Nosh Pit

Critic Watch: Uneeda ’Nother Review of Uneeda Burger?

You got it! Three local critics weigh in on one burger joint.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on May 25, 2011 at 08:26AM 0 Comments

Photo: Lucas Anderson

The waffle fries at Uneeda Burger are “terrific,” says Providence Cicero.

Right, so. Not as many articles here as we had with Revel, but three local reviews of Scott Staples’ Fremont burger joint, Uneeda Burger, give us plenty to compare.

Let’s begin at the beginning with The Stranger’s Lindy West, who went to Uneeda back in February and ordered one each of the regular burger (made with Painted Hills beef) and the Waygu burger, a $4 upgrade.

Then she blind-tasted them to see if she could tell the difference.

First of all, let me say that both burgers were excellent. Nothing wrong with relatively well-off suburban cows. Painted Hills, A+. HOWEVER. The Wagyu burger was a revelation. I mean literally like the book of Revelation, like eight flaming man-goats descended on fiery Segways and beat me in the face with their righteous swords of deliciousness….The Wagyu patty was soft without being insubstantial, drippier, darker, and beefier than its counterpart. The Wagyu burger made you forget that ketchup exists. Seriously, it was so good. If my mother were a cow, I would still eat this hamburger. If I were a hamburger, I would eat this hamburger. If I were this hamburger, I would eat myself.

Three months later, Uneeda got a write-up in the Seattle Weekly from newcomer Hanna Raskin.

Much space was given over to an interview with Staples regarding concept and execution, and some was spent describing the presence of kids at Uneeda burger (“The adults responsible for the infants within don’t needa burger; they needa babysitter”). But there was plenty about the food too. Raskin’s advice: order your burger nude.

It’s a shame more customers don’t treat themselves to Uneeda’s naked burger, as the subtle, drippy meat is too easily eclipsed by the strong flavors of ingredients that are more bistro than ballpark. A burger seasoned with ritzy-sounding black-truffle salt and trimmed with deeply sautéed button mushrooms, shallots, and Gruyère tastes like a solidified French onion soup. And woe to the customers who waste their Wagyu dollars on a burger smeared with a vinegary, Lexington-style barbecue sauce and capped with a wig of faintly greasy fried onions. It’s not a bad sandwich, but it relegates beef to a nonspeaking role.

The very next day there came a review from The Seattle Times’ Providence Cicero. She bestowed three stars upon Uneeda Burger, complimenting just about everything on the menu. The only hint of negativity came when she mentioned that the line was long. Once.

And Cicero begs to differ with Ms. West on the matter of the Waygu upgrade.

If you don’t mind paying almost twice the price, you can substitute local Wagyu beef, delicious but really not necessary. The Painted Hills beef has great flavor. Every patty, griddled to a careful and consistent medium-rare, blushes a faint pink in the middle. Toasted, butter-slicked buns capture the gushing juice.

In the immortal words of Frank Zappa: “Hey, that sounds delicious.”

Add a Comment »

Tags: Hamburgers, Fremont, Critic Watch

Critic Watch: Revel Rousers

Seattle critics heap praise on the Korean street-food spot in Fremont

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on May 10, 2011 at 03:47PM 0 Comments

Critics’ Darlings Seif Chirchi and Rachel Yang of Revel have a lot to smile about.

Photo Courtesy Jackie Baisa

(New series! When all of our local critics jump on one restaurant and review it, we compare what they say.)

Wow, but Seattle’s food critics enjoy their Revel. Let’s have a look.

I didn’t encounter any dish I wouldn’t happily have again.

That’s the Seattle Times’ Providence Cicero in her review back in March.

In an article with a dek that refers to the restaurant as a “spectacular winner,” Seattle Magazine’s Allison Austin Scheff speaks of the joys of thumbing her nose at other cities via Revel:

Sometimes, it’s easy to fall into ‘other city’ envy…. But when a restaurant like Revel comes along right here at home, it’s one more notch in our belt, and the competitive food nerd inside me can’t help herself: Eat your heart out, suckers.

Bethany Jean Clement at The Stranger was a bit more mellow in her assessment, but she had good things to say nonetheless.

Revel feels like a grown-up dining hall—loud, crowded, fun. But, you know, with tasty updated Korean food.

Surly Gourmand, writing for Seattle Weekly’s Voracious blog, had this to say:

There’s nothing quite like Revel in Fremont. For years the region was devoid of fine dining, sandwiched between Wallingford and Ballard, both bastions of high-end neighborhood restaurants. Previously, diners in Fremont had to settle for a seemingly endless parade of Thai restaurants, or Cuban sandwich shops that keep unicorn’s hours, or shitty overpriced Mexican food that was really just a front for a 24-hour frat party. Now, with Revel, Fremont finally has a real contender. May their competitors die in a raging fiery lava flow!

This magazine’s Kathryn Robinson came to her own enthusiastic conclusions:

Here’s the thing: Street food—comfort food—has no business being technically flawless, even less being groundbreaking. Revel’s is both.

And finally, the new girl. Seattle Weekly’s Hanna Raskin chose Revel for her first-ever Seattle review. She had a few finger wags—not enough servers, for one—but in the end she joined the other happy critics.

When I think about returning to Revel, my mind fixates on the corned-lamb salad…I suspect what I liked best about the salad was what I like best about Revel: It was gutsy, unexpected, and nonchalantly delicious.

And there you have it: total consensus.

Add a Comment »

Tags: New Seattle Restaurants, Restaurants, Fremont, Revel, Critic Watch