Farm Burger (Athens, GA)

 100 Prince Ave Suite 102, Athens, GA 30601

 

Farm Burger is a chain of "grassfed" burger joints in the South East. It originated in Atlanta and now has 13 locations in 4 different states. The Athens location opened recently so I went with the family to check it out. The menu consists of several different burgers (and build-your-own) and sandwiches, sides, salads, and shakes and floats (as well as some alcoholic drinks).

 

We order a whole lot of different stuff. First, to keep the kids busy, we got a Basket of Fries & Rings ($5.75). The fries were pretty good, the onion rings were mainly fairly flavorless crust.

 

 

 

Then, my wife had The Chicken ($9.25), ground chicken burger, smoked gouda, kale coleslaw, crispy onions, and sherry-date bbq. She liked it. I had the DBL Bacon Burger ($10.99), which included "two 50% beef/50% bacon patties, Tillamook yellow cheddar, grilled onions, pasture-raised bacon, house pickles, and dijon mustard" -- I replaced the mustard with "fb sauce" and skipped on the cheese. Overall, it mostly tasted enormously salty.

 

After all of that, we also got a Seasonal Shake ($6.25), which was strawberry. I had expected it to have fresh strawberries in it, but it was a thick syrup. I was also a bit dismayed by the fact that they made it and poured the relatively small glass full and kept the rest (roughly one-third of what they made). At that price, a bit more would have been appropriate. Then again, it was mostly sweet and not particularly flavorful.

 

VERDICT: 80/100

Farm Burger is an upscale burger chain but the prices rather than the quality are upscale. Most of the dishes were underwhelming and too expensive. I ate at the Decatur location a long time ago and had a pretty similar experience.

CharBar Co (Hilton Head Island, SC)

33 Office Park Rd #213, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928

 

CharBarCo has the best burgers and sushi on Hilton Head Island, according to the various wards the won. It’s a pretty big restaurant (particularly the patio) that has an eclectic mix of food, from classic US sports bar to sushi rolls and bowls.

 

I eat here with my family, who tell me the salads and sushi are good. I go for the Dirty South Burger ($22.75), which allegedly made the Top 20 in the World Burger Championship. It is described as “signature beef blend topped with smoked pork belly, red onions, tomato, candied jalapeños, bourbon bbq sauce, on a toasted brioche bun (I hold the pimento cheese). I ask for medium and I actually get medium! The burger is overall really well done, even though it is not my combination of flavors (too sweet). The side of Hand Cut Chips is good as are the French Fries, which my sons eat (thin but potato-y). My wife and I share a Double Chocolate Milkshake ($7), which is thick and tasty (not too sweet).

 

VERDICT: 89/100

This is a good place to eat and to pig out. The burger was expensive but very good. Next time I would build my own though.