By Alyssa Fort
Free samples are a great way to get me to try something new. So when I was invited to the new Smashburger on Tennessee Street, I made sure to fit it into my schedule.
The event was exclusive to media-only, and there were menu samples provided for the attendees. I was a little skeptical about going because I had never heard of Smashburger, and I am a food fanatic. With that being said, if I haven’t heard of a place, it’s either exclusive to an area I’ve never been or the restaurant just isn’t good enough for my friends to feel the need to rave about it to me.
There were seven food items on the tasting menu, and two milkshake samples. The first milkshake was caramel flavored and very sweet. Overly sweet actually. I took one sip and felt as if I had a sugar overdose. The first burger was the Classic Smash and it was tasty. It was a simple burger and the only thing out of the ordinary was the Smash Sauce. I couldn’t taste it too much because of the ketchup but the burger itself was good so I assume the sauce was good.
My least favorite burgers were the BBQ, Bacon & Cheddar Burger, Regional Burger and the Avocado Ranch Black Bean Burger. I mostly disliked them because the taste was either too salty, too many toppings on the burger or basically altogether overwhelming. I was looking forward to trying the last sandwich on the menu, the Buffalo & Blue Cheese Crispy Chicken. Mostly because the first listed ingredient is Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Sauce, and I’ve used this sauce countless times when I make hot wings. I took my first bite and it was delicious, and then I took a few more bites and it started to taste very salty and once again, overwhelming.
The one thing that wasn’t overwhelming and would make me return was their Chocolate Oreo Milkshake. It had the perfect amount of chocolate and Oreos, and I even ended up finishing my guest’s sample too!
Overall, Smashburger is an OK restaurant. The atmosphere was welcoming and open, the staff was friendly, but the food was average. I would honestly only return for the Classic Smash and Chocolate Oreo Milkshake. If you’re someone who likes extensive burgers, Smashburger is the place for you.
Everything (patty rolling, beef shredding, etc.) is done in house so nothing is ever frozen. I can say they do provide good quality burgers; they just aren’t my kind of burgers.
