Smashburger - Orange County
26541 Aliso Creek Rd, Ste C
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
949-716-3855
1003 The Shops at Mission Viejo
(Inside the mall food court)
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
949-364-1246
www.smashburger.com
SEE BOTTOM OF ARTICLE FOR A SMASHBURGER GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY!
SmashBurger, a chain that started in Denver CO, has recently begun to expand into Orange County. I was invited down to sample some of their offerings. SmashBurger sets themselves apart from their competition by literally smashing their burgers down on a flat top grill. They say that this puts a good sear on the meat and thereby gives the beef patty a good exterior crust while retaining the juices. Below is a video of the process they go through to create a SmashBurger.
The LA burger consists of a beef patty topped with a crispy wonton, fried egg, cilantro, cucumber, lettuce, tomato and a Japanese Steakhouse ginger dressing. The burger was very good. The cucumbers and the cilantro gave the burger a very fresh, crisp taste. However, I felt that the dressing was a little on the bland side.
The OC burger was topped with baby portabella mushrooms, baby arugula, grilled onions, aged swiss cheese and truffle mayo. V enjoyed her OC burger a lot. She loved that the grilled onions were nice and caramelized instead of barely grilled like at some other burger places. She thought that the truffle mayo was very good but felt that there was a little too much of it on the burger. She said she would definitely get this burger again, but would just ask them to go easy on the mayo.
I also got to try one of their Fresh Mex chicken sandwiches. A chicken breast is pounded out until it is really thin and then grilled on the flat top. The chicken was topped with guacamole, cilantro, pepper jack cheese, tomato, onion, sour cream and chipotle mayo. I would usually never choose a chicken sandwich over a burger, but I think I really enjoyed this sandwich more than my burger. The chicken was cooked well and was not dry at all. The sandwich had a nice spicy kick to it and was full of flavor.
Smashburger offers a variety of side dishes. Their signature Smashfries are tossed with rosemary, olive oil and garlic. They were very tasty with a pungent kick of rosemary. Fries are also available in sweet potato form and can be smothered with chili and cheese. Fried pickles and onion haystacks are available at the Aliso Viejo location. They also offer fried green beans and carrot sticks.
In addition to burgers, SmashBurger offers a variety of chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and salads. Burgers are also available with a veggie patty. Ice cream shakes and malts are made with Haagen Dazs ice cream and are very rich and decadent. I love the fact that they offer a malt option, instead of just a plain milkshake.
Overall, I was very happy with the food at SmashBurger. I feel that the prices are reasonable and the burgers are much better than your standard fast food joint. I also appreciate the fact that they take the time to present the burgers nicely, instead of just wrapping them in paper and throwing them in a bag. SmashBurger currently has the two location in Aliso Viejo and Mission Viejo and plans to open a third location in San Clemente in the next six months. They are also currently looking for a location in the Irvine area.
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8 comments:
Almost went to the Aliso Viejo one yesterday but will be going soon for sure.
We've been to the Smashburger in Del Mar... I've had both the burger and the chicken, with avocado, bacon, and ranch. Probably not very healthy but it's super yummy! And the carrot and green bean fries are good too.
I like pineapple rings and teriyaki sauce.
Sarah Davis
Sarah at realtorsd.com
I like green chilis and pepper jack cheese on my burgers.
I like avocado and chilis on my burgers
chau2004 [at] gmail.com
Pepper Check cheese melting on the bun.....hmmmm :D ( chrizxbox @ yahoo . com )
So thinking it was going to be busy for a Friday night I called in my order ahead of time, when I arrived it was not as busy as I thought, only for the line do in most part to the fact that the cashier decided to read off the menu to every person that walked in.
Oh I'm just getting started. Now that sometime has past to pay and my hunger has increased I decide to add some chili fries to my order.... Sitting there watching and waiting for a loooonnnnggg time for my food, the lack of uncleanliness and service amongst the employees was quite noticeable, with them touching and scratching their face and hair and head especially around the nostril region they were not picking it but it was still pretty damn gross. 20 unacknowledged minutes later I get my very cold french fries and burgers. oh so deliciously on happy !
Hey Griffin, great restaurant reviews! These burgers sound delicious. I found you when I was looking for info on the Cocoa Lounge - you were one of the only people who wrote about it. In any case, I wanted to talk to you about entering this year's OC Fair Food Blog Post contest. Let me know if you're interested (jluong@ocfair.com)!
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