Big Burger - Gordan Ramsay Burger in Las Vega, NV // Vegas III

Erika ready to chow down!

Heavenly burger

So after finding our next dinner spot, Erika led the way and got us lost. Luckily, she regained her bearings before we lost too much time. Long story short, we made our way through the sea of people between the MGM Grand and Planet Hollywood where we saw everything from strippers to people biking for charity on the sidewalk. Yeah, it was quite a classic “Vegas” night. The wonderful thing about Vegas is that after you get through the smell of weed and look around you, all the different people really contrast against each other. The city really becomes quite a diverse selection of people, with suited businessmen sauntering in the summer heat alongside scantily clad ladies with nothing covering their upper body except for two strategically placed stickers. There are the men on the bridges playing music and the tourist groups filling the bridge, with reflections of major brand signs on the glass walls around you. Luckily, there wasn’t this many people in line for Gordon Ramsay Burger, where we queued for about a half hour before making our way into the eating space.

I don’t think I need to do an introduction about Chef Ramsay - if you’ve been on the internet before or watched the Food channel before you’ve definitely heard of this guy. Known as one of the toughest chefs to work with, his fiery demeanor makes him a spectacle on television. And this persona makes an unexpected cameo in the restaurant - in the form of a flaming wall!
The hostesses were great and seated us as we came up in line at a table right next to the wall of fire (don’t worry, the fire was contained behind glass walls) and we started to go through the menu. Having just eaten a meal before, we didn’t want to stretch our stomachs (and wallets!) too much further so we decided to share a Hog Special and some truffle fries. Both were amazing, but I’m going to start with the truffle fries. They were nice and soft with the truffles providing enough salt to bring ample flavor to fries. Every time you bit into one of these guys, it was an experience. The amount of salty flavor rushing into your mouth, with the smoothness of the warm potatoes and the subtle crunch of the fried part combine into an experience. And just as we got a few fries down, the burger came.

The absolutely delightful truffle fries!

Now this burger is huge - it was definitely bigger than Erika’s head. We were actually advised not to cut it because the Hog Special ($18) is a chef’s special, but we did it anyway (sorry Mr. Ramsay). The onions, the cheese, the pickles and the burger itself definitely combine for a warm flavor cooled slightly by the pickles. The harmony within the burger was an experience. It transcended taste and became an experience - and I am now sure I will never eat another burger the same way. In fact I ate an In n Out cheeseburger a few days ago and it just did not taste the same. That is the effect this restaurant had on me. Sure there were concerns on whether I could actually take a bite out of it, but the bun actually compresses quite a bit, allowing you to take a big chunk out of the burger. It starts in the bread, and after the bread comes, the majority of the patty. And as you finish cutting through the burger, the taste of the pickle walks up and falls on your tongue, providing a nice cool flavor to the otherwise warm burger. It’s like a friend gently putting a hand on your shoulder before you charge into a fight - not controlling but not ineffective either. The warm cheese appears in your mouth as you devour the burger, and within minutes I had consumed the entire thing. I also ate some of Erika’s too, but I think she was full before I was.

Look at the size of this thing! . . . . . #burger #hamburger @gordongram @burgerorder #burgerorder #huffposttaste #lasvegas #tasty #food #vscofood #tastethisnext

A post shared by Ryan Chen (@stumpyeatsfood) on Apr 22, 2017 at 3:14pm PDT

All in all, one of my top experiences in a restaurant ever - except for the fact that they tried to sell us some photos where they photoshopped a burger into Erika’s hand ($25 per photo like whaaat). But besides the photo fiasco, if you’re looking for an awesome burger to eat while on the strip, definitely pop into the Gordon Burger Ramsay: I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Bye Erika! Probably the last time we'll see each other for a while.

You can find me on Instagram as @stumpyeatsfood and on yelp at theplumpcat.yelp.com. You can also check out more of my photos on Flickr! If you've got a restaurant recommendation or even a recipe that you think I should try, send it to me at ryanjchen2@gmail.tcom! Thank you for reading!