B Spot

 The B Spot is Chef Michael Symon's (of Iron Chef fame) new gourmet hamburger restaurant. Symon is based out of Cleveland Ohio and has received world acclaim for his restaurant Lola.

Michael Symon

  Chef Symon also has won twice in a row at the Sobe Burger Bash in Miami Florida with his unique take on burgers (His 2010 winner the Fat Doug is on the B spot menu and is a burger topped with Swiss, Pastrami, and Coleslaw).
 The B Spot uses Pat Lafrieda ground beef for their hamburgers. Pat Lafrieda is based in New York City and is known as being one of the highest quality meat purveyors in the restaurant business. Currently the B Spot has three locations located all throughout Cleveland and the surrounding area.

 So after a two and a half hour ride to Cleveland and a stop at Cleveland's West Side Market, me and my eating companions pulled up to the BSpot. This particular B Spot was located in a high end strip mall which also included a Trader Joes, Barnes and Noble, and some high end restaurants.

Outside B Spot

Symon Says

More Rules

 The B Spot had outdoor seating and a large garage door style opening into the restaurant itself. We were quickly seated and given our menus. The server also gave us Michael Symon's rules.
 At our table was a  variety of Michael Symon's signature sauces . The Shasha sauce I thought was the most flavorful being a mixture of Mustard and Italian hot peppers.

 

Sauces

More Sauces

 So we put in our order for the following:  For appetizers we ordered the Garlic& Parm Wings, Lola Fries, and Chips. For our burgers we ordered the Thin Lizzy, Philly Witt, and the Shroomage burger.



Chips $5.00



 The Chips were home made crispy fried potato chips served with a parmesan and rosemary fondue. The chips were perfectly cooked being nice and crispy. Strangely the longer they sat the crispier they got. The fondue itself was very mild tasting with the rosemary nor the parmesan being all that pronounced.



Garlic & Parm Wings $7.00



 The Garlic & Parm wings were easily some of the best wings I have ever had. The wings were cooked to a crispy golden brown and covered with a garlicy/cheesy/kick ass sauce, and sprinkled with shredded parmesan cheese. The sauce had a great garlic flavor as well as a nice bite of sharpness from the cheese. Most garlic parm wings are just wings tossed in garlic butter with some canned parm sprinkled on top. These were so much better than that, and about as original as you can get when it comes to wings.

Lola Fries $4.00

 The Lola Fries are very thin cut fries dusted in rosemary and sea salt. The fries themselves reminded me very much of the french fries you get at Steak and Shake being so thin. The rosemary and sea salt added a little complexity to the frie's flavor, but all in all were unremarkable.

Thin Lizzy $8.00

   The Thin Lizzy was a burger topped with griddled onions, cheddar, mayo, and pickles. This one of my favorite burger topping combinations and I was not disappointed with this. The pickles were terrific being brought in from Tony Packos Hot Dogs in Toledo Ohio (Klinger/ MASH reference for those that care). The onions were sauteed perfectly. The bun was airy and lightly toasted. The hamburger itself had a nice beefy flavor but to be honest I don't think the Pat Lafrieda ground beef was of such a quality that I would pay the extra money for it to be sent from NY. I'm sure Michael Symon could find a local farmer/supplier with just as good of quality somewhere in Ohio. My burger was ordered medium and was cooked perfectly as were all the burgers.

The Shroomage Burger $9.00

 The Shroomage burger was a burger topped with a marinated portabella, blue cheese, Lola steak sauce, and griddled onions. This burger was bursting with mushroom flavor being that the portabella was almost as big as the burger itself. The blue cheese was used sparingly as not to overpower the burger as blue cheese has a tendency to do. For a mushroom lover this burger is about as good as it gets.



The Philly Witt $9.00

 

  This is the B Spots take on a traditional Philly cheesesteak. It comes topped with thin sliced steak, cheese wiz, and witt onions. This is almost exactly what you would find  at either Pats or Genos Steaks in Philadelphia (minus the burger of course). What can I say about this burger other than it is so sloppily decadent and messy that I loved it. When your using a classic combination such as wiz and onions its hard to screw up anything. This might not be an actual philly cheesesteak,but it is just as tasty, and you really cant go wrong ordering this burger.



 When your burgers come you can also go to the B Spots pickle bar. There you can load up on Tony Packos sweet hot pickles (which are fantastic), pickled red onions, pickled green tomatoes, and kosher garlic dills. A nice little touch  and the acidity of the pickles helps cut the richness of your burgers.



Menu Click for larger pic



Menu Click for larger pic



  For those Yinzers that have never been to Cleveland, take off the Lambert jersey, put on a disguise, and head up there. There is a lot to do and it only takes two and a half hours to get there. Some of the places to visit include The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (unless your boycotting because they let Michael Jackson in and have left  KISS out), The West Side Market, A WWII Gato Class Submarine, the Great Lakes Brewery, and even Ralphies house from the movie "The Christmas Story".  

Inside the B Spot

Rating

Chips: 6/10

Garlic & Parm Wings: 9/10

Lola Fries: 5/10

Thin Lizzy Burger: 8/10

The Shroomage: 7/10

The Philly Witt: 8/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Pittsburgh Foodie News

Unusual Burgers A great article in the Tribune Review on some of the more unusual hamburgers to be found in the Pittsburgh area. 

LINK

Throw Mama from the Strip "Big Mama" Brenda Franklin, from Big Mama's House of Southern Cuisine says screw it, and is closing her restaurant do to the elite Pittsburgh Parking Authority.  Big Mama's was know as having the best soul food in the Burgh and will be missed.  LINK

White Castle

 White Castle home of the "slyder". A food of myth and legend. Drunks, stoners, and yours truly, crave these tasty little burgers.

