Anyone who knows me will tell you that while I am not averse to fine dining, all things being equal I find a good burger hard to beat. Cincinnati had a variety of good options, but a favorite is unquestionably Gordo’s.
Officially Gordo’s Pub and Grill, the pub is definitely a hole in the wall. The first time we tried to go there we completely drove by it even though we were looking for it as it is nondescript. When you walk in the shotgun space there is a bar on the right and table seating past it. They do have a good beer selection but burgers are what we are talking about. While it may be a dive bar, the burgers are gourmet.
The burgers here are generally round and not smashed down flat on the griddle. As a result, the towering sandwiches have to be held together with a long toothpick.
The chef here is a friend of Jean-Robert de Cavel, the closest thing Cincinnati has to a traditional “celebrity chef.” Jean-Robert moved to Cincinnati in 1993 to become the chef at the Maisonette. He now has an upscale restaurant downtown near the Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts but also has lower-priced options like his relatively new Frenchie Fresh. As a tribute to his friend, the chef at Gordo’s offers a burger called the Jean-Robert. The burger is topped with grape compote, blue cheese, goat cheese, lettuce, and mayo. I am not a blue cheese fan but my wife tells me it’s good.
I have three favorites plus one I have never been brave enough to try.
First, there is their standard Gordo’s Burger. It starts with roasted poblanos but I am not a fan of really spicy food so I leave that topping off. It also has mushrooms, onions, smoked bacon, Boursin cheese, and mayo.
The French burger is also great. It is topped with brie cheese, a sweet onion jam, applewood bacon, a spring mix of greens, and mayo.
Finally, I also really like the Gfat burger. The beef is topped with pulled pork BBQ, applewood bacon, cheddar cheese, fried onion strings, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.
Gordo’s does have other options on their menu. I have had a souped-up grilled cheese that was actually smoked cheddar and gouda on grilled sourdough with braised pork belly and smoked bacon with a side of barbecue sauce. But I still say to go with the burgers.
The burger I have not been brave enough to try, but undoubtedly will on a day when I am really hungry, is the Hangover burger. This monstrosity—and I mean that in a good way—is topped with smoked gouda, smoked sausage, cheddar, Canadian bacon, American cheese, smoked bacon, fried onion strings, and a Chipotle BBQ mayo!
Okay, one more that I will eventually have to try is the BPJ burger. The burger is topped with a fried banana, chunky peanut butter, cream cheese, jam, and smoked bacon. I have had burgers with creamy peanut butter as a topping, but the chunky peanut butter with cream cheese, jam, and not-a-banana-but-a-fried banana is probably better than it at first sounds.
The only criticism I have of Gordo’s is that there is an upcharge to have a side other than fries. They serve steak fries which are certainly fine but sometimes you want something else. The last time I was there I paid extra to substitute broccoli. It was a more-than-generous portion for the additional charge but it was blanched at best. It was basically a big bowl of raw broccoli. But that’s a minor quibble. Have the fries and give Gordo’s a try if you are in the area.
A good read. Now I’m hungry!