Red Fez

Providence, RI
yelp.com



The Order: Fez Burger. 1/4lb beef+chourico burger with American cheese, open-secret sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mustard on a toasted potato roll.
Side Order: fries ($3)
$6 + $3 = $9
Drink Order: Berkshire Brewing Co. Lost Sailer IPA
Burger Menu Rating: 10/15



Although not on her agenda for proving that Providence has great burgers, my friend Ali (we'll call her Providence Ali) took me out to a bar she wanted to try out called Red Fez which might have late night dinner food. And have food they did! And it was tasty!

I'd not had a burger with so different a flavor in a while. The chourico blend meat was a divine choice that was so exciting I though my taste buds were going to explode (Chourico is a Portuguese sausage similar to Chorizo). Every bite was just a mix of varied and interesting flavors from sour to sweet and all in between. The open-secret sauce was delicious (what's the secret?!), combining with, but not getting in the way of, the flavor of the meat. The meat itself, because of the chourico, is garlicky and spiced and full of awesome flavor that could have stood out on its own, but was delicious paired with the sauce and mustard as counter flavors. The lettuce and tomato didn't add much to the burger, and was thankfully included in small proportion. The red onion, on the other hand, was sweet and perfect. I did, however, question the use of American cheese on this burger. Sure it doesn't get in the way, but it didn't really do anything for the burger beyond the texture.

Though well priced at $6, this patty was a little thin though for a place like this, and I'd much rather be able to specify how my burger is cooked than not. The same can be said of the fries. You don't get that much for the price you pay, and they're merely average. Seasoned with salt. Perhaps, next to the burger, they don't live up to expectations, and perhaps that's a good thing. They don't compete with the burger for attention (notice the burger arrives sitting ON TOP of the bed of fries), but there's something to be said for fries that could be as interesting as the burger with which they're served.

Red Fez has a small but varied draught selection and a varied bottle selection to satisfy their hipster clientele. The rest of the menu looks interesting as well, though I tried a bite of the fried Mac and Cheese that everyone raves about and was mildly disappointed.

Thank you Providence Ali for showing me about your town of respectable burgers.


Cooked Correctly = 4pts
No choice of how you want it cooked? = Waved due to Pork
Presentation/Plating = 1pts
Design/Ingredients = 3pts
Value = 2pts