Maginhawa St. Chronicles: Design your own burger at The BRGR Project

I found out about the BRGR Project when Tita Sipin, Jake's mom, emailed me an article from Our Awesome Planet. We're burger lovers--mostly Jake, I was just recently converted, so we've been wanting to check it out for the longest time. Also, I'm currently on a mission to try all the restaurants along Maginhawa Street. I shall be dragging Jake or any willing companion with me every week to check out something new.

We cruised up and down Maginhawa Street to check out potential restaurants to try on our next visit. I've already tried Friuli Trattoria and Al Fahkr with  my mom and lola so I want to check out Kiss the Cook with Jake next. We've already been to Goodburgers at Greenhills one too many times so we'll let that pass. I'm mildly curious about Gayuma ni Maria, ditto for Spazzio, Umbul Satu Cuisine, Delish, and Sancho Churreria. Must be nice to live in that street, there are so many cool restaurants to check out within walking distance.

After annoying Jake for a bit when I made him go all the way to V. Luna, we went back to Maginhawa and found a parking spot in front of The Burger Project. We went in and felt like idiots for a few minutes since the waitresses did not bother to explain the process to us. Heck, we were the only ones there they could have been more helpful. Oh wait, it's already detailed in a helpful step by step procedure but it would have been nice if they gave us recommendations for our choices. They give you a form which you have to fill up, kind of like a multiple-choice exam, so you can choose your meat, bread, toppings, sauce, side dishes, and drinks. I got a huge kick out of the collection of colored pens you can use, since I'm shallow like that.

After handing over our forms and paying for our food, Jake went outside for his requisite yosi before eating and I checked out our surroundings. Right beside BRGR is Sancho Churreria. I peeked inside for a bit and saw pastries. We were already planning to eat at Wicked Kitchen for dessert so I didn't nag Jake to check the place out. Big mistake. Jake's mom showed me an article about Maginhawa street when we went to his house that day and I found out it's run by ex-Dulcinea chefs so apparently, their pastries are delish. Must try it next time!

We went inside and only noticed that they already had pre-designed burgers you can order. Hmmm. No regrets, though. It was fun choosing everything for myself. Bleu Buffalo sounds yummy.

We both got 1/3 lbs Angus beef burgers which were huge. However, we will always be partial to Charlie's so no, still not the best burger ever. I got mine with gruyere cheese, tomatoes, and caramelized onions, Jake got his with gruyere cheese, bacon, and pickles. For the price, the burgers were juicy and huge and the toppings were generous.

We also ordered a basket of fries and buffalo wings to go with our burgers but we sat there for 15  minutes before we found out they forgot to cook our side orders. Jake was already fuming by that time so we went ahead and ate our burgers, trying not to let the crappy service ruin our appetite for lunch. Our fries and wings arrived and I must say, the wings were yummy. We're also quite picky with buffalo wings and while The BRGR Project's take is on the sloppy, saucy side, we loved the taste. It was a bit messy to eat the wings, though, so I wasn't able to take pictures up close--I love my camera too much to get buffalo wings sauce all over it. We were back to our happy mood by the time we finished the wings and hightailed it out of there, I still couldn't resist giving the servers an evil glare. 

The verdict? If it weren't for the crappy service, we would have had a great time at BRGR. The food was good, although a bit pricey when you think about it (they charge per topping, per type of bread, per sauce--the works) so if you want to enjoy your burger with loads of toppings, expect to pay a bit more than you would if you ate at some other burger joint. The wings were a pleasant yummy surprise, especially since it looked like it came from a ready-to-cook pack when they served it. It's definitely a huge plus that you can design your own burger. 

I can't wait for our Maginhawa Street date part two! We also made a side trip at Bookay Ukay since I wanted to buy new books. I was in geek heaven!

How to get to Maginhawa Street: From Quezon City elliptical road, turn right at Maharlika Street then turn left then another right at Rodic's, that's the start of Maginhawa Street. Or from V. Luna, just go straight 'til you see Maginhawa and the row of restaurants. You won't miss it.