When I was in San Diego a couple weeks ago we decided to do some recon at a place backed by a lot of internet chatter: The B Spot. Nestled into a mostly Asian strip mall, (I say Asian because Kearny Mesa is home to Chinese, Japanese and Korean markets, restaurants and stores and despite my formidable UCLA education, I cannot read any of those languages) it offers teriyaki bowls, sandwiches and burgers. The style is eclectic to say the least: laminated pictures of menu items stick to the walls, tables are pop/mod looking and a large tv next to the counter plays the Food network. You order at the counter, where drinks rest in humming mini fridges behind the register, and then sit down at a colorful, squiggly table.
We ordered the combo fries which consisted of regular fries, sweet potato fries and yam fries. Apparently sweet potatoes and yams are not the same thing... contrary to my prior life knowledge. The fries came out first, smelling delicious with a light seasoning on them and, shockingly, I preferred the yam/sweet potato fries (I can't tell them apart) to the regular fries. They had better flavor and texture. However, I wish they had been served with their own dip, maybe a garlic aioli or thousand island. I ordered the Chopped Bacon Burger (duh) with cheddar cheese and cajun sauce, while my Dad had the Avocado, Bacon and Swiss Burger with a peppercorn mayo, and my little brother bucked the system and had a teriyaki bowl.
The burgers came out all tall and leaning-tower-of-Pisa-esque. I squished mine down and took a big bite- these were going to be messy. The Cajun sauce was strong and overpowering, definitely had some heat to it. I did ask about the Cajun sauce before I ordered, and it was described as a "spicy thousand island" which I felt wasn't quite accurate. The bacon was really bacon bits, which would have been better cooked in the patty, or on a bacon salad, one of my other favorite lunch items. The real concept that drew me to this place was that the cheese is hidden inside the meat. And while this kept the cheese melting and oozy, it also meant it was distributed unevenly. It was hard to get a bite of burger with every topping in it. My dad loved the peppercorn mayo on his, and I actually liked his burger better, the avocado gave it a cleaner flavor, and without the Cajun sauce you could actually taste the other ingredients.
It was only $25 for 3 people, so definitely reasonable, but it fell short of expectations. Conceptually they're close, but execution didn't cut it. All the internet chatterers who backed this burger need to expand their horizons, and I have a few ideas for my next San Diego endeavor...
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