A few facts for context before we get into the heart, no, meat of the matter.

1. I was really excited to don the burger hat.
2. I could walk to this location from my office (a mile) and even my apartment (two miles)!
3. I don’t eat beef generally.
4. Because of #1 and #2 and being honored with the chance to blog, I ate a hamburger at the BEU meeting for the first time since 9th grade. That burger hat really does blind one’s vision, metaphorically and actually!

So, now you see why this was a pretty big deal? I walked down to Viviane as the sun set and arrived ready. The meal started out very well with a delicious salad and endless fries (who doesn’t like endless fries?). The fries were very crisp, which is extremely important to me. Texture! Bonus points for these.

The burger arrived and I was a bit confused because I hadn’t yet ordered one? I guess they were just delivering them randomly as they cooked them. For quite the jumble of moving people that we are, I commend the restaurant for their general friendliness and calm (until payment; they definitely needed more than one person processing everyone’s bills!).

Now for the actual burger, I am not going to be able to compare it to other beef burgers (because I really don’t remember what they tasted like when I was 14). But I can tell you if they tasted good in absolute terms!

1. Bun – quite good. Nice temperature. Nice buttery-ness but not too greasy. As good as most I’ve had. I was happy it wasn’t brioche.
2. Double patty – I don’t think it’s impressive to have two patties. Especially such generic flat-planed patties. This may be audacious, but did they even make those patties themselves? Why not just make one patty that is larger? Real hard-hitting questions! Mine was medium rare which is correct.
3.  Bacon Onion Jam – Theoretically a great flavor combo, although surprisingly not that impactful. Also the texture was kinda weird.
4. Cheese – there was definitely cheese? I think? Maybe not? I don’t recall.
5. “Secret Sauce” – is it still cute to call it “secret sauce”? Just tell us what it is, OK?

Also, it’s $19. Generally it tasted good, but I wouldn’t say it had a high taste to price ratio. However, the place was beautiful (love that wall paint pattern situation and poolside lighting) and the company was fantastic as at all BEU gatherings!

Out of 37 people in attendance, here’s how Viviane fared:

Appearance: 7.5588

Patty: 7.8529

Taste: 8

Creativity: 6.5882

Bun: 5.4705

Toppings: 7.4705

Value/Price: 6.1176

Service: 5.9117

Total: 6.8712

And Michael Phelps beat out Darth Sidious in the “Who would win in a fight?” category.

Dasmarie: Someone bring me back to this swanky spot for a date, son!

Patrick Clancy: What is this, an episode of Beverly Hills 90210? I felt so fancy! Burgers were soggy, but tasty!

Brian Litwin: Fries were great! Salad was good!

Garrett McElver: I found it to be quite delicious, although the bun got a bit soggy. Fries were addictive. Overpriced though. Paying for location, which is really pretty.

Kristin Genovese: It feels like we’re on Melrose Place – I’m waiting to see if anyone falls in the pool. A+ burger.

Binks: When it takes a minute to get your burger (because of the volume) yet you don’t care because the setting and the people are so great – something is working. Shoutout to Tadji from Viviane for coordinating and shoutout to those motherfucking fries.

Leah Bublis: Bacon jam for the win. “Once you cut in half you never go back.” -Garrett McElver

Michael Sherwood: The meat was high quality, and the patty was perfectly cooked, but the burger was heavily over salted and the bun was insufficient for the sogginess of the burger.

Paul Rocha: The fries were great!

Tina Chen: Awesome atmosphere! My burger fell apart after a few bites. Boo.

Aminè: Fries were great!

Terra Simon: Good burger overall!

Geoff Siegel: Tasty burger, nice ambience + ½ mile from my place. What’s not to like?

Hafter: Very wet (greasy) but tasty.

Michael Coates: A bit greasy and soggy bun! Not bad though…

Peter Wade: +1 for curated poolside experience, +1 for fry plate, -1 for curated poolside experience, -1 for confusion, -1 for extra messy.

Cory Shackelford: I’m the only fool in a bathing suit. Thanks B.

Brayden: Look man, I told the people in 2 separate emails to get prepped for a pool party, none of these fools listened. Also. Bacon jam = nice touch.

Manny Montiel: Extremely good gd dm burger.

Andrew Hawthorne: “Burgers aren’t meant to be pretty!” -Chris Piccarro

Natasha Albert: Veggie burgers are like the middle ginger child.

Jill Pedone: Wish someone would give me a well done burger always rare.

Andy B.: High fat content not a great Olympic diet. But man oh man was it tasty. Wait staff not stingy with the ketchup or fries.