Boomerangs Gourmet Burgers

One of my coworkers recommended Boomerangs Gourmet Burgers so we took a breather from work and headed down Clairemont Blvd. From the street, the building was super plain other than the upper left portion calling out the name of the restaurant. On the other side, there was a small parking lot with angled car spots and an apartment building feel, with the restaurant to the right. Once inside, you could grab seating to your right or climb the stairs to the rest of the restaurant...

Upstairs, the bar area to the right seemed trendier, or rather, the tables suddenly took on a more modern appeal (wooden tables and chairs) verses the more brightly colored booths and seating in the rest of the place. The four of us sat down at a table and pondered the menu.

The Create-Your-Own Burgers plate gave you options for three mix-ins, choice of cheese, choice of meat/weight and sides. Special sauces and certain items are an extra charge. Decisions decisions! About 15 minutes after ordering, the food began coming out. The burger platters came with the burgers separated and the accompanying side order.

This is the assembled burger with muenster cheese and my mix-ins of red bell pepper, bacon, and mushroom. It was cooked medium as requested. The mix inside was uneven because some parts of the burger I was all of a sudden sampling red bell pepper and then another bite I'd remember that bacon was in it! The mushroom was a milder flavor so I never really noticed it anywhere. The burger patty itself could have used a tad bit more salt too because the mix-ins were not enough to make the flavor memorable. The buns were buttered and had a little toast to them.

Here's an example of the mix-in visible in the patty! Coworker had jalapenos in his patty and was overjoyed with every spicy morsel in his mouth! Maybe I selected the wrong mix-ins...

I decided to try the Onion Rings since they weren't an upcharge! These things were not your typical kind either because the batter seemed so much healthier, perhaps baked since it was not oily! The onion slices inside were almost an inch in thickness giving very hefty sized rings. As amazing as they looked, I didn't like them at all because they were too weird tasting. I found out that they were made with panko and a few herbs instead of the typical beer batter or whatnot.

My coworker ordered the Garlic Fries, which were kind of softer to me. The cuts varied between thick and thin so consistancy was not there. The garlic flavor wasn't quite present on the fries and you had to rub them into the plate where the garlic flavoring had fallen down to. I wasn't impressed with the sides and wish I had ordered sweet potato fries instead (forgot about those when ordering).

One coworker wasn't in the burger mood and ordered the Mahi Mahi Chipotle Salad. The fish itself had a hint of lemon (squeezed with the lemon provided) and otherwise a very minimally marinated fish. It was well cooked so basically what you'd expect for a tuna steak. Among the salad bites, I tasted a chunk of tarty sun dried tomatoes and the greens were doused with ranch-like dressing with a tapatio kick mixed in. Altogether a great way to make the chipotle dressing.

Is this place the best? Hmm, the burger could have been more mouth-watering but it was decent. Service felt a bit too slow and even being the first customers (other than a guy at the bar), it took a while (made to order). The prices weren't that cheap either, being over $10 for lunch but at least they included sides. If my coworker wants to go again, I'd give it a second go because I'm curious about their pre-set burgers, specifically the flipped bird - pineapple, yellow bell pepper, guacamole and sun-dried tomato aoli. I'd hope that the sweet potato fries fared better than the poorly implemented sides we picked on this visit.

*off topic*

On our way back to the office, we stopped by a DRIVE THROUGH convenience store. Seriously?! I've never heard of it and it's pretty cool. Imagine a regular convenience store split down the middle to provide an aisle big enough for a car. The cash register is near the exiting side and you don't even have to leave your car for some purchases. Sorry no pictures but this one is off Clairemont Drive. I wonder if this is the only one in SD...