I was so looking forward to January being a great month for burger lovers in the Queen City. Three new dedicated burger spots have opened in the past six weeks or so and I was absolutely certain that at least one (or maybe even two of them, considering their pedigrees) would hit the proverbial ball out of the park. Perhaps I shouldn’t have set my sights so high.

I was most looking forward to ZBGB on the corner of Race Street and West Fifteenth Street directly across from Taft’s Ale House. ZBGB is run by the same owner as Zula Restaurant and Wine Bar, just one block away. Zula has never disappointed so I was (perhaps wrongly) assuming the same experience at ZBGB. Let me just state right off the bat that there was nothing glaringly wrong with our meal or our dining experience at ZBGB. In fact, the server was great, very friendly and knowledgeable without being overbearing. The cocktails were delicious as well. Some of my friends had beer, but I sampled a great bourbon, honey and lemon concoction whose name escapes me. (Their website is not up and running yet, so I wasn’t able to reference that as a fall back.) We all shared a delicious Carbonara Mac and Cheese and each of us ordered (or shared) various burgers. It was cooked exactly as I ordered and delivered to the table promptly. Everyone seemed to enjoy their food as much as I did. Perhaps because I was enjoying the company of my dinner companions, I didn’t pay much attention to the pricing on the menu. My bad. I don’t usually get too caught up in pricing at a restaurant if I really enjoy it but this time was different. Among the two of us, we had three cocktails, an appetizer and two burgers (that came with fries). I’m not sure what I was expecting, but most certainly not almost $100. I am of the opinion that restaurants come in all price points, and when a lower priced one ticks all the boxes, that is a bonus. But conversely, if a higher priced restaurant doesn’t or can’t justify the price, its over for me. Am I saying that I will never go back to ZBGB? No, but I probably won’t suggest it to a group of friends again any time soon.

Americano Burger Bar in the 84.51 building on Race Street across from Macy’s comes from the owners of Fountain Square’s Via Vite, a restaurant that I find to be one of the most wildly inconsistent in the city. Almost always great for a party or four or less, Via Vite seems to stumble badly with large groups. Assuming the same from Americano, I stopped by on a Tuesday evening with only one other person about two weeks after they opened, hoping to give them a fair shake at getting it right and they still couldn’t do it. Let me first start by saying that if you call yourself a burger restaurant (and your name isn’t Johnny Rockets or Steak ‘N Shake) you had better have more options for cooking your burgers than “pink” or “no pink”. Not cooking to temperature for a restaurant in this setting and location is inexcusable. I might overlook that, but after waiting 45 minutes for a so-so burger that was delivered “no pink” even after I ordered it “pink”, I was in no mood for an average burger. I can wait for an eternity if a restaurant is busy, but I have no patience for a staff that is standing around twiddling its collective thumbs. We also ordered a non-alcoholic root beer float that was served with either spoiled or freezer burned frozen custard. I would like to think that I could come up with a better adjective to describe it, but the word “gross” just seems appropriate. Luckily I had ordered a soft pretzel with beer cheese or I would have starved to death waiting for my burger. (OK, so I am being a touch dramatic.) I didn’t order a cocktail, but the bar looked cool and there were several large games like shuffleboard the I might enjoy playing if I were two or three drinks into an evening out with friends. Americano is open late every night so maybe the bar will be their saving grace. The burgers certainly won’t.

Bru Burger, an Indianapolis based chain that also operates Stone Creek in Montgomery and Moerlein Lager House at the Banks, opened in a portion of the cursed location on the corner of Sixth Street and Walnut Street that formerly housed El Coyote and Cadillac Ranch about a month ago. I am rarely a big fan of chain restaurants, but this one has potential. My visit here was far from perfect, mostly due to subpar service, but my burger was good enough for me to make another visit. I ordered the Garlic Three Cheese Burger, topped with Swiss, American and Mozzarella cheeses and Truffle Aioli. Mine came out on the first attempt just as I ordered it, but the people I was dining with were not so fortunate. If fact, one of their burgers was not cooked to the correct temperature (well done, not difficult to do) and dressed as he ordered it until the third try. Our experience was sullied by the improperly cooked burgers and the less than attentive service, but upon later reflection I feel like I will probably go back in a month or so. My gut feeling tells me that the service kinks will have had a chance to work themselves out by then, and the bottom line is, my burger was pretty good.