Restaurant Review - Matchbox American Kitchen

There are a lot of smaller local chains that are around these days. Restauranteurs are getting much better with getting a concept up and running and having the process worked out much more quickly in the past. This allows them to try and stay around with economies of scale and to return some of the money to investor much more quickly. Matchbox American kitchen fits into that mold. With not more than a handful of locations, they are prevalent enough to be accessible, yet somewhat special. At least that's the goal.

Matchbox fits right into the mold of too many new restaurants. Exposed steel, reclaimed wood, very hipster chic. I get why, it looks clean and nice, and is less expensive than other designs. However, at this point, it's not a really good way to separate yourself visually from the swaths of other restaurants selling new age 'pub fare' or bar food. This particular location located in Rockville, MD was fine, but it didn't seem too inviting overall. For comparison, I would look to Iron Rooster which is very similar but has more down home colors that bring it some warmth as opposed to the red of Matchbox.


Outside of the decor, the menu is standard fare and my wife started with cream of crab soup. The soup was nice in it's flavor and the amount of crab. No complaints. However it did come out lukewarm, for her that's fine but if I had ordered it I would want it to be actually a hot bowl. I ordered a double pepperoni brick oven pizza. My wife ordered a burger which came with a ridiculous mountain of onion straws. The onions were good though, nice flavor and texture but in my mind the presentation was crazy overdone. I don't need that many onion straws, it seems like it could be very wasteful. They also put a little bit too much arugula on the burger itself. My pizza was somewhat disappointing. The pepperoni was very good. It definitely was the star of the show because the sauce was boring and the crust was bland as well. Regarding the preparation, the crust wasn't as crispy as I would like it to be in the middle.


Matchbox might have had an off day in terms of preparation. That happens. However I don't know if the food itself warrants giving them a second chance. While it wasn't bad, it wasn't groundbreaking either. For my pizza I would prefer to go to Blaze or somewhere like that which is less expensive but tastes better to me. The soup was good, but lukewarm and the burger, while presented nice, and decent flavor, doesn't do enough to warrant a repeated visit. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and other times...it just is. This was one of those times. The one thing that does still interest me, is the opportunity to try their short ribs....I am there for that.


Rating: 3/5

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Taste Test - Ramenburger

If you're into food and the latest trends in what's hot, you probably have seen the original Ramen Burger, a beef patty with sauce and some greens between two patties made up of ramen noodles. Now like any successful fad, there are copycats and you can find them in a few more places as other chefs of course pick up on it and remake it. That's life, but as far as I know, there is no where near me that actually sells a similar burger unless you go to DC and catch the original Ramen burger at a pop up shop.


This weekend, at the Emporiyum in DC I had my opportunity and you cold tell it was a hot commodity. There was a nice long line for the Ramen burger, but it moved quickly as the process is well oiled by now. Grilled burgers and pre-made ramen buns are prepped assembly style for your consumption.


The bun is just regular ramen, but the thing is, it can be hard to eat because ramen isn't prone to sticking to anything. When you add in the generous slathering of a teriyaki/soy sauce combination that isn't too wild or far out there. It is actually much more tame than I was expecting honestly. The beef patty is just that. It wasn't the best one I have ever had and I guess I expected the entire thing to have some sort of new or slick innovation. I sort of imagine a Five guys patty being much better in it's place and adding a little depth to it.


Overall I can say that I have experienced the Ramen Burger. Was it worth it? Sure why not, you only live once. Would I run to go and find one now if they were popping up again? I doubt it. It just didn't taste that good in order to justify it for me. It's an interesting thing to do but it wasn't wowing in the way I expected. Some of that is my own fault for build-up for sure, but at the end of the day it was just a decent burger...on ramen noodles.


Rating: 2.5/5

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Restaurant Review - Shake Shack

I have stuff just sitting around to post and this one is a place that has such a legend behind it at this point, and a great chef backing that it might be somewhat controversial at the end. Shake Shack is a public company now, with huge fanfare and a very strategic growth plan. While the fast casual upscale burger business is booming, no one has the reputation that the Shack has at this point. So during Baltimore Comic con weekend, the family made a trip to the Baltimore Inner Harbor location to see what the hype was about.

There is no shortage of burger spots in the area and a new one Smashburger is opening soon around the corner from my home and there is a heavy presence of Five Guys. Being that one of the big things that was being hailed was the chicken sandwich, I decided to go with that and step outside of the burger box to see what some are comparing to the infamous Chick-fil-a sandwich in a favorable manner. My wife went with the grilled hot dog smothered in cheese, while the kids both had the shack burgers with sauce on the side.

