Burger Theory

Monday, March 4, 2019

Burger Theory

1420 Cummings Street, Omaha, NE

Disclaimer:

We started this blog by saying we wouldn’t do negative reviews. We hold true to that, if we truly don’t like a place, we won’t post a negative blog about it. That being said, however, we are not opposed to telling both the good and bad sides of places. So if we do have a less than perfect experience somewhere, but there are still some good things to highlight, we will post about it. This is one of those posts.

Where we went:

Tonight we were hungry for a big juicy burger. There are several great burger places in Omaha we haven’t blogged about yet, so we thought about which we should try. We chose Burger Theory, a relatively new restaurant located in the lobby of a Holiday Inn a new and upcoming area just north of Downtown. Burger Theory is located just two blocks away from TD Ameritrade Park, and the Convention Center, so we are sure they get lots of business in the warmer months of the year. Also, with a name like Burger Theory, we assumed there would be lots of burger options to choose from.

What we Eat:

Eric wanted a drink from the bar, but was surprised to discovered that the drink menu consisted only of a large list of beers and a few wines- there were no cocktails to speak of, despite a large bar full of liquor bottles being predominantly featured in the middle of the restaurant. The second surprise of the night came when we realized they only had six specialty burgers on the menu. They did, however, have a fairly large list of options for a build your own burger.

Kyle Ordered the Philly, a burger with grilled peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese, while Eric built his own burger with pepperjack cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, roasted red peppers(!) and something called KGB sauce. Kyle’s Philly also came with this KGB sauce. We asked the waitress what that was and were told it was a combination of ketchup, mayo, garlic and spices. Kyle got his KGB sauce on the side while Eric was all gung ho about getting it straight on his burger. Also, all burgers come with the option of one beef patty or two (or even as chicken or veggie patties). We were trying to decide which option, but couldn’t find anywhere on the menu that specified the size of the patties. There was only one burger on the menu (the BT Boss) that specified it’s patties were ½ pound, so we assumed that applied to all the burgers and agreed that we each only needed one patty each.

The burgers came with french fries or coleslaw, with up-charge options of onion rings and salad. We both just went with the fries.

After the meal we ordered desert. Eric went with the Brownie Sundae to get his chocolate fix and Kyle chose the Apple Crumble.

The Food:

Here is where our mixed review really starts coming into play. Remember how we had a bit of trouble trying to figure out how big the patties were going to be because the menu was vague and ended up just assuming that the ½ lb. size listed on one of the menu items applied to all of them? Well, what we both got was definitely NOT ½ pound. We regret not taking a picture of just the patties, but both of our burgers had the very distinct feeling of those old “Where’s the Beef” commercials. That being said, the burgers were good, juicy and flavorful, we just wish there was more to them then what we got, especially considering the fairly high prices of the burgers. Also, the KGB sauce was very bland. We honestly thought they had forgot the seasoning as it really just tasted like mayonnaise mixed with a little bit of ketchup. Eric actually ended up just adding ketchup to his KGB sauce to give it flavor.

Despite the size, Kyle’s Philly burger was very good. The patty was rich and juicy, and the combination of mushrooms and grilled peppers give it a unique taste and texture. Kyle tried some of the KGB sauce with it, but chose to stick with traditional ketchup to give it an extra pop of traditional burger flavor.

Eric also enjoyed the taste of his burger. He loves roasted red peppers, and it's rare to see them as a burger option. They paired well with the pepperjack cheese. He had hopes that the KGB sauce would compliment it as well, but it really didn’t add anything to the burger.

The fries on the other hand were fantastic! Warm and flavorful with a rich and unique combination of seasoning and a great texture, and were clearly fresh out of the fryer.

And then there was dessert. Sadly, Eric’s Brownie sundae also left a lot to be desired. The brownie was cold and hard and had clearly been pre-packaged, dumped into a bowl and covered in ice cream. Kyle’s apple crumble, on the other hand, was delicious. Fresh and warm and steaming, it was almost too hot to eat at first, with ice cold french vanilla ice cream on top.

The Atmosphere:

Being located in a hotel, one would think the atmosphere of Burger Theory would be very cheap, but it is not. First, it felt like an extremely large restaurant with booths that could see 8 to 10 people total. Unfortunately, there are no restrooms located inside, you have to go out into the hotel lobby to find a restroom, and there is no sign telling you this.

However, each booth features their own TV with a channel controller built into the wall. This was particularly unique, however, one could see the issue of watching TV instead of talking to your dining partner. Also, our TV screen was very dirty, clearly young children had sat at the table before us and got greasy fingerprints on the screen.

Burger Theory also seemed to double as the hotel’s continental breakfast hall, as from our booth we could see a long counter with boxes of cereal and empty plastic containers that appear to hold breakfast pastries.

Finally, for a name like Burger Theory, it seems like a missed opportunity to not have any kind of science theming around the restaurant or the menu itself. The decor is bright and pleasant, but lacking in personality.

The Service:

When we arrived Burger Theory we were the only patrons (it later filled up a bit more). We were greeted warmly and seated immediately. However, at one point our waitress came over to see if we were ready to order, when we said we weren’t she apologized and said she was just bored. This seemed like an odd thing to say.

Unfortunately, we should have ordered when she asked, because it took us several minutes to get anyone’s attention when we were ready to order. Funny enough, the bored waitress never came back to our table the rest of the night, and a different waitress eventually saw us looking around and came over to take our order.

After we did order, we should have timed how long it took to get our burgers, because it seemed like an abnormally long about of time. But our new waitress seemed very keen on helping us, because she refilled our drinks several times, which was nice.

In the End:

One final thing to note, the area of north downtown is not known for its multiple parking options. So before we selected Burger Theory, we called ahead to see where we were able to park. The person on the phone said it was okay to park in the hotel parking lot, located just behind the building, and to enter the restaurant through the hotel lobby. This seemed fine as, via Google maps, we could see a very large lot behind the hotel. However, there is a sign posted as you drive into that lot that says “authorized vehicles only”. This made us second guess our instructions, but because the lot wasn’t full, we decided to park there anyway (we had no issues). Burger theory is clearly built for hotel guests and foot traffic along Cummings, so don’t expect to easily find parking in the lot or area during major events like the College World Series.

In the end, though there were some positive aspects of Burter Theory, mostly the fries and apple crumble, there were many more downsides than we have been used to. We will likely not be eating here again, as we feel there are many other amazing burger places in the greater Omaha area that give you far more, and far better food for half the price. That being said, we won’t overtly discourage you from going. In fact, we would love to hear from anyone who has gone and has had a better experience than we did. It is very possible they were just having an off night, or had a poor cook in the kitchen. We always encourage readers to try places for themselves and form their own opinions.

Oh, one positive fact we forgot...they have bendy straws!