North Chatt Cat

Stop 6 on the burger tour:  North Chatt Cat

Overall Score: 47.6(F)

	Burger	Sides	Service/Exp	Value	SCORE
John	--	--	--	--	47
Russell	28	6	6	5	45
Mark	28	7	8	6	49

Russell

This week's stop on the burger tour is somewhere I had never been prior to today and honestly it is somewhere I will probably never go to again.  Although I had never been, I had high expectations based on some reviews I had read.  To be short and sweet, this burger simply does not meet up to the standards of other burgers we have had on the tour.  When I took my first bite I thought they had given me a veggie burger.  The fries were average, at best.  Value took a hit based on their increase of price for using a credit card and the poor burger quality.

Simply put, the highlight of this trip was walking down to Clumpie's and getting an icecream cone after the disappointing burger.  I didn't think it could get worse than Sofa King, but it did.  Overall Score: 45 (F)

Mark

North Chatt Cat was this week's stop..and I must say I'm pretty disappointed.  I like the atmosphere, it's my kind of place.  The waitress was really nice and friendly, and honestly the value isn't too bad.  The problem here is the food.  The hamburger patty is obviously of the pre-made frozen variety and pretty much tasted like it.  The veggies were fine, the bun was fine, but the patty was just awful.  The fries were good and the sweet tea was served in a nice big glass.  I don't like the whole two-price menu.  It looks stupid and must be a nightmare to keep up with.  What would be wrong with just posting the price and then telling folks they get 10 percent off if they pay cash?  Seems like a much better idea to me.  Sorry folks, this isn't going to make it in the top 5 I'm afraid, and probably not the top 10 if I'm honest.
Overall Score: 49(F)

John

(Note:  John knows the owner and has recused himself from voting.  We've taken our scores and averaged them to add in as John's score.)

I was on a hiatus from the tour this week, but I am confident that my partners' ratings will be on the "Mark."  For the Composite Score, we have added an average of the other two.  I will, however, award the bonus lemon points in absentia as I have it on good authority that you get not one, but two, wedges with the Cat's tea as well as one with a to-go cup.   Overall Score: 47 (Averaged)(F)

Armando's

Stop 5 on the burger tour:  Armando's

Overall Score: 97.3(A+)

	Burger	Sides	Service/Exp	Value	SCORE
John	67.9	9.5	9.5	9.5	96
Russell	70	9	10	10	99
Mark	70	9	9	9	97

Russell

Armando's has been serving up great burgers since 1968 when you could get a burger for 85 cents.  Today they are still serving great burgers at a great price.  This has been the best burger on the tour so far and it is still a great value at only $4.15 for a cheeseburger.  And this cheeseburger is huge!!!

The meat was cooked perfectly and they are very generous with their toppings.  The meat was great, the bun was great, and the toppings were great.  I opted to get the tater tots which were excellent.  I also tried one of John's potato wedges.  These have also been the best side items on the tour so far.  The only negative about Armando's is having to stare at all of the Bama prints hanging on the wall.  Armando's is going to be very tough to beat.  I am ready to crown them the champions now, but we still have a lot more stops to go.  As John said, "we are on a *%$#&@ roll!!!!"   Overall Score: 99 (A+)

Mark

If I have ever been to Armando's, it's been so long ago that I don't remember ever going.  Needless to say I was pretty excited about today's trip.  The place is a typical burger joint.  I opted for the cheeseburger all-the-way and a side of fries.  You have to get your own drink, which is not a big deal, but will still cost them 1 point on my service score.  Our food arrived within 5 minutes of us sitting down.

Folks, if you go to Armando's for the burger, make sure you take plenty of appetite with you.  This burger is HUGE.  And tasty.  Great bun, the beef was cooked perfectly and the toppings were all fresh.  I think I had a full slice of onion on mine, which was fantastic.  The fries were more like potato wedges and were really good, although I prefer a more traditional french fry with my burger.  Overall, there aren't really any negatives at Armando's.  The atmosphere is great, the folks are friendly, the burger is championship caliber and the sides and service were way above average.  All of that AND it's a great value!   Armando's is certainly going to be one to beat.  Overall Score: 97(A+)

John

Gentlemen,     WE     ARE     ON    A    ROLL!   I'd like to give Armando’s (Main Street) a perfect score, but if there is one thing I have learned so far on this tour is it can get better and it has again this week.  So here goes.

