A few weeks ago, I accepted an invitation from Zomato Philippines to a foodie meet-up at this new burger joint at the Molito Complex in Alabang called, Burger Geek.
Burger Geek is owned by George Kho, who got the inspiration for this restaurant during his trip to New York last year. He shared that the original name for the establishment was supposed to be Burger G.K., a play on his own name. But then they decided that Burger Geek is more apt for the school theme of the place.
The restaurant is pretty small with one huge counter at the back. All their chairs and tables were customized and made to resemble those that you’d typically see in schools.
Their decor also feature stuff you’d normally only see in schools such as a blackboard, a bell and a Table of Elements.
During the time of our visit, Burger Geek was still on its soft opening and so some of the items on their menu were not yet available. Mr. Kho explained to us that they were also still in the process of perfecting everything and were eager to get feedback so that they can make some improvements if necessary.
I was happy to find out from Mr. Kho that they do everything in-house, from the baking of their potato buns, making the bacon, grinding the beef and all that. They also do not use any fillers on their meat and use only sea salt and pepper to season it while it’s being grilled to a perfect medium rare.
I guess, if they can only do even the growing of all their ingredients they would. They actually placed that statement on one of the counter toppers found on the tables. Each table has a counter topper with a Geek Fact sharing interesting things about how they operate.
Now, on to the food. We were able to taste some of their appetizers and burgers that day.
Complimentary Kropek
I’m not sure if that’s what they really call this appetizer. Haha! Obviously since it’s complimentary it’s not on the menu. It’s a nice gesture though for them to serve this to their customers while they are waiting for their orders. They’re crunchy and nice to munch on.
French Fries and Onion Rings
On their menu, french fries and onion rings are listed together with pork rinds and fried pickles, selling for Php 65. However, we did not get to try the other two. I didn’t like the first batch of fries served to us because they didn’t seem fresh and were unpleasant to eat. Mr. Kho apologized and explained that they had to get fries from another supplier that time because of trouble with the original one. He eventually served a second batch, which were cooked with certain adjustments and it was a lot better. I still liked the onion rings better though.
BBQ Chicken Salad (Php 145)
I’m not a big fan of BBQ sauce so I was a bit cautious with this one. Surprisingly, the BBQ sauce was very light and not overpowering. The vegetables were fresh and the chicken was very tasty. I also love the extra crunch brought about by those big slices of crispy wanton wrappers.
Chicken Wings (Php 210)
I’m very particular with chicken wings because they’re one of my most favorite things to eat. This one wasn’t bad at all. Their menu states they have four different kinds but they only served one flavor to us that day. This one is the Original Buffalo, I think. The chicken was very juicy and flavorful. I also like that even though they poured the sauce over it, the chicken wasn’t too saucy.
Each one of us were asked to order a burger of our choice. The Burger Geek menu consists of 11 different types of burgers with names reminiscent of your typical school stereotypes. I ordered the Straight Aes.
Straight Aes (P255)
It had American cheese, smashed patty, lettuce, tomato, shiitake mushroom, sauteed onions and BBQ sauce. I ordered this particularly because I love mushrooms on my burger. I was happy to note that this one has a very generous amount of delicious mushrooms in it. I like that the potato buns were freshly made. The meat was very tasty and very juicy. It was so juicy, in fact, that it soaked up the wrapper and it became quite messy to eat. There was also more onions than I would have liked but I still appreciate the dose of sweetness that they added to the burger. Overall, this was a winner for me and would definitely order it again in the future.
The other burgers that my other companions were able to try were as follows:
Class President (Php 310)
This has American cheese, smashed patty, lettuce, tomato, crispy bacon, shiitake mushroom, onion rings and BBQ sauce.
The Hangover (Php 335)
This has American cheese, smashed patty, french fries, beer syrup, bacon and fried egg.
The B. Mac (Php 385)
This consists of double cheese, double patty, mac & cheese patty and lettuce.
The Burger Geek menu also features three types of sandwiches and I was able to try one of them.
Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (Php 240)
This consists of American cheese, fried breast fillet, lettuce, tomato, original buffalo wing sauce, and quick pickles. The chicken used here is as flavorful as the chicken wings served to us. Actually, this is like the sandwich version of the chicken wings. It was very tasty and yummy. I’d order this if I wasn’t craving for a burger.
As for the drinks, Burger Geek serves your usual soda, but they also serve Classic and Premium Shakes such as the strawberry one below.
Sadly, it wasn’t my order so I wasn’t able to taste it.
Overall, I’m very pleased with this dining experience. I’d love to try the other burgers on the menu next time though. But with regard to those items I was able to try, the only thing I wasn’t too happy about were the fries. I hope the inconsistency issue with the supplier will be resolved soon. Other than that, I was satisfied with the food. The place was clean and the service was fast. I’d say this place is definitely a must-try.