Evan's Burger

Address: 台北市大安區敦化南路一段198號1樓 (this location)

Telephone:(02)8773-9922

Hours: MON~THU  11:30~22:30  Last Call  21:30 ;FRI~SUN   09:30~23:00   Last Call  22:00

Let me be perfectly clear... I love hamburgers. Always have and always will.  This love affair will continue until my arteries are clogged and my blood tests come back confirming me part cow.  But this doesn't mean that I should just accept all these grilled patties as equals and be done with it.  People tend to think that there is no art in making a fantastic burger, but with the rise of so many gourmet burger joints in Taiwan (and really the world over) perhaps people are starting to view the burger in a different light. 

I have said elsewhere in this blog that I have yet to find a piece of steak in Taiwan that made me close my eyes and whisper a little prayer of thanks, but steak's poor cousin, the hamburger, has managed to find a better home.

Unfortunately, for a restaurant that has opened multiple locations here in my native land, Evans was a massive disappoint.  I tried to love it, I even tried to begrudgingly like it.  It hurts to be so harsh to something I love so much.. tough love never is easy, let's just get this over and done with.

What makes eating at Evans so regrettable? Look no further than the mess that is their burger patty.  There might be those in this world (I hope I name none of you friend...) that like a mushy crumbling burger patty, but I mean, then why even bother eating a burger then.  Go get some type of sloppy joe/ meat loaf amalgamation and be done with it.

If the fries were mess... I would've burned the place down.  But chili fries.. like death and taxes.. always a constant in life

Really, I have nothing else to say except that I found the actual meat (probably an important ingredient) to be tremendously lacking.  For a burger joint, there is no greater condemnation.

But I couldn't just leave it at that.  There are good things, but perhaps none of them have much to deal with the burger I ate.  They offer a good variety of different burgers on the menu with interesting names.  The place is clean, and the basement level seating is large enough to seat big parties. 

My nephew went with the chicken burger, and he found that to be much better, but he's a teenager, so I basically ignore him.  All joking aside though, you might be better off ordering poultry and their breakfast items. 

When chili can't save you, something is terribly awry.

So there you have it, Evans has been dissed.  There are so many burger establishments now, you can probably walk 2 blocks and stumble into a better hamburger than this.  If you are adamant, and still want to give a try, just don't say I didn't warn you.

Overall Evan's receives:

-Til next time-

Cozi Burger

Address: No. 223-2 Jinhua Street, Taipei Taiwan.  台北市大安區金華街223之2號

Telephone: (02)2358 1809

Hours: Mon-Fri: 11:00AM-10:00PM ; Sat-Sun: 10:00AM-10:00PM

I might have been away for a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been eating.  It's true that most of the food that makes up my diet now is courtesy of the generous government of Taiwan as part of my mandatory military service, but I will not neglect my blogging duties and fit in posts when I can. Appreciate the patience, and hope that you dear reader will still check back when you can and spread the good word.

Cozi Burger was one of the last meals I enjoyed with my friends before my hair was taken from me.  It is part of the ever expanding net of western eateries that is finding a stronger and stronger foot hold here in Taiwan.  I'm certain there will never be a day when the Taiwanese Xiao Chi that I love so much gets replaced by foreign fare, but the margin will probably continually get smaller at an ever diminishing rate.

1885 Burger Store is the only other burger joint that I've properly reviewed on this blog, and in my estimation, Cozi Burger falls short of the quality established by 1885.  I happily and greedily devoured every bite of my burger here at Cozi, but there were somethings lacking that would've turned it from a good/decent burger to a fantastic one.  

Besides the burgers that inhabit the menu, Cozi offers a wide selection of American Brunch options and a variety of pastas.  But I always like to point out, when the word burger is explicitly worked into the title of your restaurant, a burger is what I shall order.  Cozi is located right next to Patisserie la Douceur in the widely popular Yong Kang Street area that is famous for its fantastic food.  The decor is simple, and has ample seating as the restaurant is divided into two separate levels.

Where as at 1885 Burger I opted for a simple burger to really taste the flavor of the meat itself, at Cozi, I decided to try a more adventurous approach and tried a burger that was a little bit more off the beaten path. You are not mistaken, that is a combination of bananas and peanut butter heaped on top of a burger patty.  I've seen PB and B sandwiches, but they were of course missing the beef that makes this combination so intriguing (and possibly disgusting to some).
Cozi, isn't the only burger joint that offers this combo, but most other burger places I think leave out the banana and just incorporate the peanut butter, but who couldn't use some extra potassium in their diet?  Upon the first bite, my taste buds were a little thrown off, and thought that it was slightly too sweet and cloying.  But I must say, as I moved along, I began to enjoy the burger more and more and thought while this isn't a type of burger everyone can find joy in, people who enjoy an interesting mix of textures can definitely give it a try.