The chicken sandwich was good, but it didn't break any ground. I wouldn't wait in line for it if there was a chick-fil-a close by is what I'm saying. It has shredded lettuce and Buttermilk herb mayo which was cool to me. It just wasn't crazy good. I had a lemonade to drink which was excellent however.

The kids were less than impressed with their burgers, although my son did tell me that it was better once the shack sauce was on the burger, which he tried after tasting it without. They also had milkshakes which just felt like Mcdonalds to my taste buds. My daughter openly said she preferred the Five Guys burgers. My wife said the hot dog was as expected.

Overall, I was not terribly impressed, given all of the hype surrounding the chain. It wasn't bad but it didn't make me want to rush back when there are other versions of this concept that taste better and are more affordable.


Rating: 2.5/5

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Places - Burger Fi

This week's brand new lunch selection was a place called Burger Fi in the new Luarel Town Center. This burger joint has all of the modern claims to fame that are hip with the publiuc these days. Burgers made with fresh more natural if not all natural ingredients, quick but not fast service, and a dining area with exposed wood and aluminum accents.

The thing is I have never been to Shake Shack yet this place seems just like what I expect it to be, only less crowded. The menu board is simple with a regular burger being a little pricey because once you start adding cheese, bacon, specialties it can add up. Small fries are like most places now where you get them dumped in your bag and I had a 'concrete' which I had assumed was a trademarked kind of thing but I guess it isn't. Red Velvet, which was cake swirled with a cream cheese tasting custard.

The burger itself was just alright to me. Maybe it should be with the sauce they make to be at it's best but it really lacked a stand out characteristic. The bacon wasn't memorable either and for a company preaching sustainability, it seemed over done in the take out container which is made from recycled materials but seemed to much. The fries were fine, I like mine a little darker most times but I'm not going to complain about them.

The Red Velvet Concrete was definitely the best thing. The cake asn't too dry and it was a good mix of cake to custard. The custard was smooth and creamy and had good flavor. That one thing was worth it's cost. Overall though I wasn't feeling it very much. The prices aren't great so it isn't a value play, I get it, but for the price I need the flavors to pop and all of the elements to make their mark. Bacon should never be forgettable and the burger really underwhelmed me with the lack of any real flavor.

Rating: 2.5/5

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Restaurant review The Burger Joint

Burgers have made a resurgence in popularity and there are always new burger style chains as we fall in love with classic Americana all over again. A stone's throw away from a Five Guys in Columbia, Maryland I decided to give this spot a try even though the Yelp reviews (you can follow me there too!) were a bit spotty. I took the chance anyway.

The Burger Joint is actually pretty small and simple in the design. The dining room had a few patrons there which was cool being as though it isn't that crowded which means people like to sit and eat in. But the walls were corny with popular 80's classic pop album covers on the walls. They weren't original sleeves, but reproductions specifically to go on the walls. It wouldn't be bad if they were original or unique but they were so generic and run of the mill it took away from the dining room to me. The menu is pretty decent and there are a good amount of options including specialties like their Ahi Tuna Burger. They also have milkshakes but at 4.99 each they are well on the high side of the price scale.




I ordered a regular cheeseburger with bacon and lettuce which I threw away because it was vanity that made me order it to begin with. They give you a buzzer like they use at the Olive Garden to let you know when your food is ready. It keeps them from yelling I guess. to the burger, I am a well done man and the burger was cooked perfectly. It was think and still juicy and fully cooked. The bacon was crispy but the bun oddly had a bunch of sesame seeds on only one side. The flavor was different. It was smoky like freshly grilled and thick. This is part of their appeal or niche, fresh ground burgers made from aged beef and grilled over an open flame, not flattened and fried like at a Five Guys or Wendys.

Looking at their website, starting in Philly, these burgers did remind me of the Philly Gourmet variety that you can get from the frozen food section at the market. I'm not generally a fan of these thick style burgers but this one, while having that consistency that I personally don't like, was good and flavorful. I could see easily how some might slather these up in steak sauce before eating. I also got cheddar on my burger but the flavor was drowned out by the burger though the applewood smoked bacon brought a good amount of saltiness to the meat.

I also got some fries and I wasn't impressed at first glance. They looked like thick frozen fries but they were actually cooked perfectly. I like crispy exteriors and these were almost like potato chip crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. Pretty much perfect.

Overall BGR, The Burger Joint is pretty good but for me the price was a bit high. The burger was good but not my favorite ever though the fries made up for any personal shortcomings I had with the sandwich itself.

Rating: 3/5

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