2013 Burger Cup: Burger Counter vs Hutong Pizza
The Beijinger Burger Cup is back for another year and this is your chance to vote for your favorite burgers before we arrange a face-to-face cook-off in August to determine the winner.
This year, we begin with Burger Battles: a series of face-offs pitting Beijing beef patties against each other. These will not necessarily reflect the ultimate match-ups in our Burger Cup bracket, but give burger fans and burger chefs an idea as to how the product may fare in the final competition.
Visit our website often for Burger Battles, updates on the Cup, and more on how you can participate in voting and other burger activities.
Round 7 pits Burger Counter against Hutong Pizza.
Burger Battle Seven: Burger Counter vs Hutong Pizza
Burger Counter: This New York-inspired diner is the size of a closet. That’s okay as there are seats on the sidewalk outside, allowing customers to take in the sights and sounds of Guloudong Dajie. Sandwiches, deep-fried goodies, ice cream, milkshakes and, of course, burgers are all on offer. The real trophy in this cupboard is the great selection of ice-cold beer and soft drinks, including hard-to-come-by American classics like Dr. Pepper, all just a stone’s throw away from the Drum Tower. I should mention that the original visionary of Burger Counter has moved shop to Temple Bar and the change in quality at his original location is noticeable.
The Burger: Amongst the variety of monikers on the menu, which to plain ol’ burger-eating ears sound foreign, with words like bleu and chili, I picked the most normal sounding one: The Bacon Cheese (RMB 42). It arrived in 10 minutes with bacon, though not as crispy as the menu promised; and cheese, though the melted cheddar slice was a pathetic transparent circle. You could still taste it, that bacon-cheddar magic. The first bite was perfect. But as I worked my way towards the middle, the tasty spell was broken by an overwhelming revelation – too much lettuce and ground pepper.
By the end, I didn’t mind that the bun was soggy. I squeezed and the goodies were sealed in nicely – nothing but a bit of onion, dropped onto my plate. The overall flavor was 7-11 meets food truck – perfect for washing down with a sweating can of root beer.
Should I mention the gristle at the end? No, lest I forget the onion rings. And such hardships are a small sacrifice when enjoying pure ground beef at that low a price. The meat tasted natural and had no alarming textures, save that one gristly square centimeter. Had I known there were a few fries that came with Bacon Cheese, I might not have ordered the rings. They were lukewarm and chewy. Not completely a bad thing though – they were tasty, held together and didn’t burn the tongue.
Price: RMB 42.
Hutong Pizza: Snuggled up in the alleys behind Houhai, this refurbished courtyard home is a rock in the Gulou dining scene. One of the original novelty Beijing pizza joints, it’s a mainstay for students, lovebirds, the nostalgic, and tourists alike. Famous for thin crust pizzas served on wooden boards, their burger still packs a heavy punch.
The Burger: It doesn’t bode well for your burger if the chef can’t make a vanilla milkshake. Well, to take the chef’s side, it was the milk that had gone sour and he promptly came out to apologize. The drink was replaced without fuss. I chose the Burger with Cheese (RMB 49), which approximated the Burger Counter's creation in description. The execution was surprisingly different: A thick soft patty stuffed with fragrant herbs and onion. It was slightly salty and coated with sticky, melted American cheese.
The burger came without toppings, and the meat was already well lodged in the bun. I was confused with the pile of lettuce and sliced tomatoes and onions on the plate. Were they extra toppings or a salad? Was the bowl of salad dressing filled with chunks of cabbage and cucumber actually the salad? The bun, already cemented to the patty with cheese, had to be peeled off messily to get a few tomatoes slices inside.
The crinkle-cut fries were nothing to write home about either – crispy, hollow potato tubes straight from the bag. Still, the patty was what made this burger stand out. And the vanilla milkshake, once rectified, came out nice and frothy.
Price: RMB 49.
The Decision: Burger Counter
These two bulls live in the same pen and at roughly the same value, it’s a tough call. Hutong Pizza gets marks for the original patty, but loses serious points for not having the toppings built-in, or the top bun upturned on the side for easy additions. That's burger blasphemy. By default, I will have to let Burger Counter win this round. The Bacon Cheese was down to earth. It’s a fast and easy way to fuel up for a day of hutong shopping or before a night out humping the dance floor at Dada.
