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Battle of the beef
A downtown burger showdown
By Angele Sionna
Published on 04/02/2009
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Where’s the beef? No doubt about it here: The beef is cooking in downtown Flagstaff where there’s a burger showdown a-brewin’. Two brand new burger joints just opened up—giving burgers at the old favorites a run for their money—trying to capture a place on the taste buds of Flag’s hamburger lovers. Stepping up to the plate are Diablo Burger and Mama Burger. Both are cash only, no-nonsense places well-worth trying, though they couldn’t be more different. I’ve made it my job to check them out and see how the beef stacks up. Here’s the lowdown:
Diablo Burger
120 N. Leroux (in the silo by Pesto Brothers)
www.diabloburger.com
Diablo Burger is a funky little joint tucked away in a nook-like spot by Pesto Brothers off Heritage Square downtown. It’s what one might call a hole in the wall, but with style and a hip feel.
DB has no real waiters and waitresses, but everyone there is very friendly and welcoming and makes sure you’re enjoying your experience.
The menu is simple yet deluxe. The focus is on local ingredients using grass-fed, free-range beef coming from the Diablo Trust Ranches here in northern Arizona. They offer burgers and fries and a few other tidbits, yet they don’t leave vegetarian friends and family hanging. DB also serves up a gourmet grilled cheese, soup, salad and soon a veggie burger too.
The burgers all come with superb fries seasoned with rosemary (so good they’re going to be added to my best fries of Flagstaff list), are served on an English muffin and range in price from $6.50 for their Monk, which is a basic burger, on up to $9.25 for the Blutarsky, served blackened with bacon, sharp cheddar and guacamole. You can also build your own burger for $7.50 for a two-topping up to $9.25 for a four-topping burger. The burgers are really fresh and you can taste the quality grass-fed beef in every bite. You can feel good about eating here too because they’ve made every effort to make it as “green” as possible.
Note to those of you who need a Coke or Pepsi with your burger: DB doesn’t serve them, so you may want to just get the burger and fries to go, bring your own soda and have a picnic in the square. DB does serve up a healthier alternative though, Hansen’s sodas.
Mama Burger
112 E. Rte. 66 (next to Arizona Music Pro)
Mama Burger is the other new burger joint downtown that is ready to give previous favorites some competition. “Hole in the wall” describes them as well with only a few stools at their small window front.
Mama has a basic menu: burgers and fries (plus soft serve ice cream and shakes). If this isn’t what you’re looking for, then at least you don’t need to ponder whether or not to go. If you are in the burger mood, it’s perfect and probably the best-priced local combo you’re going to find in town, or at least downtown.
You can get a cheeseburger with all the fixings, fries and a fountain soda (with free refills) for $6.95 (only a buck more to make that a double). And if you’re just looking for a burger, you can get the Mama Burger (with no cheese) for $3. On the downside, fries à la carte are pricey at 3 bucks for a small bag. So the combo is the way to go here for sure.
Mama burgers are simple but quite tasty. They kind of have an old-fashioned flare. The toppings aren’t deluxe by any means (they use plain, old iceberg lettuce, for example) but they get the job done.
Mama Burger—with its old-fashioned simplicity, and Diablo Burger—with its modern, eco-friendly experience, will most likely draw different crowds, but both are great additions to the Flagstaff dining scene. I look forward to visiting them many more times in the future.
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