Zinburger lunch if I must

So, there is this new place I kept hearing about called Zinburger Burger and Wine Bar at Southpoint mall that has a cool concept  – great burgers, great beer, great mixed drinks, great wine selection, a variety of fries and a lovely list of milkshakes!!!

I went today for lunch with co-workers and also went once before with the hubbbie and Ella, so I will talk about both experiences.

1. Burger – first time I got a regular burger (cooked med rare…..love it when I can pick the temperature) and it was quite good.  Bread is nice, pickles are delicious and options for toppings are decent as well.  Ella got the turkey burger, so I opted for that at lunch today and it was quite good (came with cheese, sprouts, lettuce, pickles and avocado).  Unfortunately, since I am new at this I did not think to take a picture of my lunch today until the end of the meal, so you will see below what little was left of my turkey burger.   However, it is a good snapshot as it really shows how thick the turkey burger was!  How they did that without it falling apart or being dry is something I will have to uncover.  Oh, and I would like to share that I wore a white dress to lunch and spilled ketchup and avocado all down my left breast and was forced to explain myself for the remainder of the day.

Zinburger turkey burger

Now to the French fries….oh….why do I have to love them so much!?  Is it because they speak French?  Is it because I have not been to France?  Or is it perhaps because they are fried and salty…..yep….that is the likely culprit.  I would like to consider myself a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to fries.  They have multiple options on the menu, including sweet potatoes, hand-cut, and triple truffle parmesan.  Of course – I had to try them all.  🙂  I wish I could say they were all amazing…..trust me….I wanted them to be.  But they were just….okay. Not bad, not great.  In fact, the truffle fries at the Yardhouse are far better than these.  Last time, hubbie and I tried their spicy green chili fries and I have to admit I was giddy waiting for them to arrive at the table.  The description said it would come with their green chili cheese sauce, roasted jalapeño, chipotle sauce and Cotija cheese.  These were oh so disappointing, so thank goodness I had my wine to cry into!  Where do I start with these?  So, the cheese sauce is thick and I am not sure where the green chilis were located within the cheese as they were few and far between and the same goes for the roasted jalapeños and chipotle sauce!  Normally I have some great ideas on how to improve or fix a dish, but this ones needs quite a bit of revisiting from the consistency of the cheese sauce, to increasing the # of green chilies and flavor associated with it and a wider usage of the other accompaniments or having them on the side if you are scared to dump them on (I can get that).   One other thought I had that could also make them a bit more epic…..top them with fresh cilantro!!!  Boom!!  Below is a pic of the basket of fries (shockingly they were not finished by anyone at the table as we were all crying in our waters and iced teas wishing they were satisfying our craving for amazing salty goodness.

Zinburger truffle fries

Please do go see for yourself.  I will say, they have some great outside seating that is worth a visit alone to sit outside with a nice drink and people watch (mall people are freaking weird)!  I will go again and will promise to try a shake of theirs and come back with a review on that, but I will have to skip the fries.  I am not sure all of you understand the sadness of that statement actually.  My hubbie knows that I have several food weakness….okay….too many to name, but he also knows I never turn down good fries or nachos and that I will purposely seek out and visit restaurants that have these when my cravings insist on being satisfied.  That leads to be a thought on a future subject for this blog…..where do you go to get the best fries and nachos?  More to come on that….might be a mission where I can collect pictures and proper “fresh” reviews on all of my options.  And eating all of these nacho varieties isn’t for me…..it is for you all….that is just how generous I am.

 

Here I Go!!!

Wow, now that I have finally done this…..where do I start!!??  Okay, some of you know that I have been wanting to start a blog for quite some time and I cannot explain why it has taken me so long, but here I finally am.  I have not fully defined what this will look like, but essentially I plan to post here about my meals, life changing food experiences, amazing recipes that I have tried, things you find at stores that are a must buy, etc, etc.  As my site name says, I am a food whore and if I am not eating….I am thinking about what I might eat next!!!!  So, expect information on all things food in the triangle, at my home, from stores and anywhere else I happen to come upon tasty treats!!!

I will continue to work to organize the site as I get new posts up.  My goal is to provide a place where you can find Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill restaurant reviews (really anywhere in the Triangle).  I will share with you the best recipes that I either develop or come across for your browsing and use.  I will also provide recommendations on any store bought items that you may not know about and absolutely should.  I hope you enjoy reading regularly and I promise to let you know when new posts are available!!

 

Jenn Johnson