Pow! Bam! Burger!
BY EVAN WALLIS - FEBRUARY 1ST, 2013 (Cincinnati Magazine)
A lot of places have burgers on the menu, but few places have only
burgers on the menu. Such is Whack Burger. The comic book-themed Covington joint
opened in June and serves up burgers that would still appear large when grasped
by Andre the Giant's fist. Flavors abound in the 14 burger "styles," to wit:
Curry Chutney (onion chutney, curry seasoning, and shredded lettuce); Brie &
Apple (grilled red apples, melted brie, and ketchup); and Mediterranean (garlic
hummus, black olives, feta cheese, and sprouts). For the timid, there are a few
less wacky options, such as the Classic (bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and
onion) or the namesake Whack Burger (bacon, jalapeno, onion, lettuce, cheese,
and a secret sauce). Once you choose your style, choose from beef, turkey, or
black bean patties. The carnivorous options are processed and packed by Heringer
Meats, right around the corner; the black bean patty, which is more like a black
bean mash, is cooked in-house with spices and veggies. You can even get the
whole thing chopped up on a salad. While our favorite was the beef patty, all
on-the-bun choices have two things in common: they are quite tasty, and terribly
messy. The sheer size of the burgers makes them hard to handle-the toppings will
spill back onto your plate, but you'll still scoop them up. All you need is a
pile of napkins, a monstrous appetite, and the fortitude to keep eating when you
really should stop. At the end of our meal, none of our plates were cleared,
none of our faces were clean, but all appetites were sated. Pro tip: Eat at the
bar in front of the mirror so you can watch yourself consume a gigantic,
one-of-a-kind burger and revel in your messy face. Then wipe it off and go back
to work.
Burger Hall of Fame:
The new class
BY POLLY CAMPBELL - MAY
9TH, 2013 (Cincinnati
Enquirer)
This locally owned burger shop uses a
broiler to cook their burgers, and you can tell; they've got a nice char. My
Kalifornia Burger was almost pink inside, and there was no actual meat juice,
but it was juicy to bite into.
The addition of avocado, corn salsa and sprouts was good, and burgers come in
many variations, including a Jambalaya and a Brie and apple burger. On the side,
I opted for a nice tangy broccoli slaw. That's different.
Unique Ingredients,
Comic Books Inspire New Burger Joint
BY
BRIAN CROSS - JUNE 26TH, 2012 (City Beat)
What do ground beef, onomatopoeia and a slew of fresh ingredients have in
common? Well, nothing, really, unless you're at the new gourmet burger
restaurant WhackBurger in Covington. The small restaurant has been open for
about a month now, serving big, juicy burgers with creative toppings right
across the street from Madison Theater.
I'm a huge fan of restaurants with simple menus and a clear specialty, and WhackBurger takes the prize for both these things. They offer essentially one
thing (you guessed it - burgers). There are 14 styles of burgers and six
different sides. You pick one of each and pay the only price listed on the menu:
$9.95. Simple, yes. But the options are anything but boring.
Take, for instance, the Egg & Green Chile burger with a fried egg, melted bleu
cheese and green chile relish or the Aufiderzein with grilled sauerkraut, Swiss
cheese and spicy mustard. Pow!
OK, so you might be wondering what's up with the name and the sound effects.
Inside the small storefront restaurant, at the end of the long bar-seating on
the left side, you'll find the inspiration for owner Mike Harwood's first
restaurant: pages and pages from action comic books covering the back wall. The
rest of the space is small but open with only a few tables, and the storefront
window makes it inviting and bright.
I headed down to Whack Burger on a recent Saturday night with my girlfriend and
a couple friends. The size and seating options of the restaurant had us a little
confused at first, being somewhere between a proper sit-down restaurant and a
carry-out-only joint.
But there is an obvious counter to order from before you find your seat, and
they'll bring the food out to you. The menu, though simple, allows for plenty of
customization. Choose from beef, turkey or black bean for your burger, white or
wheat brioche bun, then toppings and lastly a side. Drink options are limited to
typical fountain drinks and a few bottled beverages; no alcohol.
I went with the Fried Green Tomato burger with beef on whole wheat and a side of
fresh cut fries. This beast of a burger is topped with a slice of fried green
tomato, pepper jack cheese, bacon, lettuce and malt vinegar mayonnaise. The beef
was a thick patty cooked medium-well - just a hint of pink, but still very
juicy. The toppings were piled high and the bun was sturdy enough not to turn
into a mushy mess, which is quite a feat with a burger this juicy.
