2161 Paul Jones Way
Lexington, KY 40509
Phone: (859) 263-7777
Website: http://www.culvers.com/
Locations across many states, mostly in the Midwest
Time of Visit: November
28, 2015 at 1:00 pm
My Order: Double
Butterburger with cheese
Onion Rings
Culver’s Signature Root Beer
On my way home from southern Illinois, I again passed
through Lexington, so I stopped to have something from Culver’s, another chain
store that we don’t have in Maryland.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience.
Burger Rating = 3.7 (****)
Presentation, Overall Rating 3
The store has a fast casual format, so one can’t expect
the presentation to be too fancy. It did
come out freshly prepared and the burger looked good. Still, the overall presentation was a bit
lacking. They put my entire order
(except the drink cup, which I received when I ordered) all in a basket, which
was fine, but then the basket sat on one side of the tray, giving the
presentation a very lop-sided feel. It was apparent they had thrown the
burger together fairly quickly. A very
average, non-special presentation, so I can’t give any higher than a 3.
Meat, Overall Rating 4
Like many Midwestern chains, Culver’s uses the smashed
patty style of cooking burgers, my favorite.
The patties were cooked well, looked appetizing, were well seasoned, and
had an adequate amount of juice. They
had a real good flavor and I enjoyed eating them. However, there was a bit too much gristle in
them to give them a perfect rating, so I will give a 4.
Bun, Overall Rating 4
The bun had a nice, shiny brown crust. It was toasted very nicely and had a great
flavor from a light spread of butter.
Finally, it held up really well all through my meal. My only critique is it was probably better
sized for a single patty, with two patties being a little too much meat for the
bun. It was good though, so I’ll give it
a 4.
Toppings, Overall Rating 4.3
American Cheese: Finally,
a place that realizes if one slice of cheese is the right amount for one patty,
when you add a patty, you need another slice of cheese. This cheese was well melted and tasted
great. I have no complaints whatsoever
on the cheese and will say they did it right, a 5.
Mustard: They had
good yellow mustard in the right amount, but it wasn’t spread around properly,
so all the mustard was one side of the burger.
If it had been spread around more, it would have been perfect, but as
is, only a 4.
Onions: Nice rings
of white onion, with a good flavor, there was the right amount for the
burger. However, they also were not
spread across the burger properly, so another 4.
Pickles: These
were pretty standard dill pickles slices, like you would get at any grocery
store. But, they had a good flavor and
added to the burger. But again, they
were piled on one side of the burger, so another 4.
Balance/Taste, Overall Rating 3
Overall, this was a pretty good burger, but it had its
faults. First of all, the burger seemed
just a little too greasy, not overly juicy, greasy. There was a good contrast of flavors and
textures and the burger held up well until the end. If only the toppings had been spread across
the burger better, it would have been a more consistent experience. Finally, there was no special sourcing of
ingredients, so no bonus points there. I’ll
have to give a final total of 3.
Other Notes:
Location and Access
This store is located in a shopping center/mall on the
east side of Lexington. The complex is
easy to find, but you have to look for this store, as it is set back from the
main road. There is plenty of parking.
Facilities
The store looks nice inside and out, both clean and well
designed. There were plenty of tables
but no outside seating.
Staff and Service
The service is pretty good. After ordering and taking my seat, the food
was brought out pretty quickly.
Sides
Onion Rings: These
were pretty good onion rings, with a crispy batter-dipped coating. I’m not a fan of overly thick cut rings and
these were just the right size.
Culver’s Signature Root Beer: I don’t drink much soda, but decided I needed
to try this. It is their signature root
beer after all. It was a good root beer,
but I couldn’t see anything extra special about it.
Value
Altogether, this meal cost me a little over $9. That’s not bad, but I could have had the same
meal at Steak n’ Shake for a few dollars less.
