Urban Stack

Stop 10 on the burger tour:  Urban Stack

Overall Score: 89.6(B+)

	Burger	Sides	Service/Exp	Value	SCORE
John	65.8	8	10	7	90.8
Russell	63	8	10	3	84
Mark	70	9	7	8	94

Russell

Looking back, I'm not really sure why Urban Stack was on our list for Burger Tour 2013.  Our motto is "Nothing Fancy."  Urban Stack is in a whole different category of place than we have been on the tour thus far.  Urban Stack is somewhere that each of us have been to many times.  We all knew what we were going to get.  Urban Stack has always been consistent with quality and service.  The thing that hurts Urban Stack in our rating is value.  The Big Cheese was $6.99 and the fries were $3.00.  The fries were good, but $3.00 is a bit much.  Then add a drink and the total was almost $14 before tip.  

If you want a good burger, Urban Stack is a good choice.  Just don't leave your wallet at home!!!   Overall Score: 84 (B)

Mark

I've eaten several of the gourmet type burgers at Urban Stack, so I had a pretty good idea what to expect today.  In fairness to the other places on the tour, we agreed to order the most basic burger they have, which turns out to be an Angus burger with white cheddar and grilled onions, and although I love the sweet potato fries, I ordered the regular fries for the review.  This is a fantastic burger, and even though this is the most basic you can order, you'll love it.  The beef is tender and tasty and I really like the bun that it's served on.  I also love the little pickled cucumbers they serve with the burgers.  The fries were really nice, fresh and served piping hot.  The sweet tea was on the money, and Andrew never let it get below half full. So why won't this burger take the top spot?  There are two reasons.

Urban Stack goodness

First:  the value score for this burger is going to hurt it some.  Yes, I realize that you have to pay for quality ingredients, and the burger is actually not a bad value at $6.99, but honestly $3.00 for an order of fries is a little much, and $2.25 for tea (while the norm everywhere)  is just too expensive.  My meal was around $13.25 after tax, so if they would knock the fries and tea down a little, they could get it to around $10.00.
Second:  the atmosphere of Urban Stack, while nice, is more like that of a chain restaurant.  You aren't going to find the little knickknacks here that we've come to appreciate on our previous tour stops (little league team photos, porcelain Elvis busts, NASCAR items, family photos, you get the idea).  This environment is much more commercial, and quite frankly this place borders on being "too fancy" for inclusion on the Tour.  That being said, let me say I love this place and when friends from out of town ask me where they should eat when visiting, Urban Stack is always one of my recommendations.  Overall Score: 94 (A)

John

I have to begin with a shout out to Stacy, Kyle and Walker at Merv’s.   Hope you have recovered from the high water and are back in action.

This one is tough to score.  As one of our many loyal readers asked, does Urban Stack, with its 100% vegetarian fed, hormone & antibiotic free beef, choice of four cheeses, including house-made pimento cheese and chipotle ketchup, fall within our “Nothing Fancy” motto?  Maybe not, but what’s done is done and we’ll just have to deal with it.

First a disclaimer:  I love this place.  The food is fantastic and I would go a lot more if it weren’t so pricey.  But I have to bring it in below Merv’s, Armando’s and Zarzour’s (in my scoring) primarily because, as good as the burger is and it is VERY good, for this tour I’m looking for a burger on a sesame seed bun, thick tomato and onion slices, mayo and mustard, not balsamic onions and a “special” sauce.  Having said that, I must repeat, Raoul made us a fantastic burger.  Score 9.4.

I thought the fries were just so-so:  8.0.

Andrew was an outstanding server.  He appeared within minutes of our sitting down, checked on us regularly without being intrusive, brought us refills without asking and was very affable.  It is amazing how much a difference a good server can make.  The ambiance is quite pleasant.  Service/Experience is a 10.

I thought value might be difficult to score because I am willing to pay more for better ingredients.   But when I thought about the other establishments, it made it easier.  Like Mark, I’m okay with seven bucks for the burger, but $3.00 for fries and $2.25 for tea?  I don’t think Urban Stack is paying any more for potatoes and tea than Paddy’s is.  Certainly can’t say that Urban Stack is worth $3.00 more than Tremont Tavern.  Score:  7.

Overall Score: 90.8(A)

Lemon bonus:  3.5 (I’m awarding an extra .5 because Andrew--did I mention that he is an excellent server—included a lemon when he brought the second glass of tea.)

Next stop on the tour:  Porker's