  Burger selections tried by my friends.  Fish Burger, Philly Cheese Steak, and the Lucy.

The biggest disappointment according to my friends was the fish burger.  She complained of its dryness and the hardness of the skin.  Having a bite of it myself, I can confirm her reports about the burger, and is definitely an option I would stay away from.  The other two burgers were perfectly fine, and I was happy with the portions offered by Cozi.  

I think my two complaints about the burgers here are about the patty and the bread.  Lets be clear again that I enjoyed my burger, but the bread wasn't soft enough (for my tastes) and the beef was slightly overcooked and lacked that.. juiciness I want when I dig in.  With so many burger options cropping up all over the city, there really isn't a need to settle for something that you don't deem to be worthwhile.  As far as gourmet burgers are concerned (i've subsequently eaten at both Evan's and Bravo Burger), Cozi ranks last in my estimation.

If I were to be walking by, and was in need of a hamburger fix, then I would very happily walk through its doors, but if I had options, then it is my opinion that Cozi deserves to be ignored.  

Over Cozi Burger Receives:

-Til Next Time-

1885 Burger Store

Address: No.24-1 Pucheng St. , Daan District, Taipei.  

Telephone: (02)2367-8258

Hours: M-Th: 11:00AM-10:00PM; F: 11:00AM-11:00PM; Sat: 9:30AM-11:00PM; Sun: 9:30AM-10:00PM

There is no more basic part of the perceived American dining experience than the hamburger.  When visiting Taiwan as a child, all I ever heard when visiting relatives was that I must eat a lot of hamburgers, because that's how people in the States apparently get so large.  Its safe to say that times have changed in the last 20 years or so, in that food is now global, and that really, one can get any type of cuisine in almost any developed country.

But the permeation of food throughout the world isn't the only fantastic change to have happened in these few short decades.  There also has been a push to take any type of food, regardless of its pedigree, and to really dress it up and make that item into a gourmet meal.  Burgers use to be thought of as just some part of a diner's menu or something that is picked up after you scream your order into an intercom.  

But boy, has the burger certainly come a long way.  

Banana chocolate milkshake.  About what you'd expect from such an fantastic invention.  Could of used a little something to dress it up however. Appearance wise.. a little lacking.   140NT

Quaint little store with all matters of mix-matching decorations.  Booths were comfy.  

Now you can get a burger patty of almost any type with ingredients that are usually reserved for michelin star restaurants.  The gourmet burger has really become something of an art form, and while I wouldn't say that 1885 Burger Store is such a place, it is however on a growing list of Taipei burger joints that try to bring an interesting interpretation to this timeless classic in the food pantheon.

 My burger.  Mushrooms with pepperjack cheese.  Tried to keep it simple to really see how the quality of the meat would be. 210NT

Some fries and something healthy to fool your digestive system to not hate you.

1885 Burger Store is located in relatively close proximity to Shida University and the adjoining night market. It is one of the many burger establishments that surround the school, and it really is in a great location for the type of food it serves.  If I were to open a burger store, I definitely want as much walk by traffic as humanly possible and would definitely want to cater my creations to a younger crowd.  The fact that the universities are also full of foreigners who might be a bit more partial to a juicy burger patty also definitely helps.  

 Friends burger of choice.  Pineapple bbq cheese burger.  Fantastic combination of words right there. 230NT

I would categorize this as my first real burger experience since the move back.  I've popped into Burger King/Mcdonalds once or twice.. but that was more of a guilty pleasure than anything I would want to call a satisfying meal.  I wanted to keep it simple for my first burger so I elected for a pepperjack cheese and mushroom burger.  They offer you three types of bread: ciabatta, whole wheat, and a cream bread, I opted for the ciabatta.  

I was a little surprised that they didn't ask how I wanted the burger to be done.  It stands to reason that when dealing with hamburger meat, you probably don't want it too raw, but what if I had wanted it well done? That option was not given to me, and I'm a little miffed by that.  The meat was very juicy, and really was full of natural flavor (even before I slathered ketchup on it).  It was of an adequate size, and the fries were crispy and fresh.  

Up close and personal. 

1885 Burger Store also serves up all manners of breakfast food at all hours of the day, but I don't think I would come to a restaurant named the Burger Store.. and order something that wasn't a burger.. but maybe that's just me.  They offer daily specials that will save you some NT (they include a drink with the order), and really, overall the burger was more than adequate.  

Their signature creation is the PB&J hamburger (i'm as intrigued by the possibilities as you are), but like I said, for this trip, I wanted to only judge the patty on its own merits without too much extraneous flavors to clutter it up.  So in that regard, I was very happy with what I ordered and what I received.  There were somethings lacking, but the place was pretty crowded on a Tuesday night, so they are definitely doing something right.

There will be more trips to more burger establishments on this food roller coaster of mine.  But this was definitely a good start.  

Overall 1885 Burger Store receives: 

-Til Next Time-