Phil’s Grill* (#287, 1/16/14) – 79
In a very exciting New Orleans eating development, Phil’s Grill opened a downtown location on Camp Street in the CBD (sadly to say, it didn’t last long downtown, not sure why, but the Camp Street location closed in March of 2015). I think Phil’s is one of the better burger joints in town (only had Jefferson Parish locations, so adding this one allows me to count it).
As far as food, Phil’s has a great variety of burgers. You can choose from angus beef, bison, chicken, mushroom, filet, alligator, etc. You build your own burger by checking off what you want on an order pad and handing to the server. For instance, I’ll take the bison, cooked medium, on jalapeno bread with horseradish honey mustard, lettuce, tomato and bacon, as well as jalapeno jack cheese. They have a lot of toppings and sauces and a good selection of sides as well (I really like the grilled vegetables, which is weird for me). I like this place a lot, but I will say, if you just want a regular beef burger, it’s probably better to run by Company Burger – better burger, better price. But if you want some fun varieties or if you have a group of people with varying tastes, this is a great place to go. I’m giving it a 40 out of 50 (big score!).
The atmosphere here is very good. It doesn’t look like much from outside, but it’s a very long, narrow building with extra high ceilings. The building was built in the mid 1800s and once served as a recording studio. The tables are spaced out pretty well, so no need to listen in on everyone else’s conversation (unless you want to). I’ll give it a 23 out of 30 for atmosphere.
The service was good also; the woman who seated us didn’t seem too enthused, but the waiter was great. He knew everything about the menu and rattled off specials (a venison burger….hmm, may have to try that) easily. It wasn’t super-fast but decently quick, prefer they cook my burger right rather than fast. I’ll give it a 16 out of 20 for service.
Final score = 79 – that’s right up at the top for my listings. Well done.