Burger Tours: The Savant Project
Posted by Catie on April 27, 2011 in Boston, Featured, Photos, Restaurants
Tags: Boston Burger Tours, boston restaurants, burger tours, burgers, cheese-stuffed burgers, groupon, Iggy's Bread, the savant project, yelp
This post is by Eat With Me managing editor Catie! Boston Burger Tours is a group of Emerson College burger-lovers who go out every Wednesday in search of the best burgers in Boston. Vegetarians and meat-eaters attend the weekly adventure.
- The Savant Project Bleu Cheese Stuffed Burger
Heading out to Brigham Circle in February for burgers was quite a trip for eight mostly Cambridge-dwelling burger lovers, but Burger Tours is about the burger and we will go great lengths to try a promising burger. The Savant Project intrigued us because of it’s locavore practices (like using Iggy’s Bread, a Cambridge bakery), and mixed reviews on Yelp. Plus we had a Groupon, so away we ordered.
The Savant project has a slightly shabby chic feel with distorted walls painted gold and mismatched chandeliers. It wasn’t too busy so we managed to get an enormous booth that fit all of us, but it was by the door so we all mostly kept our coats on. Our waitress was very friendly and was even playing some good music that was unfamiliar to me, but deemed “awesome” by the obscure-music fans at our table.
The Starters
We started out with some drinks; a couple rum and cokes, beers and a Pomegranate Martini and Frenching an Asian (all cocktails $6-9). One of the best things about the Savant Project has to be the drinks— not only are they tasty, but the names are fantastic. Even if you aren’t drinking, read the drink menu. Favorite names: Screw in the Alley (“Sex on the beach, but in Boston… and in an alley”) and The Mistress (“Classy, bubbly, and a little bitter, just like any mistress should be”). They also have beer cocktails and a hot cider drink.
We also ordered a small plate of Crispy Yucca Fries ($6) with spicy tomato aioli and pickled red onions. They came out with the burgers unfortunately, but were pretty delicious with the aioli. When we saw the mountains of fries that came with the burgers, though, we realized maybe a non-fried appetizer would have been a better choice.
The Savant Project Crispy Yucca Fries
The Burgers
The burgers here looked mouthwatering just from reading the descriptions on the menu. We had several orders of the Half Pound Bleu Cheese Stuffed Angus Burger, which is topped with a spicy onion ring and applewood smoked bacon ($13.50), as well as a couple House-Made Veggie Burgers, which is topped with red pepper hummus, feta cheese, and a spicy onion ring ($12.50).
A few burger-lovers were disturbed by the fact that only certain cheeses were offered at dinner, specifically there was no cheddar cheese and not everyone likes bleu cheese. This was only the beginning of our problems though. Most of the burgers were cold when they came out, except the veggie burgers that came out last, though they became cold quickly due to the lack of heat in the dining room. Some burgers were burnt, and there was a huge variance in medium-rare burgers. As good as a cheese stuffed burger sounds, this one did not have enough cheese or juicyness to satisfy those who ordered it.
Since the veggie burgers came out hot, they were much more enjoyable— they had good consistency and a good combination of flavors. Red pepper hummus and feta gave a great savory taste to the white bean-chickpea burger.
The Savant Project House-Made Veggie Burger with a Small Mountain of Fries
Besides the actual burger meat, an incredibly important element to a burger is the bun it’s served on. The buns from Iggy’s were perfect for the burgers, but the Savant Project seemed to have missed the memo on always toasting buns. They were cold, which just drew to the fact that everything was cold— the buns, the burgers, the dining room, the burger-lovers.
The one redeeming quality about all the burgers was the spicy onion ring on top. Even those who aren’t fans of onions will enjoy this part of the burger. The onion ring didn’t slide around the burger, but in fact perfectly complimented and melted into the burgers, both veggie and meat.
The Extras
Both burgers come with a heaping portion of hand-cut mixed fries (potato and sweet potato), which were a little too salty when eaten alongside the burgers but were a good combination of crispy and soft.
Overview
It seems that everyone except me and the person next to me was freezing cold, partly because we were sitting right above a heater. We were mostly disappointed with this place, probably more than we would have been if it didn’t have “savant” in the name. It seems like a place touting to be “learned scholars” of food should reconsider that. It’s possible that they just had a bad night— maybe the heat went out, the warming plate in the kitchen didn’t work, and only one cook came in. We’d be willing to give this place another shot, though we would rather not take another gamble on a $13 burger even if the description has us drooling.
What do you think of The Savant Project? How important is a toasted bun? Where should Burger Tours go next? Tell us what you think!
Hey guys, just discovered your website. Great job! Maybe we can grab a burger together sometime..
Thanks for checking out our site, Richard – I’m sure Catie and her Burger Tours crew would love to get a burger with you at some point. If you ever want to do a guest post to drive some new readership to your blog, we’d love to feature you!
Best,
Matt
We’d love to have have you! I’ll be in touch soon.
Catie