-at-home order and resulting changes in business operations caused a delay in reviews. But now that it looks like things are getting back on track to some sense of normal, the reviews can continue.
I recently completed a pizza challenge, sampling 18 local/regional pizza joints and finding the 10 best in the Wichita area.
It’s time for a new challenge: Burgers
Who makes the best burger in the Wichita metro area? I’m going to find out, sampling all the local/regional burger joints to see who crafts the best burger.
During the course of this challenge I’ll be sampling classic cheeseburgers, straight forward beef and cheese goodness with the typical toppings. The way I see it, if you can’t put together a classic cheeseburger and do it well, then there’s no reason to sample a burger joint’s other burger options. So there will be no mushroom & Swiss, no on BBQ & onion strings, no on jalapeno & pepper jack cheese, etc., versions of burgers
Being evaluated on a point system scorecard will be a plethora of categories that includes but is not limited to the appearance, meat, bun, meat to bun ratio, how the burger is dressed (that means the assortment of veggies, sauce and/or condiments for those of you who live in Valley Center), service, time to order and more. Weighing most heavily in the score of course, is TASTE and depending on the size of the patty, I could be sampling a single or a double, there’s a quarter pound minimum. After scoring the burger, the point total is then broken down into a star system, 1-5, with 5 stars being a top rating. I’ll post all the numbers for each burger joint and their offerings in the final report.
No national chains will be included in this challenge, no Five Guys, no Red Robin, no BurgerFi, no Freddy’s, etc…. Only the local, regional burger joints qualify. Besides, when it comes to burgers, McDonald’s is most everybody’s last resort, Wendy’s is nothing extra special with their square patties and Burger King, well, isn’t a king at all.
Looks good right?
Today’s Burger Challenge is a review of Two Brothers BBQ & Burger Grill, a local, family-owned and operated BBQ joint with three locations in Wichita and one in El Dorado. Two Brothers is the eighth tasting in this challenge of 28 burger joints to review.
I went with the Big Brother Bacon Cheeseburger on this tasting, which includes two fresh ground beef patties (1/2 pound of beef total) on a toasted white bun and dressed with mustard, pickle, onion, lettuce and tomato. I also made my order a combo, to include fries and a drink.
The visual appeal of this burger was pretty good, but how was that first bite?
I was disappointed in this burger. An over-cooked burger is a burger crime and the patties were over-cooked as well as under-seasoned. The only juiciness I got from this burger came from the tomato, every bite was a dry bite. The meat to bun ratio was OK, but were this to be a single patty burger it would be too much bread. The toasted bun that didn’t have much of a ‘toast’ held up (I hate it when a burger bun falls apart!), the bacon made everything better as bacon always does, but this burger just lacked flavor. The burger was also under-dressed, not enough mustard, the cheese was negligible and the veggies were a bit of a saving grace in a lackluster way to round out what was a very average burger. What Two Brothers slapped together scored a 46 out of a possible 63 points on the spreadsheet. Overall the ingredients were there, but the preparation wasn’t.
It looked better than it tasted
Side Note: The fries were generous enough in portion but they too, were quite average.
Two Brothers BBQ & Burger Grill is located at 3134 E Douglas Ave, Wichita, KS 67214, in College Hill. The service for my carry-out order was polite enough, but obligatory. The total price for my burger combo was a bit over $11.00 and time to order to carrying my bag out the door was about five minutes. For a joint that has “Burger Grill” in the name, this is NOT a repeat buy. Side Note: The Two Brothers location on Greenwich does not have burgers on the menu. Based on their scorecard, I’m giving Two Brothers BBQ & Burger Grill and their Big Brother Bacon Cheeseburger 4 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars, but barely 4 stars, it was almost a 3.
I look forward to the next burger joint tasting!
Here’s my list of 28 restaurants that tout burgers, more joints are to be added, I’m sure I missed a few when putting this challenge together.
- The Anchor
- Big Larry’s Burgers
- Bionic Burger
- Bomber Burger
- Braums
- Broadway Burgers & BBQ
- Buster’s Burger Joint
- Calvin’s Hamburger Haven
- Chicken N Pickle (Yes, really, a chicken place that does burgers!)
- Deano’s Grill & Tapworks
- Dempsy’s Burger Pub
- Dog N Shake
- Emerson Biggins
- Fizz Burgers & Bottles
- Harry’s Uptown
- The Hill Bar & Grill
- Lotus Leaf
- Oasis Lounge
- O’Malley’s Irish Pub (1/2 pound burgers!)
- Side Pockets
- Spangles
- Sport Burger
- TJ’s
- Two Brother’s BBQ & Burger Grill
- Ty’s Diner
- Walt’s East
- West St. Burgers
- Yo-B Yogurt & Burgers
Doing this in the name of “Food Science” (cough), I’m looking forward to finding the best locally crafted burger! I’ll eventually whittle this list down to the 10 Best Burger Joints in the Wichita Metro.
