Big Poppa Bacon Burger

Whitey Burger

Notorious B.I.G. Burger

San Diego Burger Club went to Notorious Burgers in Carlsbad for lunch today.  We had received a comment on this website seemingly from someone at Notorious Burgers who invited us to try the restaurant and promised we would not be disappointed.  I for one applaud the bold invitation.  As Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G. aka Biggie Smalls aka Big Poppa used to say, “Excellence is my presence. Never tense, never hesitant.”  Notorious Burgers had been on our list to try anyway, so we figured this was as good a time as any to stop by.  We didn’t exactly love the burgers though, unanimously giving Notorious Burgers a B-.

Let’s start with the good:  The menu is fun and creative, with burger names like Notorious B.I.G., Gambino’s Broken Leg Of Lamb, Big Poppa Bacon Burger, etc.  Also, there are a large number of burgers on the menu, and a large number of fried potato / onion / garbanzo (yes, garbanzo) options for sides.  The presentation is good as well.  The burgers look appetizing, and at least the bacon on the burgers received good reviews.  Finally, the wait staff was friendly, engaging us in conversation and thanking us for coming in as we departed.

Now the not-so-good:  The assembled burgers are pretty big, but the patties themselves are pretty small, so the bun and toppings tend to overshadow the burger patty.  Also the patties were not that flavorful or juicy, and at least one of them was undercooked.  One burger also had far too much mustard on it and had lettuce on it that left a bad aftertaste in our member’s mouth.  The fries also were not very crispy, and the tots, while cooked very nicely, had too much truffle oil for me (though another member liked the tots).  Also, while the wait staff was friendly, it did take a while for someone to take our order, even though the restaurant was not that busy.

With a name like Notorious Burgers, your burgers should represent in a memorable way.  As Big Poppa used to say, “Biggie Smalls is the illest. Your style is played out, like Arnold wondered, ‘What you talkin’ bout Willis?'”  We’ll leave it at that.  Notorious Burgers gets a B-.