Zips Cafe in Cincinnati OH

ROAD TRIP again yea!
I'm still in search of the elusive best hamburger.
Mt. Lookout Square in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Zips was established in 1926.
Everyone says Zips cafe so the search begins again it's 8:00 on a Friday night, April 2 2009.
And it is beginning to rain
As I step into the door I knew something was different how the door way was set into the building and the charm of the place from the all wood paneling the big tables and the bar area located at the back of the place.
As I sat down to order I met a waitress names Kate truly nice and very professional I ordered the basic burger with cheese and the works, and the Onion rings looked pretty good, a little overcooked for my taste but life goes on. The burger was tasty but over cooked. The lettuce was McDonald's style shredded as you can see in the picture. I had a local beer and when I got the bill it was $15.50 incl the tip.
I'll give it a 6.5 to a 7 on my scale of 10 being the highest.

Overall if I had it to do again I would have opted for Arnold's in the downtown area.
Otherwise save the money and head on over to Wendy's and save $10.00.

All Information is copyrighted and owned by © Blair Morgan 2009

Rating # 6.5 Looking for a good cup of Joe / Lattie, latte

March 28, 2009
Well it's Memphis time again or was that Miller time what ever I just spent $9.01 for a medium cup of Latte and a extra shot of espresso from the lobby in the Peabody hotel.
I guess the owners didn't get their stimulus package and they are making up the their portion on me toward the 18,500 for each tax payer WOW!
Good flavor but not $9.01 worth!
Maybe it could be the person behind the counter was looking at the area code for the phone # 901?
or maybe # 590194? on the receipt.
I will say the cups sure are nice and looks custom made, the sleeve was glued to the cup and the story about the ducks at the Peabody hotel.

I'll give it a 6.5 out of a possible 10 being the highest.
All Information is copyrighted and owned by © Blair Morgan 2009

Rating #7 Memphis Dyer's deep fried hamburgers

Well it's Saturday Night and I'm in Memphis, TN. There's a Basketball game in town 2009 NCAA Men's south regional Oklahoma Vs. North Carolina and town is alive and jumping, 15 thousand people. I'm headed to Beale street to check out the Deep fried Hamburgers at Dyer's Burgers since 1912. Ah yes the flavor of the perfect burger awaits my taste buds.
Dyer's motto is they are still using the same grease that they have been using since it all began back in 1912 "91 year old grease" maybe 1 table spoon of the grease from the end of each day is used each morning to begin the daily routine? What ever ...... If it works for them more power to them.
Chief cook we will just call him Mr. M for now. see picture above.

Now for the scoop was it good Yeaaaaaaaaaa maybe a 7 on the scale of 1 to 10 being the best.
I had 2 single burgers 1 with cheese and the other one without I believe the pepper is what threw me off, the pepper didn't work well with the basic flavor and the meat wasn't rich and full of flavor only grease. the price was a little high $3.49 for a single 6 ounces basic burger. Dbl was $4.49 at these prices it has to be spot on for me.But this is their stic. Vitamin G = Grease ? ?
Very dirty and not a place I will be back in I feel that the owners need to clean up the joint and stop counting the money and pay more attention to the clients.
The best part was meeting the people that were at the counter next to me was Ms. Athena very nice and a real delight to talk to, a paralegal and lives in Wisconsin.
Then a nice young couple walked up and ordered that was down for the game.
Phil and Kari, both gave their favorite tips on some their places that I might want to check out for the best Hamburger.
Dick's burgers in Seattle, WA was Phil's pick, well Phil I will have to get up there and go for a taste test. thanks for the tip.
According to Kari the other one was in Hudson, ID Coeur d'Alene started in 1907 sounds promising and a must see thanks Kari for the heads up.

Until the next stop the food critic is signing out check out my other blogs on coffee to deserts.
All Information is copyrighted and owned by © Blair Morgan 2009

Pink's Hotdog rates a # 6

Well it is March 3 2009 and I'm here in LA
with a friend of mine and the quest has turned to Hot dogs World famous Pinks.
Normally there is a 2 hour wait but for me and my guest it was about 30 minutes.
I opted for a Natural casing 7 to 1 hot dog made especially for Pinks by Hoffy, and I ordered a hamburger just to compare there burger to others.
The hot dog was good but the flavor had a lot to be desired.
I'll give it a 6 with 10 being the best the bun wasn't steamed, and the chili was good but not all it was cracked up to be.
The Burger left a lot and I mean a lot to be desired out of a possible 10 I will give it a 3.
I hope pinks sticks with the Hot dogs and leaves the Hamburger to the real burger joints.
All Information is copyrighted and the property of © Blair Morgan 2009

Rating #7 Acme Hamburger Salt Lake city UT hamburgers

Later that evening Friday Feburary 28th 2009 at 6:00 PM we visited the Acme Burger Company downtown Salt Lake City, UT the Bun was made by a local bakery, truly the most delisious fresh bun I've had in a long time the meat was fresh and hand formed very nice and cooked to order as requested.
But for me the meat had a unidentifable taste, yet still good. I'll give this one a 7 scoring.
It is still worth a visit also great waiter very attentive.

Now about those fresh cut sweet potato fries Very nice and cooked just right. this I wil give a 8.

The Food Critic Blair copyrighted 2009 Blair Morgan

Rating 2 "Park Cafe" Salt Lake city UT

The year is 2009 I'm conducted an exhaustive—if not scientific—survey of the best Hamburger within the good old US of A.
Scoring range 1 from the worst to the best is a 10
Yesterday Febuary 28th 2009 I had the pleasure of traveling across the US in search of the best Hamburger with my friend Joe as we arrived in Salt Lake City UT.
I started the search Via the GPS Very hard to find , finally we arrived at Park Cafe 2:45 PM they close at 3:00 we split a burger and it was NOT a 5 star place even though the sitting across from Liberity Park was nice.
The burger on my scale rated a solid 2 on a scoring of 10 basically shoe leather quality very overcooked, maybe it was due to the employees were trying to get off from work who knows.
the wait staff was fair to mediocre.
All info is copyrighted and the property of Blair Morgan 2009

Rating #5 Atlanta's GA "Buckhead" Hamburger Joint

Canyon Burgers in Atlanta, GA Buckhead had a great burger and the concept of the Sweet potato fries Nice but over cooked.
A little pricey, for the quality. Nice wait staff
Rating 5 for the Burger and a 1 for the Sweet potato fries.
Chain restaurant.

I will recomend Canyon Burgers only if Wedny's is busy and you have extra bucks to spend.

The Food Critic Blair
All info is copyrighted and the property of Blair Morgan 2009

#10 rating Hopkinsville, KY best Hamburger

The is the best Hamburger stand is in Hopkinsville, KY and possibly in the USA and this is my quest to find the best tasting hamburger.
Ferrell's is a dream come true to any Hamburger afficinado.
This little dive is named Ferrell's in the main part of town that started in 1929,
7 stools mounted to the floor, green tile work. The employees are in original period uniforms what a cool vibe. Ferrell's is open 24 hours a day and with 3 locations, original 1929 look and feel also the 90 year old owner is still alive, and taking you money as you leave.
Wendy's, White Castel everyone out there that tries to make a living in the food business close you door and go get the best Hamburger.
All info is copyrighted and the property of Blair Morgan 2009