Tramontana - August 10, 2010

This week's burger quest took us to Preston Center to James Neel's restaurant Tramontana. Tramontana is a small bistro that is open Tuesday through Saturday and has an eclectic menu of locally sourced ingredients with French and Southern takes on the food. We walked in the restaurant and were promptly seated by our server who then told us the specials of the day which was a pasta dish and a red snapper dish. We all decided to order the Chef's Burger with double cheese and bacon which was priced at $10.95. While we waited on our burgers, the server brought us house made breads with a garlic red pepper butter which made for a nice snack while we waited. About ten minutes later, the following burger was brought to the table:



The burger was served open face so you could see the fresh lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion which I promptly turned into a nice side salad. A selection of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and ketchup was served on the side in small ramekins. The half pound patty was served on a lightly toasted artisan bun. Two slices of American cheese were melted on top of the patty and then two crispy slices of bacon were crossed on top of the cheese. The patty appeared to be hand formed and taking a bite of the burger, I tasted a juicy patty seasoned with salt pepper and garlic. The patty had also been cooked to a perfect medium with the right amount of pink in the meat. I am not sure what meats Chef Neel used in the blend but it was fresh and flavorful. The American cheese was melted perfectly and while it didn't add much flavor to the burger, it worked well. The thin slices of bacon were smoky and cooked crispy. The hamburger bun had a good flavor and held up to every bite. Finally the french fries with crispy shoestring fries that had been lightly salted. They were too perfect to be hand cut but the generous serving was a good accompaniment to the burger.


Overall I thought that Tramontana cooked a well seasoned juicy burger. It isn't the cheapest burger but the ingredients were high quality and the burger was perfectly cooked. If you are in Preston Center and looking for a burger, Tramontana would be a great choice.


Ratings (1-25):


Bun - 19, good flavor, held up well to the juicy burger


Meat - 21, fresh hand formed patty, seasoned well, crispy smoky bacon


Appearance - 20 - great presentation, cheese melted nicely, colorful vegetables


Taste - 21, great seasoning, juicy patty, high quality meat


Overall - 81