H|Burger Comes to Boulder

I guess you know you’re getting “old” in the restaurant writing biz when you can name three restaurants that have been in the same space.  I’m sure there were more before this, but since I’ve been writing for YS, I’ve seen Bim Bamboo, The Pinyon, and now H|Burger occupy the same space on east Pearl.

Here’s hoping the space isn’t cursed or something, because H|Burger makes a great addition to the Pearl Street scene.

Upscale burger places are enjoying the same sort of popularity as upscale pizza joints right now, and H|Burger, based in Denver, is capitalizing on it. It’s got a sleeker look and feel than places like Larkburger or Smashburger, with table service, top shelf burbon, and a menu that goes beyond your average patty and cheese.

I got to sample the eponymous H|Burger, an Angus beef patty with roasted Hatch chile, smoked cheddar, bacon, and a house-made tomato red pepper jam that pretty much secured a spot in one of my top 10 burgers of all time (TheChive.com picked it as one of the top 10 burgers in the country, and it won the Denver Burger Battle by a landslide).

But the veggie burger definitely held its own, too.  I really loved the chickpea flavor (a little like falafel) and the topping of sweet and spicy bok choy, red peppers and greens.  YUM.  Both went well with their hand-cut fries; the truffle fries were certainly tasty, but the regular fries were nearly as good, so don’t feel bad if you skip the cheese and shrooms.  They were served with their H|Sauce for dipping: a garlic mayo spiked with roasted ginger.  Forget the ketchup.

I’ll be interested to head back and try some of the other stuff on the menu.  The sweet and spicy hot wings did just what they said on the tin, and they were pretty darned spicy.  But I’d like to try the fried artichokes, the lamb burger, the pulled chicken club, the Thai beef salad… Yeah, I pretty much want to try it all.

Save room for dessert, because the Nutella marshmallow shake, spiked with liquid nitrogen for some special effects, was pretty darned tasty, too.

I’m getting hungry again just writing about it.

H|Burger Boulder
Opens Thursday, May 17
1710 Pearl St., Boulder
hburger.com