Hot Off The Press
-Article from Cincy Vibe Magazine, February 2010
"Move Over Terry’s… There’s a New Burger King in Town"
We were wondering when we could run across a burger bad ass enough to best Terry’s Turf Club and finally we found it. We’ll say it again… here’s the burger that just may topple Terry’s off their throne. It’s at Black Angus Burgers & Brews.
Any place bold enough to name their restaurant after their burger has a lot of confidence. At Black Angus Burgers & Brews the confidence is merited. The beautiful beef burger starts with, you guessed it, pure Black Angus beef. A big thick slab of it. After being grilled to order, it gets dressed up with your choice of toppings and rested atop a fresh bakery bun. Sounds simple right? If only everyone thought creating one of the best burgers in the city was this simple, we’d have a great burger joint on every corner. Sadly that just ain’t so.
One reason Black Angus Burgers & Brews burgers are so simply delicious is the fact the kitchen is chef run. No part time drop outs are allowed to pilot this grill. Chef Steve Kimbrough was schooled at Chicago’s Kendall and Louisville’s Sullivan culinary colleges and after serving as chef aboard several cruise ships, he left the high seas for steady ground. He’s now at the helm of the kitchen at Black Angus Burgers & Brews and the patrons (as well as the owner) are glad damn he’s there.
As if the burgers weren’t great enough, wait till you try the fries. The Idaho’s are fried to a golden crisp and then tossed with a secret magic seasoning that makes them taste like Mike Sell’s BBQ potato chips. It’s a first for us and one taste will have you wondering why this cool twist hasn’t been done before.
Everything on the menu is fresh made, including everything battered. Take the Jalapeno Bottle Caps, fresh sliced peppers stuck together with crisp batter, fried golden brown. A twist on the old appetizer and a quite refreshing one at that. The Onion Rings get slathered in the same batter and are just as fresh and scrumptious.
The menu is short and simple, yet simply delicious. Burgers, wings, appetizers, sandwiches and a huge 2 pound philly are the options. There is even a veggie burger that’s identical to the other burgers, but with a giant Portabella mushroom in place of the beef patty. We tore up one of those as well. The flavor was almost “beefy” since the mushroom shares the same secret seasoning and is also grilled.
It is pub grub with chef quality standards, at a working man’s prices. Unlike Terry’s Turf Club there are no $11 prices beside the burgers here. In fact there is nothing for $11 at all. A burger will set you back 7-8 bucks and that’s with fries and a pickle. Most appetizers are $4, all are less than $8. Wings are $7 and sandwiches can be had for $6-$10. The $10 one is a 10 ounce Black Angus Ribeye with onions, peppers, bacon, mushroom sauce and three cheeses on a French bread loaf, They call it the Triple Dog Dare.
Another one up on Terry’s (and Zip’s) is the interior. Plenty of space, bar seating, cocktail tables, semi private and private dining are all available. Pool Tables, games, and fat flat screens all around (plus a huge projector TV) make the room entertaining. If that’s not good enough to keep you happy, there is good live music as well (see schedule in the guide section.)
All in all, this pub is set up with hip in mind. From the cool art on the walls, to the country/rock/blues live music blend, this place is almost swank. Since they are booking bands with as much quality as the burgers it’s bound to swing too.
Interestingly enough the owner is not a seasoned pub owner. Nor did he ever really intend to be. He is a real estate investor who purchased the location years ago. It stayed fully rented until ’09. Rather than seek out a new tenant, it was decided the family would open up a new business in the location and bring the place back to a popular neighborhood spot.
Oddly, it seems that when someone who’s experience with pubs was limited to enjoying them opens up one, it turns out far better than the pubs opened up by people with restaurant backgrounds.
Black Angus certainly looks like a good investment, especially for a restaurant/pub, which have notoriously bad odds of success. The odds are bound to be drastically increased when nearly every review and web post concerning the place is comparing the burgers to the best in the city, if not outright declaring them the best. That’s a bold statement and only a hand full in the city ever managed that. Many have worked for decades to get on that coveted list at all. Black Angus did it in months, and they’re just getting started.
It will be interesting to see if they steal the top spots in 2010’s various “Best Of” awards. From the buzz so far it’s almost certain. Just like any other place you read rave reviews about the only review that really matters is your own. If you are a music fan, show up early to see the band, get a burger & fries and make a night of it.
Show up between 2-7 (Mon.-Fri), grab a burger & fries and take advantage of the happy hour drink specials and ½ priced appetizers. If you’re a sports fan, don’t forget during most games happy hour deals are also in full effect. Take out is always available too. So all you GE employees can skip the usual McCrap burger for lunch and slide over to Black Angus Burger & Brews for a takeout order of burgers & fries. It might take 10 minutes extra but this is one burger worth waiting for.
- Article was edited to change the name from Black Angus Burgers & Brew, to include the “s” in Brews.
