Burger Madness Casual Division Round 2: Smoke and Fire

Contenders:

Buck's Fishing and Camping: Buck's wood-grilled burger with cheddar and applewood smoked bacon. $17

Matchbox: Bistro burger with melted gorgonzola, cremini mushrooms and applewood smoked bacon. $13

Analysis:

When it comes to giving you a burger that's close to an outdoor grill experience, both of these restaurants excel at delivering on their names. Buck's in particular, serves up an appropriately smoky burger with a meaty, grill-flavored patty and smoky bacon. If that's not enough smoke, you can even get a side of smoky mayo. It's a substantial sandwich, with a hearty bun served with fresh lettuce and onion.

Matchbox bistro burger

Matchbox's burger (shown above) is also thick and meaty. The toppings are numerous, but they play well together, especially the combination of the sautéed mushrooms with gorgonzola and bacon (blue cheese and bacon are always a nice combo). This is a good burger, but its downfall is the bun. Matchbox uses a buttery role (brioche). When combined with what is already a greasy meat, it's a lot of grease for one sandwich.

Verdict:

Buck's Fishing and Camping. Although I really like the Matchbox burger, it's greasy bun sinks it against the perfectly composed burger at Buck's.