I can't say the taste or the build of Charles' burger is any better than Shannan's:  perfectly cooked patty, cheese melted just so, crisp iceberg  lettuce—not the best for a salad (so I’ve heard; I would never eat one)—but you gotta have iceberg on a burger, fresh tomato and a thick slice of onion.  We must though give Armando  its due for a bigger burger and a tastier bun.  Going with a 9.7.

Hands down the wedge fries were the best we’ve had.  Yum, yum.  Tasty and delicious.  Sides get a 9.5.

Staff were really nice and attentive.  The place is perfect for our theme:  "Nothing fancy."  (In fact, I may have to lower my Tremont Tavern score for being too fancy.)  But I’m going to score the Dining Experience a little below Paddy’s, which has the neighborhood bar feel,  and Zarzour's, with its photos and red checkered tablecloths. Plus, although it didn’t offend me as much as it did Russell, I could do without all the Bama crap on the walls.   I’m ringing up a 9.5

Price was $8.58 so the value has to be the same as I gave Paddy's: 9.5.

Only real disappointment was the lemon—packets absolutely do NOT cut it.

I think we may be discovering that Chattanooga is the Burger Capital.

Overall Score: 96(A+)

Zarzour's Cafe

Stop 4 on the burger tour:  Zarzour's Cafe

Overall Score: 90.8(A)

	Burger	Sides	Service/Exp	Value	SCORE
John	66.5	6.5	10	8	91
Russell	66.5	5	10	7	88.5
Mark	70	7	10	6	93

Russell

Zarzour's Café has been a Chattanooga fixture since 1918.  That is 95 years for all you math majors.  It has been under continuous operation by the same family since its opening.  Zarzour's is known for their meat and three lunch menu, but they also have great burgers.  After all, we are in search of the best burger in Chattanooga.  Although we still have a lot of stops left on the tour, this burger is going to be tough to beat.  This burger included a thick beef patty cooked perfectly with fresh lettuce, tomato, and onion.  The fries were my only complaint.  They serve your typical frozen fries but charge the price of fresh hand cut fries.  The service was great (it was still not as good as Shirley at Paddy's though) and the value is not bad considering the quality of the burger.  My overall score is a B+ but the burger was an A+.  Overall Score: 88.5(B)

Mark

No doubt about it...this is the best burger I've had so far on the tour.  What's not to like about this place?    If you want a very unique dining experience along with some fantastic food, this is your place.  The

burger was absolutely perfect...great ingredients and cooked just right.  I thought the beef had a fantastic taste and the veggies were fresh.  The sweet tea was right on the money and the service was outstanding.  I really don't mind frozen crinkle cut fries, but I do have to knock off a couple of points there simply because fresh cut are better.  Burger, fries and tea ended up being $10, which isn't that bad, but I'll have to ding them a couple of points on value there as well.  Overall, this is a great burger dining experience!  At the beginning of the tour, I wondered if anywhere on our list would have a burger worthy enough to get a 10 rating from me....well folks, this one did.

Overall Score: 93(A)

John

Turns out it can get better than Paddy's at least when it comes to making a burger, but let's start from the bottom and work our way up.    This place is not about the fries.  Can't go much above a 6 for frozen fries.  (Mark can, but he comes from a troubled background.)   I'll make it a 6.5.  Value hurts overall ($10.00) and especially $2.50 for the frozen fries. Give it an 8.  But from here we are going WAY up.  Service/Dining Experience I just can't rate any lower than Paddy's so it gets a 10.  I love everything about the place:  cinder block house converted into restaurant, walls adorned with family photos going back to 1918 (this is thought to be the oldest restaurant run be the same family in the state and possibly the country), red checkered tablecloths--great character,  Service cannot be beat.  Waitress brought our food and asked which one of us ordered the clean plate.  Constantly checking on us.

But this was all about the burger.  What can I say?  It will be very hard to beat Shannan's burger.  I second everything Mark and Russell said.   Bonus point for tie stain.  I'm going to give it a 9.5.

Bonus lemon points awarded.

Overall Score: 91(A)