First Bite: CaliBurger

2011-12

While the soft opening of CaliBurger tonight was delayed to an unspecified date in January, we got a chance to sample the goods and get the scoop on what happened with the upstarts and In-N-Out. While lips are legally sealed with respect to the lawsuit between the burger joints, we did glean a few things.

  • CaliBurger will be updating their menu to phase out the In-N-Out speak for, well, very similar sounding descriptions. ‘Animal Style’ will become ‘Wild Style’. ‘Protein Style’ will become ‘Garden Style’. The ‘Double Double’ will become the ‘CaliDouble’.
  • A large amount of money changed hands.
  • CaliBurger is in a celebratory mood.

While our interest was piqued by the ongoing drama, there was only one thing that had motivated us to drag our bums out to Jing’an in the cold: the promise of a good burger. We tried the CaliDouble and weren’t disappointed.

The beef is Australian, the lettuce is crisp, the buns are firm, the sauce is tangy and the cheese is Land o’ Lakes (although that may change if they can find a better distributor of American cheese). The boys at CaliBurger talked a big game when we last spoke to them, going so far as to claim that their burger would best their rivals, and it was, without a doubt, a solid competitor.  Turns out, they’ve got an In-N-Out vet in the kitchen. It shows.

In the name of research, we also sampled the bourbon shake and the grilled cheese, as well as the CaliBurger wine. The shake is admittedly still in the works (mainly it’s a consistency issue with the amount of Jim Beam Black going in – and how to keep it from sinking straight to the bottom), but the CaliBurger wine – a Cab Sav – was pretty good at the price point (RMB 38-45, they’re still figuring out the details).

There are still a few kinks to be worked out, like the potato shipments from Fujian. To get the right type of fry, you need a potato that isn’t waxy and that ain’t easy to find on this side of the Pacific. They’ve also got some wall decorations to hang up, name changes to make to certain menu items and a sign to hang up. But in the meantime, the CaliBurger Girls, or at least two of them (Candice and Kristen), are out and about in Shanghai with nothing to do. Anybody wanna show them what ‘Shanghai Style’ is?

Yanping Lu, near Xinzha Lu. Web: www.caliburger.asia

 

Related articles:

Five Minutes With CaliBurger's Chef Du Cuisine

CaliBurger Brings In-N-Out Ideas to Shanghai

 

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