If I could pick any restaurant-reviewing superpower, it might be the ability to
fit a burger of this size into my mouth. But I did my best, nibbling through it
until it was gone (I might the slowest eater in the world). This burger was very
tasty, but the fried green tomato paired with the bacon and juicy beef makes it
quite rich. Next time, I'll try a lighter option like the Brie & Apple burger
with grilled red apples, melted brie and ketchup. The fries were huge, fresh and
tasty. But perhaps due to their size, we all found them to be overly oily.
My girlfriend is a vegetarian, so she went with the Black & Bleu burger with a
black bean patty. The Black & Bleu has the usual blackened Cajun seasoning and
bleu cheese crumbles with the addition of a spicy jalapeno hot sauce. The black
bean patty was thick and flavorful, and we both loved Whack Burger's spicy take
on the Black & Bleu. We both also liked the broccoli slaw she chose as her side.
It had lots of shredded broccoli in a thin and pretty typical cole slaw style
dressing. Other sides include fresh cut chips, fruit salad and jambalaya.
I should also mention the turkey burger option, which our friends got on the
Kalifornia burger they shared. The turkey was cooked through while still being a
juicy tasty substitute for beef. They enjoyed the combination of avocado,
sprouts, cheddar and salsa on the Kalifornia.
Overall, we all enjoyed our food and the experience. The only beef I have with
Whack Burger is the lack of seating for larger parties. But with all the
delicious options at a great price, I'm sure that won't deter plenty of
neighborhood regulars and concert-goers from coming back again and again. One
caveat: You better go hungry. You're not going to want to leave anything on your
plate.
Super array of choices
powers colorful Covington spot
BY GARIN PIRINA - 2012 (MetroMix)
Covington's new gourmet burger joint wants to sucker punch you with their array
of burger styles and graphic novel motifs. Located in the Wedding District
across the street from Madison Theater, this hip eatery deserves a visit whether
or not it's a show night.
The mood: Keeping with the comic book theme, blue, yellow, and red graced three
walls with a yellow lightning bolt cutting down the middle of the azure wall.
One wall was plastered with comic panels featuring sounds like "choom croom
doom" and "wham." For dining in, there's four tables and a long counter facing a
mirrored wall plus two outdoor tables.
The food: It's counter service here so we perused the menu featuring 14
different styles of burgers. Here's how it works: Pick a protein patty: beef,
turkey, or black bean, then choose a white or wheat brioche bun or get it
bunless as a salad.
The multitude of burger options seriously stumped me. They have a Kalifornia
(avocado, black bean and corn salsa, garlic yogurt spread), egg and green chile,
curry chutney, an Italian with pizza sauce and Aufiderzein (grilled sauerkraut,
swiss, spicy mustard), and really, you can't go wrong with any combination.
Adam immediately ordered the Supercuban on Wheat (beef patty, smoked ham,
provolone, swiss, and spicy mustard). For $9.95, you get one side, so Adam chose
their Jambalaya.
I decided on a black bean burger as the Fried Green Tomato with pepper jack
cheese, malt vinegar mayo, bacon, and lettuce as a salad, ideal considering I
usually only eat what's between the bun anyway,
A few minutes later, our food arrived piping hot. Adam's burger was piled high
and my salad was layered with spring lettuce, the burger, the fried green
tomatoes and smothered in cheesy goodness. I liked how all of my condiments came
in separate cups and that the burger was soft, an indicator of that hand crafted
freshness.
The verdict: I really liked how they happily catered to both vegetarians and
carnivores with their build-your-own-burger concept, which made me want to try
the rest of their styles.
Official Review #39
BESTBURGERSAROUND.BLOGSPOT.COM - DECEMBER 17TH, 2013
Four Covington entrepreneurs share why
and how their river city dreams are coming true
BY JEROD THEOBALD - MARCH 18TH,
2014 (KYforward.com)
SOJCast #19 - The Unexpected
BY THE SONS OF JOY - JANUARY 25TH, 2013
ORDER NOW!
859-360-3361
715 Madison Ave.
Covington, KY 41011
HOURS:
TUE - WED 11am - 9pm*
THU - SAT 11am - 10pm*
*Closed 3pm - 5pm daily
CLOSED SUNDAY AND MONDAY