charr, an American Burger bar

 This week we travel north to an area called Moon Valley, at Thunderbird and 7th Street, to a place called "charr".  Move over Red Robin because this place is a true gourmet hamburger place.  We arrived around 5pm and seated quickly at a large comfortable table.  Our waiter came to our table and said those magic words we like to hear "We serve Coke products here".  He then whisked away to retrieve our sodas.  As we looked around the place, we saw that only three other tables were filled and two people at the bar.  You can always tell authentic restaurants by what is playing on the wall tv's.  For example, in a Chinese restaurant they will have an all Chinese program on.  So when I looked up on the wall and saw that the TV was on ESPN and showing baseball, I knew this was going to be a place serving truly authentic American food.

Buffalo wings are a American iconic food but here at charr, they kicked it up a notch with their "Charred Garlic Chili Glazed Chicken Wings", our first appetizer.  These are chicken wings that have been doused with a spicy sweet chili sauce and topped with green and red bell peppers.  It is served with a side of chipotle mayo for dipping.  The chicken was moist and juicy and complimented well with the sauce.  I did enjoy the amount of sauce that they put on, there was plenty for extra dipping if needed.  If the spicy chili sauce wasn't hot enough for you, then try the chipotle mayo.  Some people might say it will grow hair on your chest, but it for me it only created a five alarm fire in my mouth.

Ok, first dish down and my mouth is on fire, so what do I order next?  Of course the "Red Fresno Poppers".  These are fresno peppers that are stuffed with sweet onion cream cheese & cucumber slaw, served with a side of the chipotle mayo.  These peppers have a nice deep fried crunch on the outside, with a soothing creamy middle.  I was expecting these to burn my mouth right away but I put down the first one without a problem.  It had a little spice to it but I didn't think much of it, then I popped in a second one.  Whoa Nelly, now I could start feeling the heat!  I was even stupid enough to dip it in the chipotle mayo.  I do not recommend this without having a drink close by.

If you haven't noticed by now, I've been rolling with a Southwestern theme in my orders at this restaurant.   After eating my appetizers, I wiped the sweat from my brow in time for the main course to hit the table.  I ordered "The Phoenix".  This consists of hamburger grilled to order (I like mine medium rare) and topped with roasted green chili and char valley cheddar and of course more chipotle mayo in between a garlic knot bun.  My burger was cooked exactly how I like it, flame-broiled and still mooing on the inside.  The green chilis gave an interesting texture but not as much spicy heat as I had expected.  The kick mainly came from the chipotle mayo instead.  I did order a side of truffle fries.  French fries do not automatically come with the burgers, you do have to order them separately.  When they arrived at the table, the appeared to be the skinny, shoestring fries that I really don't care too much for.  But I was found that once I started eating them, it was almost impossible to start.  They had an incredible flavor from the truffle oil.

Patti had had enough of the spicy stuff so she ordered the "Carolina Barbecue.  This grilled burger is topped with a barbecue sauce that is mustard and vinegar based.  It also had applewood smoked bacon, jack cheese, whiskey carmelized onions, butter lettuce, hot house tomato, and a Bermuda onion to add between the garlic knot bun.  I also went for a side order of the house made onion rings.  Her burger came out a bit undercooked because she ordered it medium rather than medium rare.  The combination of the sweet whiskey onions and the applewood smoked bacon paired nicely with the tang of the barbecue sauce.  The house onion rings were beer battered and lightly fried are extremely delicious but I recommend that you eat them all at the restaurant because they didn't hold up in the reheating for left-overs.

charr gives a nice new twist to the old burger.  So when you are tired of same old burger places and you want to get some awesome wings, you should head over to charr.  Because if you haven't tried the truffle fries, you should try it now!