Studio Grill

I was going to blog the Studio Grill last weekend but I forgot to take pictures of my food.  No worries, I went back to the Studio Grill and had lunch again and this time I took plenty of pictures.  A lot of people requested that I give studio Grill a try, and I am really glad that I did. My whole experience was great.  No one in town has a menu like the Studio Grill, it's definitely not your standard American cafe.  They have a really eclectic menu and when I say eclectic I am talking about Hawaiian French toast for breakfast and bacon burrito dogs for lunch.  I haven't had enough time to fully explore their menu, but the few items I have ordered have blown me away.  I said in one of my early blogs that the best burger in town was the blue burger at Central City Tap House. Sorry CCTH, I love your burger but Studio Grill is the now my nomination for tastiest burger in town, maybe even Southwest Michigan.  I have had two different burgers so far.  On the first trip I ordered their Spicy, Sweet-Pineapple Burger, but I forgot to take photographs, but I think I can do a decent job describing it for you.  Use your imagination, scream "BANG-A-RANG!" and maybe it will appear in front of you, just think happy thoughts.  This burger was fantastic, 7 oz. of fresh (NOT FROZEN!) ground beef stuffed (yes all of their burgers are stuffed) with pepper jack cheese, topped with roasted Serrano peppers, more pepper jack cheese, a thick juicy ring of grilled pineapple, on a toasted honey sweet bun smeared with a mango salsa.  The patty itself was grilled just enough so you can taste the real flavor of fresh ground meat, and it was amazingly juicy.  The true measure of a burger cook comes from patience, someone who can resist the urge to mess with their patties and flip them too early or too much.  The more moist the burger the less the chef trifled with the burger.  This perfect patty is stuffed with one of the greatest things on the planet, CHEESE!  Not only cheese but spicy pepper jack and even more pepper jack is on top of the burger, but that's not the only spice. Roasted Serrano peppers are sitting on top of a slice of grilled pineapple that had to be at least a quarter inch thick.  All of that would have been enough, but no. A mango salsa that when mixed with the pineapple bring to your mouth a snap of sweetness.  The build of this burger is intelligent, pallet wise. The heat from all the peppers invite the cool of the sweetness of the pineapple and mango salsa, and every bite takes you through this experience. It's like a tango of sweet and heat till you reach the last bite and you wonder why people are so mundane that they do a simple two step of mustard and ketchup.

On my second trip I order yet another burger.  As much as I want to try their breakfast I just cannot deny myself the delight that is a Studio Grill burger.  I ordered the Rusty Nail Burger and it was tasty.  This burger really shows their eclectic style,  7oz. burger which was again cooked perfectly (I love consistency).  This burger was stuffed with chopped up breakfast sausage links, sauteed onions and mushrooms, then topped with bacon and cheddar cheese. It's served with a side of buttermilk ranch but I decided to have mine with a side of their incredible homemade Serrano sauce.  Bravo to the person who decided a burger with bacon wasn't enough meat and stuffed the whole thing with breakfast sausage.

This burger pretty much defines savory. Everything about it was completely satisfying the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the sharpness of the mushrooms was just enough balance to cut the salt of the beef patty and the pork sausage and added to the over all joy of juicy mess.  Bacon and cheddar, that's all I have to say about that.  I'm happy that I went with the Serrano sauce, that stuff is amazing!
 I tell people all the time they need to try a place I like, but seriously people you need to try Studio Grill!  It's friendly, comfortable and completely dilettantish  in the way they operate their business.  Thank you Studio Grill for being such a reinvigorating foodie experience.
 http://www.studiogrillkalamazoo.com/index.html