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2014-04-15
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Have been wanting to try here for some time, until the thought eventually slipped my mind. But today I saw it right after I got onto a bus, so I ran off the next stop and walked back there. Such is the importance of location to a burger joint; a good location provides exposure and drives traffic, and traffic drives business. Besides, one of Porter's five forces states...do I sound like your Marketing 101 professor yet?But of course, food ultimately makes the restaurant. And first impressions cou
Have been wanting to try here for some time, until the thought eventually slipped my mind. But today I saw it right after I got onto a bus, so I ran off the next stop and walked back there. Such is the importance of location to a burger joint; a good location provides exposure and drives traffic, and traffic drives business. Besides, one of Porter's five forces states...do I sound like your Marketing 101 professor yet?
But of course, food ultimately makes the restaurant. And first impressions count - I walked into Caliburger and was pleasantly surprised by the very clean interiors (even the toilets were gleaming, no pictures though, sorry), and the very welcoming service. The lady at the cashier warned me of onions in the Double Cheeseburger I was to order. I do eat onions, but appreciated the thoughtfulness. Food does make the restaurant, but service and environment are important as well, even for a humble burger joint. And that's why Openrice has rating categories for all these!
Now on to the food. The Cali Double Cheeseburger (Combo $98) was layered quite well, you can clearly see the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and two patties sandwiched between the toasted brioche slices. The burger didn't look that big, but it was deceivingly satisfying; the meat tasted similar to McDonald's, but fresher and with more taste. The veggies inside were definitely fresher, you could actually feel the crunch of lettuce and taste the juices in the tomatoes. At the same time, I couldn't help but feel this was a glorified McDonald's burger at quadruple the price, but I actually enjoyed it.
The Mushroom Melted Swiss Burger (Combo $83) was not as heavy as I expected - everything was there, mushrooms, cheese and meat, but when I bit into it I did not get the explosion of grease, melted cheese and meaty mushroom flavor I love. To me, this was like Mushroom Swiss Burger - Light. I prefer Triple O's version and more so the mushrooms at The Big Bite in North Point, which are so grease-laden it tastes like gravy. When I go to a fast food burger joint, I expect artery-clogging action to some extent, no need to cut the fat if it is at the expense of flavor I think.
The fries were ok. The guy who fried them was the only one in the kitchen wearing a floral shirt instead of a uniform. Looks like the owner is a handson dude.
Would I come back for the food? Yes I would, for the Cali double burger, because despite being quadruple MacDonalds price, it hits the spot. Part of the price I'm sure, goes to the attentive service and very well maintained hygiene. What's more, they have a liquor license, you can't get a spiked milkshake elsewhere, can you? Also, did I mention you can charge your phone for free here? Now you know what you are really paying for.
::||Good For||::A quick, clean environment for a burger and a phone charge
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