The Search for the Best...Cheeseburger (Rnd 2 - Pt 1 )
We here at Seattlest admit to being a tad anal. Now that we have four winners of the past Search for the Best Cheeseburger, we can now move on and compare these winners against one another, with the ultimate goal of finding the one burger from which all others will be judged. (Apparently not only are we anal, but we're also huge fans of run-on sentences.)
So we're now comparing two previous winners of these searches. The Six Arms Pub, whose burger kicked the holy bejesus out of the Pike Place Pub's travesty, is going up against The Attic Alehouse, who easily beat the sad, sad burger from Kidd Valley.
The winner of this comparison will end up being one of the two cheeseburgers from which future contenders will be judged. The losing cheeseburger will be lost to history. So you see, there's a fair amount riding on this.
Cut below the jump for the comparison.
Bun: Previously, Seattlest was impressed with the sesame seeded steak hoagie bun that the Attic had used, while Six Arms had an acceptable bun.
Oh the difference time makes.
The Attic's bun was still as tasty as before, buttered and grilled toasted, but Six Arms had a fresh, flour-dusted white bun. So the Attic gets points for creativity, Six Arms equals them by sheer taste of their bun. Our score? A draw.
Attic - 8 | Six Arms - 8
Meat:A difficult call here. We give points to the Attic for buying locally and also actually adding ingredients to their meat patties in the form of their secret steak tartar sauce. But for some reason the meat looked gray as it sat on the bun. Tasty? Sure, but oddly not as tasty as our previous go-round at the Attic.
But Six Arms has a nice burger as well, highlighted by the fact that they use an open flame to cook their burger. It's this little fact that makes Six Arms' meat a little better tasting in our opinion, even if only a little.
Attic - 7 | Six Arms - 7.5
Burger/Bun ratio: A clear winner here, as Six Arms had near perfect Burger/Bun Ratio. The Attic still suffers as there seems to be more burger than bun at the ends of the hoagie bun.
Attic - 7.5 | Six Arms - 9
Cheese: The Cheese is what will make or break these burgers. The cheese is the Achille's heel of both of these cheeseburges.
The Attic's cheeseburger at least we could taste. Sharp and distinctive, we could easily pick it out when we bit into the burger. The only complaint? It could have used a little more cheese.
Six Arms? They still have the same problem with their cheese. We knew it was there, thanks to the texture, but as far as taste is concerned? Non-existent.
Attic - 8.0 | Six Arms -6.5
Misc.: How to rate miscellaneous? The Attic allows for options for your sides. Potato salad, onion rings and steak fries are all available. That's a plus. On the negative side, as tasty as the burger was, the Attic's burger had...well...aesthetic problems.
Meanwhile, Six Arms has really good fresh-cut fries which go perfectly with the malt vinegar out on the table. Aesthetically? It feels like your eating a burger, rather than a submarine sandwich. It's a small distinction, but an important one.
Attic - 7.5 | Six Arms - 8.5
So as we tally up the results, it looks as if Six Arms defeats the Attic 7.9 to 7.6. The Attic has a perfectly fine cheeseburger, but Six Arms has a slightly better one. If Six Arms could get some decent cheese, this burger would be damn near perfect.
Six Arms Pub & Brewery
300 E. Pike St.
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 223-1698
Attic Alehouse and Eatery
4226 E Madison St.,
Seattle, Washington 98112
(206) 323-3131
