Thursday, June 20, 2013

A Flippin' Nice Burger: "Vega" Burger at 123rd and NE 17th.

Apparently, I'm not allowed to call this place Flip Burger.  They tried it themselves, but some joint from Broward got all over them, claiming exclusive rights to the name.  The temporary sign outside now says "Same Owner, Different Name."  So let me tell you about this dive, the name of which is not Flip Burger.  Not any more, that is.

I was directed to it for the same reason as I was directed to The Blue Collar, and by the same person.  The billing was that they make a spectacular hamburger.  It gets to be, how many "Best Hamburger in Miami" places can there be?  In theory, there can only be one.  And let me tell you right now, if you don't mind cooking the hamburger yourself, it is without question Proper Sausages.  If you want someone else to cook it, let Dan Serfer at "The Blue Collar" do it.  He'll knock your socks off, and he'll throw in a pile of magnificent french fries.  But that's not what I set out to talk about.

I did say no-longer-Flip-Burger was a dive, right?  It needs to be redone.  It sort of smells a little.  At lunch time the other day, one of the smells was a faint ammonia redolence.  Very faint, though.  Not enough to make you walk back out, but enough to make you remind yourself of why you walked in.  It's a little dingy.  The way it's set up, it's almost more bar than restaurant.

The menu is spare, though you wouldn't fail to find something you want to eat.  The other menu is the collection of beers.  It's a little more extensive than the collection of food.  And interesting selections.  Some you know, and some you don't.  They're almost all $6, so a little more than you want to pay, especially for those of which you could buy 4-6 for your $6.  A couple are more exotic, and more expensive.  We're not talking Luna Star extensive or expensive, but it's more of a beer list than you would normally expect to find.

Anyway, no, I did not order a beer.  I was there to see if my friend was right about the hamburgers.  They have a few recipes.  They have the Classic, which is 8 ounces of supposedly high quality meat, french fries, and a pickle, the Cuban, which has some sort of Spanish-style sausage and pork mixed in with the beef, and one or two other concoctions.

It was the same friend who told me The Blue Collar made the best hamburger there is, and that the restaurant that is not called Flip Burger makes one of the best hamburgers around.  So obviously, they can't both be the best.  And they're not.  Win goes to Proper Sausages, on condition, of course...  Place goes to The Blue Collar.  And Show definitely goes to the place that isn't called Flip Burger.  Both the Classic, which was large and perfectly cooked, and the Cuban, were terrific.  Very different, and very good.  The spicy fries were not spicy enough for me, but they were quite pleasing, and the home made cole slaw was as good as you would want it to be.  And the bonus was the price.  The Classic was supposed to be $9, but the proprietor only charged $8.50, which was the price of the Cuban.  I complained, but he said it was a lunch discount.  Even $9 was a good price for a hamburger, and fries, that good.  The music was pretty good, too.  If they would only remodel.

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