Quick Bite: Eureka!

The Fresno Fig burger, because mine
just looked like boring meat.

Sunday lunch was at Eureka! at UTC. I'm not a huge burger fan, so I'm certain that purists will disagree with me here, but this is probably my favorite burger place in the city.

The Fresno fig burger is one of the bougiest you'll ever see. It's fruity and sweet from the fig marmalade, but has a good salt level from the bacon and goat cheese. It's topped with arugula and porter mustard just to make sure you know it's fancy. The fries that came with our burgers were pretty standard, light in color and a little on the floppy side, but good for dipping. They came with a tangy ketchup, and we asked for some aioli too, which was garlicky and ranch-like.

I had the Eureka punch to drink, which was strong and tropical with pineapple, white rum and simple syrup. My bone marrow burger was, in a word, buttery. It was literally dripping with fatty goodness—in a good way, as long as you ignore how absurdly unhealthy it undoubtedly is. There weren't any really assertive flavors here; it had just a little acidity from the roasted tomato and the mustard aioli. Beyond that, it was just a tsunami of umami.

When my dad's turkey chipotle burger on lettuce arrived, the plate had so much greenery it looked like a salad. It wasn't half bad, seasoned with some distinctly southwestern spices. The charred tomato salsa, avocado and feta toppings are almost enough to make you forget you're eating... turkey.

The blackened fish tacos were also pretty tasty. The blackened seasoning combined with the mango salsa gave them a vaguely Caribbean vibe. I would have liked a slightly shorter cook time on the fish, though.

Eureka is in the business of Elevated Burgers, and that means cramming them with loads of fancy toppings. If you're in it purely for the ground beef experience, this is not the place for you. But if you, like me, believe the patty is merely a canvas on which to paint an elaborate work of burger art, it's worth a visit.

Score: 7 out of 10 (Very Good)