Now Serving: Abbey Burger Bistro

Welcome to Fed Hill's historic cross street market. Here, I find Abbey Burger Bistro. It's tucked away in a back alley, almost to a point where it feels like secret, though most Baltimore residents are well aware of the well reviewed burgers inside.

What I think separates this from other burger joints around town is, well a few things.

1. They have a wide selection of meats, including a rotating "Meat of the Month". You can find bison, elk, kangaroo, wild boar, and many others
2. Their build a burger checklist is stuff of legend.
3. The shared sink at the restrooms, so you can see if people are following proper washing procedures.  

I did the Build a Burger option, because deep down, I'm a bit of a control freak, and wanted to push the limits of what I could create.

How did I do?

In case you didn't have your binoculars, I opted for the Kangaroo, which I've never had before, on a Pretzel roll, with sharp cheddar & gran queso (manchego), with lettuce, tomato, pickles, hot pepper spread, and Makers Mark BBQ sauce. I'll call it the "Spicy-Double-Cheese Down Under Burger". Upgrade the side to Mac and Cheese, because I can.

How did They do?

Kangaroo is a very dry meat, that still has a big gamey flavor. I understand why Australians are very easy going, because they eat Kangaroo all the f'n time. The double dose of cheese was nice, but my pallet could taste them individually. The pepper spread, at least for me, was more sweet than spicy, and made the burger very messy. I don't have visual evidence of this, because the blend of everything was so tasty, I didn't care. If anything, it became a battle of me vs. the plate to finish before it became a bigger mess. 

My only major complaint, and just me being a nit pick, is the bun was much larger than the beef. I've only ever had the pretzel bun from Abbey, and I don't know if the other bun selections are adequately proportional to the size of the beef patty, but I prefer an overhang to an access of bread. 

But all in all, Abbey Burger still holds up as one of the best burgers in the area.