Hopdoddy
When looking for a delicious Hamburger, there are many places to choose in the ever-growing Phoenix culinary market. I love the fact that you can find different places, and that there can be arguments over the best. One thing I have learned is there is no ONE best. Each restaurant when given quality ingredients has stepped up to the plate and hit it with gusto. This month I want to tell you about a spot that not only has some very creative twists on burger toppings, they also get creative with the patties themselves.
With a few locations in the Phoenix area, we visited the location in the Town and Country Shopping plaza off of Highway 51 and Camelback road. At this restaurant, you head up to the counter to order, they then assign you a table number and you can then go and await your food. Try not to be tortured by the delicious smells and watching everyone else digging into their food, your food will be there soon enough. They offer several different styles of proteins to use as your base. Naturally they have Angus Beef, but they also have a Kobe beef patty, Bison, Turkey, Ahi Tuna, and even two vegetarian patty options. Each patty is already created with a unique topping selection, but you can always modify as well.
We decided to order a small side dish of Sweet Potato Fries ($3.95), to enjoy with our burgers. The fries come served in a stainless steel mixing bowl and they are seasoned and crunchy to the bite. The wait staff that is moving around the restaurant can assist you with dipping sauces or even to refill your drink. We were glad we ordered a small as we learned the burgers can be very filling and it would be a shame to leave any fries behind.
The first burger that we ordered was the Classic ($7). This is an Angus beef patty that we added the bacon and cheddar cheese to for an additional ($2.25). It is served on a bun that they bake themselves and it has a light and buttery flavor, but more importantly holds together around the burger. It is served with Sassy sauce, lettuce, tomato, and onion all piled high together. We did opt to have the Sassy sauce on the side, so that we could determine just how sassy we wanted to make the burger. Let me just say as in real life a little sassy goes a long way, so be prepared if you go full sassy.
The final burger was one of the more unique options on the menu, and upon reading the ingredients it looked perfect to me. The Breakfast Burger ($8) starts out on the same bun as the Classic burger. That is where the similarities end quickly. The patty is made of a sausage, ham, and beef grind. So while it looks like a hamburger patty, it tasted like true breakfast. They then add Applewood smoked bacon, melted American cheese and a fried egg on top of the patty. But to wrap up breakfast in one bite the final ingredient is a collection of potato hay or matchstick thin hash browns. It does also come standard with an herb mayonnaise, but I had that added to the side. It is abundant with herbs, so be forewarned. Each bite was as good as the last and the only bite that I didn’t enjoy was the last one. Even though I was thoroughly satisfied and full, I could have had another bite after bite.
The restaurant has a great selection of beverages as well as Milkshakes and adult beverages. There are also a few salad options, but the mainstay of the menu is the burgers. When you enter, you may find a few people milling right at the entrance to the hallway that leads to the counter, do not feel bad about moving past them as they try to narrow down what delicious creation they are going to order. Also remember the counter assigns the tables and seats; so parking a family member to save a table is not a good idea. There was plenty of indoor and outdoor seating as well as all different seating style combinations.
You can find a good hamburger in lots of places, but you may not be able to find the creative spin that Hopdoddy has put on some of their creations. Also if you are a fan of breakfast anytime of day, then you already have a leg up on menu selection.
Location and Website – 2033 E Camelback Rd, Suite A13,Phoenix, AZ 85016, https://www.hopdoddy.com