Related: How well does Two Brother’s BBQ represent the Air Capital?
Stay tuned and $pend Wisely My Friends…..
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Enjoy this post?
If you appreciate the article you just read and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or a monthly donation. Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike
Burger Challenge: Who makes the best burger in the Wichita metro? Is it Two Brothers BBQ & Burger Grill? – Bachelor on the Cheap
By Mike Thayer
This challenge started before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the stay-at-home order and resulting changes in business operations caused a delay in reviews. But now that it looks like things are getting back on track to some sense of normal, the reviews can continue.
I recently completed a pizza challenge, sampling 18 local/regional pizza joints and finding the 10 best in the Wichita area.
It’s time for a new challenge: Burgers
Who makes the best burger in the Wichita metro area? I’m going to find out, sampling all the local/regional burger joints to see who crafts the best burger.
During the course of this challenge I’ll be sampling classic cheeseburgers, straight forward beef and cheese goodness with the typical toppings. The way I see it, if you can’t put together a classic cheeseburger and do it well, then there’s no reason to sample a burger joint’s other burger options. So there will be no mushroom & Swiss, no on BBQ & onion strings, no on jalapeno & pepper jack cheese, etc., versions of burgers
Being evaluated on a point system scorecard will be a plethora of categories that includes but is not limited to the appearance, meat, bun, meat to bun ratio, how the burger is dressed (that means the assortment of veggies, sauce and/or condiments for those of you who live in Valley Center), service, time to order and more. Weighing most heavily in the score of course, is TASTE and depending on the size of the patty, I could be sampling a single or a double, there’s a quarter pound minimum. After scoring the burger, the point total is then broken down into a star system, 1-5, with 5 stars being a top rating. I’ll post all the numbers for each burger joint and their offerings in the final report.
No national chains will be included in this challenge, no Five Guys, no Red Robin, no BurgerFi, no Freddy’s, etc…. Only the local, regional burger joints qualify. Besides, when it comes to burgers, McDonald’s is most everybody’s last resort, Wendy’s is nothing extra special with their square patties and Burger King, well, isn’t a king at all.
Looks good right?
Today’s Burger Challenge is a review of Two Brothers BBQ & Burger Grill, a local, family-owned and operated BBQ joint with three locations in Wichita and one in El Dorado. Two Brothers is the eighth tasting in this challenge of 28 burger joints to review.
I went with the Big Brother Bacon Cheeseburger on this tasting, which includes two fresh ground beef patties (1/2 pound of beef total) on a toasted white bun and dressed with mustard, pickle, onion, lettuce and tomato. I also made my order a combo, to include fries and a drink.
The visual appeal of this burger was pretty good, but how was that first bite?
I was disappointed in this burger. An over-cooked burger is a burger crime and the patties were over-cooked as well as under-seasoned. The only juiciness I got from this burger came from the tomato, every bite was a dry bite. The meat to bun ratio was OK, but were this to be a single patty burger it would be too much bread. The toasted bun that didn’t have much of a ‘toast’ held up (I hate it when a burger bun falls apart!), the bacon made everything better as bacon always does, but this burger just lacked flavor. The burger was also under-dressed, not enough mustard, the cheese was negligible and the veggies were a bit of a saving grace in a lackluster way to round out what was a very average burger. What Two Brothers slapped together scored a 46 out of a possible 63 points on the spreadsheet. Overall the ingredients were there, but the preparation wasn’t.
It looked better than it tasted
Side Note: The fries were generous enough in portion but they too, were quite average.
Two Brothers BBQ & Burger Grill is located at 3134 E Douglas Ave, Wichita, KS 67214, in College Hill. The service for my carry-out order was polite enough, but obligatory. The total price for my burger combo was a bit over $11.00 and time to order to carrying my bag out the door was about five minutes. For a joint that has “Burger Grill” in the name, this is NOT a repeat buy. Side Note: The Two Brothers location on Greenwich does not have burgers on the menu. Based on their scorecard, I’m giving Two Brothers BBQ & Burger Grill and their Big Brother Bacon Cheeseburger 4 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars, but barely 4 stars, it was almost a 3.
I look forward to the next burger joint tasting!
Here’s my list of 28 restaurants that tout burgers, more joints are to be added, I’m sure I missed a few when putting this challenge together.
Doing this in the name of “Food Science” (cough), I’m looking forward to finding the best locally crafted burger! I’ll eventually whittle this list down to the 10 Best Burger Joints in the Wichita Metro.
Related: How well does Two Brother’s BBQ represent the Air Capital?
Stay tuned and $pend Wisely My Friends…..
$pend Wisely My Friends…
Enjoy this post?
If you appreciate the article you just read and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or a monthly donation. Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike