I got the opportunity to join some other bloggers to hear more about Smashburger’s new burger and beer pairings menu from Founder, Tom Ryan. I had heard great things before our visit and I was so excited to see what the buzz was about.
The Cincinnati market has local craft beer from local brewer Christian Moerlein. Each market carries craft beer and a signature burger that is local to the area. Our tasting was the perfect storm.
Tom Ryan has a Ph.D in Flavor and Fragrance Chemistry and Head Brewer, Richard Dube from Christian Moerlein shared with us his expertise on craft beer. I’ll be honest and share that I’m not a huge fan of beer, my husband loves it but I’ve never really enjoyed it. Richard was up to the challenge of broadening my brewery taste buds if I could promise to keep an open mind. I did and my favorite craft beer of the night was the Barbarossa Dark Lager.
Each market also has signature appetizers. We tried the delicious sweet potato fries and their Smashfries (rosemary, olive oil, and garlic). Both of them were incredible. The Smashfries were so flavorful and unique.
We also had the fried pickles and fried pepper rings. You cannot go wrong with anything deep fried.
Each burger that we tried was so flavorful. You will have a hard time choosing your favorite. Below is the BBQ, Bacon & Cheddar with BBQ sauce,applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, ranch dressing and mayo on a multi grain bun.
The local burger for the Cincinnati region is the “Buckeye” which has fried pepper rings, American cheese, haystack onions, lettuce, tomato and mayo on an egg bun.
My husband and the owner share a Grand Rapids connection. (They both are Westsiders) We learned that the Olive Smashburger in Grand Rapids is the only city where the local Smashburger outsells the Classic Smash which has American cheese, Smash sauce, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion on an egg bun.
I was shocked to discover that my favorite of the night was the Mushroom Swiss which has sauteed baby portabella mushrooms, mayo, and aged swiss on an egg bun. I tend to love the flavor of mushrooms but hate the texture. This burger was just right, I loved it!
This sandwich snuck in the mushrooms with such flavor that the outcome overcame my preconceived ideas about mushrooms.
Another unexpected surprise was the Spicy Veggie Black Bean sandwich which had fresh jalepenos, guacamole, peeper jack, lettuce, tomato,onion, and chipotle mayo on a spicy chipotle bun.
I love spicy food and the sandwich has such great flavor that it could make you desire a veggie burger at a hamburger place.
I also had the unique opportunity to learn how to smash a burger with founder, Tom Ryan. The patties are never frozen and are made to order using high quality angus beef.
My burger flipping skills still have room for improvement as you can tell.
My first visit to Smashburger will definitely not be my last! Smashburger makes burgers reminiscent of the quality of your grandma’s era and the style of modern cuisine. The result is a fresh and flavorful burger that cannot easily be forgotten.
You can learn more about Smashburger from their website.
Disclosure: I was given a complimentary tasting for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
I also have been given $20 in Smashbucks to giveaway to a lucky reader.
(There are currently over 140 in the US nationwide)
Congratulations to Erica Best for winning $20 in Smashbucks to Smashburger!
To Emter
Comment on this post by sharing if you have been to Smashburger before 9pm on Thursday, May 23 and share what burger pairing you want to try on visit. (required to enter).
*Bonus entries (comment separately for each one)
Become a fan of the adventure mom on facebook and comment here that you did.
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Winner will be randomly selected by random.org and will be contacted by email and must respond within 24 hrs or a new name will be drawn. Must be 18 or older to enter. Winner cannot have won a previous giveaway in the past 30 days.
Cristy Groendyke
Anything to do with food….I’m in.
epifania
But id try anything!!
epifania
Never been!! Always wanted to go since my town just got one!
Ron Borgatti
Smash Burger is great – classic with an IPA!
amy barber
email subscriber
amy barber
Already Adventure mom fan on facebok
amy barber
We have never been but would love to try them
Nikole Mayfield
Facebook fan
Nikole Mayfield
Never been but would love to try the buckeye
theresa greer
I have never been but would like to try the buckeye
brandy purdon
I am also a fan on facebook
brandy purdon
I want to try the mushroom and swiss 🙂
Vickie Jones
Classic Smashburger with Lager
Vickie Jones
I subscribe to email updates.
Vickie Jones
I am a fan on FB.
Ashley Heaps
Looks delicious!!! Never been there!
erin
I also subscribe! yyaaya
erin
I follow on FB.
erin
I want to try it all! I havent been yet.
Steve Roark
I would try the buckeye even though Ohio State leaves a bad taste in my mouth!!!
Michelle
Already a fan!
Michelle
We’ve never been before!
Natalie M
Fan on Facebook!
Natalie M
I have been one time but would love to go and try the black bean and IPA pairing !
dawn spickard
i”m an email subscriber 🙂
dawn spickard
I’m a FB fan 🙂
dawn spickard
We LOVE Smashburger, the bbq burger is awesome and so are the smash fries 🙂
krissy
We tried Smashburger not long ago and I LOVED the Buckeye Burger – with spicy fries it makes a great ‘treat’!
Erica Best
fan on fb erica best
Erica Best
Truffle Mushroom Swiss
Elisa Witkowski
I have not been to Smashburger, but am definitely intrigued now! You can’t go wrong with any Moerlein beer, so I picked based on the burger…which has to be the Mushroom Swiss Burger…sounds fabulous!!!
Andrea
The Colorado burger sounds awesome! They are building one just down the street from our house so we’re excited to try it.
Samantha W
i am an email subscriber
Samantha W
I am a facebook fan
Samantha W
I have not tried it before, but the classic smash looks delicious!
Sherrie Kollmann
Not a big fan of burgers, meat in general. But with 2 boys I would gladly try out SmashBurgers. For their sake!! lol
lisa
yummy!
Niki
I am an email subscriber!
Niki
I have never been but I want to go and try the bbq bacon cheddar!
Rebecca Corrente
I’ve been to Smashburger once in Grand Rapids, and I would definitely go again. I’d love to try that Buckeye Burger, but being in the Grand Rapids area, I probably couldn’t get it here. I’m sure the BBQ Bacon Cheddar would be a more than adequate replacement. Wish Smashfries, of course. And if they could pair up with Founders for a brew, oh boy….
Fred
The classic or buckeye for me. Love burgers!!!
Lauren
I am an email subscriber!
Lauren
I am a FB fan!
Lauren
I have not been to Smashburger before, but the Club Avacado Chicken Sandwich sounds amazing.