Smash Burger (East Hanover, NJ)

368 New Jersey 10, East Hanover, NJ 07936, T: 862-701-5411

Smash Burger is a new chain of upscale burger joints, founded in 20007, which has already some 100 locations in the US, and hopes to double that by the end of 2012. It looks clean and funky: the slogan is “smash, sizzle, savor” (trademarked, obviously). It has a fairly extensive menu of various burgers, chicken, hot dogs, and shakes.

I get the Spicy Baja Big Smash ($7.19): a freshly grilled, large but relatively thin patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, guacamole, fresh jalapeños, and spicy mayo on a jalapeño bun. It is really fresh, full-flavored, and with a real kick. M. gets the Spicy Baja Black Bean Burger ($4.99): same deal, but the black bean burger has good consistency and is tasty. We also get the Haystack Onions ($2.29) – strings of thinly battered onion, bit undercooked, with a tasty dip – and Smash Fries ($1.99), flavored string fries – they are ok, but I prefer regular or steak fries. Finally, we have a Chili Cheese Dog ($4.29): a large dog on a (not much steamed) bun with thick meaty chili and fresh jalapeños, which give it a good kick.

VERDICT: 89/100

This is a really good upscale, modern burger joint, particularly for the more refined and/or vegetarian.