 The Double Your Standard’s Burger |
 The Double Your Standard’s Burger With Organic Egg |
San Diego Burger Club went to Double Standard Italian Kitchenetta & Bar for lunch today. Their burger has some seriously good reviews on Yelp (e.g., “get the burger hands-down best burger I’ve had”, “Burger: AMAZING AGAIN!!!”, “The burger was one of the best I have ever had!”, “Seriously, that burger was soooo good. … It’s been a few days and I’m still thinking about that burger.”, “My husband has been on this life long search for the best burger and I think today’s visit to Double Standard has allowed him to end his quest.”). Obviously, this was something we had to check out.
The verdict? A-/B+. Welcome to the top ten Double Standard!
Double Standard has a nice vibe, with high ceilings and large open windows. The wait staff was excellent as well — very friendly and prompt. Also, it doesn’t hurt that Double Standard is just a few blocks from Donut Bar. We didn’t arrange a donut outing to go with this lunch, but that would be an excellent combination and one that I aspire to pull off in the future.
When the burgers arrived, our reactions were immediately positive — from comments about the size of the burgers and double patties, to an immediate grade of A for the presentation. For me, the first bite confirmed this was going to be good. I got the burger without the cheese and bacon, which allowed me to taste the beef without a lot of distraction from other toppings. I thought the burger was seasoned very well. It reminded me of the burgers at Craft Burger, which currently is at the top of our top ten list. Not everyone had this same reaction though. Grades ranged from B+ to A, with the B+ grades being based on the fact that some people thought the burger was too salty, and those who got eggs on their burgers thought the eggs were underdone. I totally agree about the eggs — they were very drippy and posed a high risk of getting all over you.
The fries are “House Cut True Parmesan Fries”, which they describe as “cut fresh, fresh water bathed and twice fried in peanut oil” with “smoked garlic aioli [and] house secret sauce”. The parmesan taste on the fries was very strong, but somewhere along the way I got used to it and decided I should eat all my fries. People seemed to like the fries, though not as much as the burgers.
Everyone enjoyed Double Standard today. Even those who gave it a B+ were saying that there should be ways to improve their burgers and bring them up to the A range (such as by foregoing the egg). So, Double Standard gets an A-/B+ and is a welcome addition to our top 10.