January 27, 2012. Sunday.
Special Note: For this blog entry, KiMiguel are joined by Migs' friends Brent, Joseph, Jeti, Francis, Alex, Felix and Hannah. No in- depth reviews will be given to all orders as everyone had a "putok- batok" moment, rendering any chance at a coherent thought process lost.
Being a huge burger fan and carnivore, I've always wanted to eat at Zark's ever since I first saw images of its big- ass burgers back in 2011. As a QC kid, making the trek to Taft seemed too arduous just for a burger. But the stars aligned and the heavens opened (haha!), and I found myself in Taft on a lazy Sunday! I just had to try this little burger joint that has gained a following over the past couple of years.
Zark's started out as a little hole in the wall that has since then grown into a full blown eatery after news of its greasy and diet- busting menu gained steam on social media sites. Before we get to the food, let's talk about the place first. I'm not sure as to the school allegiance of the owner, but the walls are adorned with images of past and present DLSU men's basketball stars. It makes sense since it is located in a building called Archer's Nook and is smack dab in the middle of Archer land. It doesn't have the best interiors (biased!) nor the comfiest seats, but that doesn't matter since you came here to get your carnivore on, right?
On to our orders, starting from the smallest to the biggest and greasiest.
Zark's Ultimate Burger.
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| Zark's Ultimate Burger. 130php. |
The Zark's Ultimate Burger consists of a single quarter pound patty on some fresh veggies, topped with mushrooms, bacon and a heaping cheese sauce. Yes, you read that right, cheese sauce! It is served with a side of thick hand- cut fries and a glass of iced tea. I know it's not an original concept since other burger chains have their own variations of the bacon mushroom melt. But do you know any place that prices their melt this low? I didn't think so. Just for the price alone, this trumps all other bacon mushroom melts out there.
Jackhammer.
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| Jackhammer. 180php. |
Ever head of a Juicy Lucy? This is Zark's version of that beloved Minnesotan favorite and Discovery TLC feature. It's basically a half pound cheeseburger.. with the mozzarella and cheddar inside the patty! You probably have experienced a regular cheesburger served hot of the grill, with the cheese slice melted on top of the patty. Yum, looks delicious.. but then the cheese starts to form and thicken on you. A Juicy Lucy/ Jackhammer makes sure that doesn't happen, or at least tries to prolong the inevitable. This was Kim's order, and she enjoyed that the cheese was oozing from the core of the patty. Again, this is served with a side of fries and a glass of iced tea.
Deep Fried Burger.
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| Deep Fried Burger. 185php for half pound patty. |
All great burgers are grilled, or at the very least fried on a flat stove. But never deep fried. Disregard any conventional thinking and rational thought, Zark's deep fries a whole burger -- bun and all! I'm not sure as to how they make this, but I'm thinking they first assemble the mushroom cheeseburger the traditional way then lose their minds and dip the whole thing in batter and deep fry it! I didn't get to try this, but this looked like the greasiest thing I have ever seen! Deep Fried I have my eyes set on you!
Jawbreaker.
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| Jawbreaker. 250php. |
This, for me, is the pièce de résistance of the whole Zark's menu. There might be a bigger and greasier Tombstone compared to this, but the Jawbreaker has Spam, bacon and cheese! How would you not want that?!? Oh, and did I mention it has three, count 'em three! Three patties in it! Okay, let me calm myself down, and enumerate what is in this burger. First you have three patties fried into greasy perfection, then there's Spam and bacon on top, then there's also cheese in between the patties! Before I forget, it sits on a bed of fresh lettuce, but then again you don't care about that.
I attacked this barehanded, no utensils style as all self respecting burger aficionados should. At one point in my grueling battle with it, my nose was getting greasy from making contact with Spam, bacon and patty! The Jawbreaker is also prone to the patty slip -- y'know the scenario with all big burgers that the patty tends to slip from the bun and you don't notice at first, but then you are left with more patty than bun. Yup, that happened to me but it's all good. At one point, I was missing the whole top bun and still had a portion of Spam, bacon and all three patties in my hand! This is just pure burger heaven. Hands down, value for money- wise nothing can top this. Well, maybe an egg topped Jawbreaker. Hmmm. And if you are brave (for your health) and crazy enough, finish this bad boy in 5 minutes and it's free! Plus you get your name and picture on their wall.
Despite it being a little far out of our comfort zone, we'll surely be back try more of the grease- filled menu!
Zark's Burgers
2nd Floor Archer's Nook Bldg, Taft
In front of DLSU Taft
0923 7372517
(02) 392 1211
http://www.zarksburgers.com/
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