The Brady Burger
“A hamburger is the architecture of taste par excellence.” That’s not me talking. That’s the chef of a fancy restaurant in Paris. Lately some of the world’s top chefs have been joining the quest for the perfect burger. Until recently I never thought they stood a chance. I never thought a luxury burger could compare with the burgers that come off the griddle at a place like Claud’s or (when Ron Baber was behind the grill) Ron’s. But there are two places in Tulsa that made me change my mind. First off, of course, is Smoke. I’ve sung the praises of their burger before.And then there’s the Brady Burger.
I never got around to trying it until last night. Each time I went to Brady Tavern I was seduced by something else. Sous vide tenderloin. A massive pork chop. Oh I’d seen the burger of course and even photographed someone else’s for my review of Brady Tavern.
But by now I’ve tried every entree on the menu except the burger. No excuse. I ordered it. With two changes. I asked for the burger on a separate place so it wouldn’t be drowned in fries. And, on second thought, I asked for something other than fries. For $3 extra, they let me have a huge order of mac and cheese instead. Oh it was a creamy delicious mac and cheese… imagine the Brook’s famous version but made with really good quality cheese… and still as creamy. But this isn’t about that. It’s about the burger.
It’s a blend of five rich meats, including short rib and brisket, topped with Stilton and accented by a mushroom cognac cream sauce on a homemade bun. I asked for it very rare, and that’s exactly what I got. The meat had a wonderful rich flavor. It was denser, weightier, it seemed, than most burgers… I think that’s what premium meat does. One bad thing that premium meat can do, if it doesn’t have enough fat, is make the burger dry. That didn’t happen here. The burger was as moist as you could wish for. The meat flavor, though, was all but drowned out by the strong blue-cheese funk of the Stilton and the rich sauce, which would have made a fine mushroom gravy by itself. But drowned out in a good way. The flavors complemented each other. The bun, surprisingly soft and sweet, was fine too.
So which do I prefer, Brady or Smoke? Oh I’d never tell that. I’ll just say that all other fancy restaurants in Tulsa (except possibly Lucky’s) might as well just give up making hamburgers because they just can’t compete.
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Ours just had lettuce, tomato, and a little mustard. We ordered ours medium well and they definitely weren’t overcooked. They were cooked through while still incredibly juicy. Just a note – since the pics show fries – fries aren’t included. We weren’t told that until after our burgers came so we were about halfway through them (eating slowly) before we had fries. For $2 it was a sizeable order though and enough to share. Very crispy. Just make sure you order them when you order the burgers. The ketchup is definitely homemade and maybe not what you’d expect – it wasn’t as sweet as normal ketchup and my son’s immediate reaction was “It’s like tomato sauce!” but he ate almost all of it so it got his approval.
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Brian S. 10:04 am on July 25, 2011 Permalink |
Deimos is the Greek god of terror.
Brian S. 10:09 am on July 25, 2011 Permalink |
I just phoned them. They are open Mon to Sat, 11 to 7. In the Crystal shopping center about a mile beyond Ollie’s Station on Southwest Blvd. They said Deimos Burger was not named after terror but after one of Mars’ moons.
KKanDo 1:20 pm on July 29, 2011 Permalink |
Very creative menu for Belly-Busters. Like the style and like the food.