Hopdoddy Burger Bar - Camelback was Hoppin'

Hopdoddy Burger Bar – Camelback was Hoppin’

The Two Gay Geeks decided to venture across town to Hopdoddy Burger Bar – Camelback located in the Town and Country Shopping Center (is it still called that?).
I have seen it show up in restaurant searches as well as some of our good friends have frequented the place so, it was only a matter of time until we made it over there.
A good burger is always welcome fare.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar – Camelback

Hopdoddy is an odd name but it is a combination of Hop for the hops in the beer to Doddy, the name of a type of Scottish cow (Aberdeen Angus). Thus Beer and Burgers together are Hopdoddy Burger Bar. Hopdoddy has a great corner location with a number of outdoor tables and a nice selection of tables, booths, and bar seating inside. It is order at the counter service and they have menus right inside the door, which is a good thing (I hate winding up at a counter with no clue what is on the menu). We glanced at the menus and not knowing how big the patties or the burgers were we both decided on the Classic Burger; mine with cheese and Ben’s with Bacon and Cheese. I saw they had Green Chile Cheese Fries on the menu and my arm had to be twisted to order them. And we ordered a small order of fries as well. Two fountain beverages completed our order. The total was reasonable for what we ordered.

We made our way over to the fountain area where we both chose iced tea, but I did notice they had Maine Root Soda’s and while, I have not tried that brand the product dispensed looked appealing with flavors like Vanilla Cream Soda and Root Beer. We then went to our assigned table as they were very busy and an employee had come down the line and assigned tables before we got to the counter to order.

I went to wash my hands and by the time I got back to the table our burgers had arrived, but no fries… Ben went to ask our waitress about the fries and just shortly a manager came by apologized and said they didn’t seem to be on the original ticket. Hmmm. We waited patiently. I wasn’t going to start eating until my whole meal was present it’s just a thing with me. Anyway, the regular fires arrived in a 1.5 quart stainless steel bowl (enough for two) and the Green Chile Cheese Fries arrived in a 3 quart stainless steel bowl (enough for a family). About another minute later someone else showed up with regular fries and Chili Cheese Fries… and said he was only doing what he was told. We sent those back and proceeded to eat our meal.

The burger was okay, it could have used maybe just a bit more time on a hotter grill to sear the patty to slightly punch up the flavor. Next time I will add a little salt and pepper. They serve 7 ounce patties, which is an unusual size, most burger places do 4 ounce, 5 1/3 ounce, 8 ounce, or 16 ounce patties. However, the patty was just the right size for the bun. We were informed later that they grind their meat fresh each day (see photo of meat room below). The Bun was really good and the onion, tomato and lettuce were very fresh and crisp. The Bun’s are baked fresh every day as well. So, the fresh approach is part of their brand. I knew none of this going in.

The fries they serve are cut fresh from Kennebec potatoes. Kennebec, you may ask? They are a potato with a thin skin and low moisture potato originally bred in 1941. They have traditionally been used for chips but make excellent French fries because of the low moisture when cut small and thin. They fry up crisp and don’t get soggy quickly. The Green Chile Cheese Fries were served, as I said earlier, in a stainless steel mixing bowl, quite a large portion, with a cheese sauce poured over the top of the fries. The fries were served with two forks to use for blending as they needed it to properly coat the fries with the cheese sauce. If I had to venture a guess, the sauce was made with Tillamook White Cheddar Cheese (present on the menu), Poblano Peppers (also on the menu)(I would have preferred New Mexico Green Chiles but that is just me), and onion. It was a good mixture with a little bit of spiciness and nice hint of flavor from the Poblano’s. Once the fries had made it to the table the sauce was just cool enough so it was ready to mix and coat the fries nicely.

All in all, the food was good, the service was pleasant, after we got all of our food, and the atmosphere is very nice. If you are a beer drinker, this is a place to try their monthly specials where they pair a beer and a feature burger. They also have a burger special where they donate a portion of the price to a local charity. We will definitely go back again and probably only have one order of fries and try some of the other more adventurous and interesting burgers on the menu.

Hopdoddy features the plant based Impossible burger if you are a vegetarian and they have gluten free options for buns. Hopdoddy also has other options such as Chicken, a Turkey grind with sundried tomato and basil pesto, and a Black Bean Patty if you don’t eat beef. Check the website for nutrition and allergen information on all of the items they serve.