 White Castle was started in 1921 and is the oldest fast food franchise in existence. They are known for there small cheap hamburgers. A White Castle burger in the 1940s cost you 5 cents, today 61 cents.
The little burgers are very unique in their taste, and the process used to cook them. A layer of onions is placed on the grill, and small frozen beef patties with holes are placed on top of the onions.  The buns are then placed on top of the burgers. The steam from the onions cooks the burgers and infuses the buns with flavor. No flipping is needed as the burger patties are so thin that the steam is able to seep through the holes in the patty and cook it all the way through. Here is a video that details the whole process (and for the love of god please turn down the volume, unless you want to hear a bluegrass version of Feel Like Making Love by Bad Company).


 Everything is setup for maximum efficiency. The reason the patties are square is so that you can fit 30 of them on a standard white castle flat top grill. The result is a single cook can put out about 30 burgers every 4 minutes. This efficiency was not needed when I visited White Castle, as the restaurant was empty beside me and my traveling companions.

   On the way home from a road trip to Cleveland me and my companions stopped by to get a sack of burgers for future eating. The great, or not so great thing (depending on your perspective) about White Castle is that you can hardly tell the difference between a fresh burger, and one that you nuked in the microwave. We put in an order for a sack of 12 cheeseburgers. As a side note, the White Castle we visited also served Church's Chicken. Its all the rage in fast food these days to combine two franchises into one store. So far I have seen KFC/Taco Bell, A&W/Long John Silvers, and now White Castle/Church's. After about a 5 minute wait, our sack of burgers was ready and we were on are way back to Pittsburgh..

 How do they taste, you ask? Like a very soft/mushy/cheesy /oniony little hamburger. The onions are by far the overriding flavor, so if your not a big fan of onions don't even bother. It only takes about 4 bites to polish off 1 burger.

By the way, a sack of White Castles will smell up your car like no other fast food in the world. You could Febreeze your car every day for the next two months, and still smell onions.
 So why do I enjoy a White Castle burger? Its more the novelty then anything else I guess. There really is nothing else like it out there besides some small diner type joints in New Jersey such as White Mana, that specialize in small oniony burgers.
 White Castle burgers are versatile as well. With people coming up with some very interesting recipes that incorporate the tiny burgers. Some of my favorites include:

White Castle Turkey Stuffing

10 White Castle hamburgers, no pickles
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
1 1/4 tsp. ground thyme
1 1/2 tsp. ground sage
3/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth

In a large mixing bowl, tear the burgers into pieces and add diced celery and seasonings. Toss and add chicken broth. Toss well. Stuff cavity of turkey just before roasting. Makes about 9 cups (enough for a 10- to 12-pound turkey). Note: Allow 1 hamburger for each pound of turkey, which will be the equivalent of 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound.

Castle Balls

For the meatballs:
10 White Castle® hamburgers
1 medium onion
2 pounds of ground beef
2 eggs
1 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp. of ground pepper
1/2 tbsp. of onion powder

For the sauce:
2-10.75 oz cans Cream of Mushroom soup
5 packets of White Castle Dusseldorf Mustard
2 tbsp. of ketchup
1 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce

Meatballs:
Chop onion in a food processor until fine. Sauté on medium heat until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Drain using a strainer. Chop all 10 burgers in a food processor until fine. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground burgers and sautéed onion with the remaining meatball ingredients, mixing well with your hands. Let mixture set covered in refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes. Spray baking dish or cookie sheet with a light coating of vegetable spray. Shape the meat mixture into balls by rolling a small amount into your hands until smooth. Meatballs should be slightly smaller than a golf ball. Bake meatballs in a 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cooking time. Meatballs should be browned on both sides. Remove the balls from the pan and strain with a colander.

Sauce:
Sauce may be prepared while meatballs are cooking. Combine all sauce ingredients in a saucepan and heat on stove at medium heat, until thoroughly heated. Pour over the cooked meatballs. Serve immediately, or refrigerate the sauce-covered meatballs overnight and heat the following day in a slow-cooker

 No picture available do to the fact im not sure anyone has ever really made meatballs out of White Castles.

 The largest denomination of White Castles you can purchase is the 30 burger Crave Case.

 As you can see the Crave Case makes an excellent briefcase for work after you eat all those tasty burgers.
  Think of the envious stares you will get from your co-workers as they eye up your stylish case.

White Castle Burgers are also available in the freezer section of most grocery stores in the Pittsburgh area. If you live in Pittsburgh this is your only real option besides driving to North East Ohio. For some reason White Castle has franchises in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio, but sidestepped Pennsylvania.



 WARNING: Frozen White Castle Burgers do not come with the dill pickle that is placed on the burgers at the restaurants. While technology has put a man on the moon, it has not progressed to the point where we can put a pickle on a frozen burger.

 WARNING II:  Do to the onion content of White Castle burgers, methane gas buildup in the stomach is inevitable. Smelly flatulence and indigestion usually follows any White Castle consumption within 4 hours. They have the nickname belly bombs for a good reason

So while I enjoy the tasty little burgers, I think I will keep to eating them once, or maybe twice per year. Any more then that and the novelty would wear off ,and  I would probably wind up exploding. 

                

 RATING

 7/10 (While eating)

 2/10 (4 hours later)

 White Castle

5095 Northfield Rd.

Bedford Hts. Ohio 44146

(216) 587-1949