I did not notice until I typed this that the "!" is part of their name. It just seems strange to have to type an exclamation point in the name of a business, particularly in the middle of the name. I am not even sure how to properly pronounce the name. Is it Yeah! like yaaaaaaaaaaaaayy I got an A on my Spanish Test or is it Yeah! like yeeeeeeeaaahhhh, man she is hot?? Either way, its kind of a strange name. But regardless, this place has not been opened too long so we gave it a shot today.
Before I delve into the food, I have to say I am not a huge fan of the traditional "burger". Pattied ground beef, cooked and placed on a bun with condiments just seems kind of boring. A number of burger joints have opened around the area over the past few years. It seems to be a trend catching on. And thankfully I think these restaurateurs have realized its possible to make a burger more interesting than the plain ones we remember from our childhood. Mr. Blaise has done a fine job of this down the street at Flip.
Yeah! Burger (referred to as Y!B from here on out) can be described as urban minimalist chic. The inside is a combination of rustic lodge wood with high open ceilings in an old renovated warehouse. Their menu allows you to build your own burger: you choose your meat patty (beef, bison, turkey, veggie or chicken), type of bun (white, wheat, gluten free whatever), cheese, toppings of choice, and sauce. The topping selection can be intimidating. People with ADD need not bother coming here. They would never make it past the nitrate free bacon or cage-free fired egg before becoming distracted by the sauce selection.
They offer a number of different side items as well. Fries, onion rings, a 50/50 option (a combo of rings and fries), slaw, and a number bunch of other gluten free, free range selections. The also have hot dogs and salads. The seems criminal to me. Who goes to a burger joint and orders a salad? I hear Yeah! Salad might be opening soon next door and they will offer BBQ. Yet I digress, indeed Y!B has a menu that should satisfy most anyone.
Today, I ordered the turkey burger on whole wheat with swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, grilled onion and Yeah! sauce. I don't think anyone knows what Yeah! sauce is. It looks like a fancy version of the "secret sauce" from All-American Burger from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. (For those of you younger folks out there who have never seen the movie, it was Ketchup and Mayo.) But it was indeed pretty tasty. I'm sure ketchup and mayo is somehow involved in the Yeah! Sauce. In addition to my burger I ordered a 50/50 fry/ring side.
Each order arrives on a small sized metal cookie sheet. Its just large enough to hold the food, but small enough that one table could hold all 4 trays at once. Don't try this at your local fast food joint, which can barely hold 2 bulky oversized plastic trays. I like the fact that their trays are made of metal. After all, we work in the metals business! Plus, the metal adds to the minimalist chic atmosphere.
The first thing I always try at places like this are the fries and rings. And unfortunately they came out a bit greasy. I suspect the temperature in their fryer was a tad low which caused the fries and rings to soak up some of the grease. The evidence was apparent after my meal as I had 4 grease-soaked napkins at my table. Don't get me wrong, these fried goodies were tasty and I ate every morsel.
The burger was stacked high and looked great. The patty outsized the bun just slightly, which is always delightful to see. And upon first bite, I was welcomed with a familiar but hard to recognize flavor from the turkey patty. Bite after bite, I struggled putting my finger on this flavor. Then when asking John about his side of slaw, he mentioned this missing flavor: tarragon. Apparently Y!B mixes tarragon into their ground turkey when making their patties. What a delight. It was like going on a jog and ending up running behind a super hot chick for 4 miles. It turns a seemingly boring tiring jog into a delightful run in the park. That is how I felt about this burger. I would have never thought to combine tarragon and turkey into a burger. But the combo worked well.
But as in all of life, not everything is perfect at Y!B. We arrived to see a line running out the door. This is not unusual around here as many places have this during the lunch rush. But once we finally get inside the building, I see the source of the problem: one cashier taking orders. It is definitely not the cashier's fault. In fact, she took orders with remarkable speed and efficiency. If she were not so efficient, I dare say the line would have spilled out into the parking lot. And once your order is placed, the kitchen does get the food out relatively quickly. But Y!B needs to really figure out how to deal with this inherent design flaw. I have a 50-minute rule with restaurants for lunch. You should be able to arrive, place your order, get your food and finish eating in 50 minutes or less. Anything more is too long. After all, we work for a living and have jobs to go back to!! Y!B exceeded this 50-minute rule.
But in spite of taking their game into overtime, Y!B still ended up winning this game. I enjoyed the experience and the food and look forward to my next visit. I can only hope they can address the order process. Restaurants do not live by food alone. Time is valuable. And they need to be mindful of this. For now, Y!B could be part of our regular rotation. But continue to waste your customer's time and you will end up on The Banned List!
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