C: Today, our burger was Apollo Burger! First thing I noticed, as I went to sit down in the booth—and Josh warned me about this—I immediately sunk down to the floor. The bench is leather over a hole.
J: They’re not all like this. It’s just the one bench. Anyway, there are several locations in the greater Salt Lake area. It’s a local chain. We’re in Draper right now. There’s one in Bountiful. I guess technically it’s Woods Cross.
C: Very important distinction to make. The Bountiful people get mad if you call them Woods Cross. They’ve sent me death threats. They threw a rock through my window with a note attached to it. “We live in Bountiful, bitch! Not Woods Cross.”
Apollo Burger. It’s a quarter-pound patty. Flame grilled. This is one of a few Greek-owned burger chains here in Utah.
J: I had the signature burger, the Apollo Burger. It’s got a lot of pastrami. Big, thick folds of pastrami.
C: Pastrami is a very strong meat. I don’t get it every time. If you read our Chedda Burger review, I was perturbed by the pulled pork dominating the burger, and if there’s too much pastrami, it becomes a pastrami sandwich. And the burger takes a back seat.
J: This is a little better. They have hung their hat on this entire time. And the pastrami is not too much. It’s not overwhelming. It was good! It’s a burger with few or no weaknesses although nothing individual stands out as exceptional. It’s not the best bun you’ve ever had. It’s not the best patty or sauce you’ve ever had. But it’s all good, and it comes together to make a really solid burger. They make me feel a little sluggish.
C: It’s a lot of burger, especially if you get the double. The flame-grilled patty, they do it very well. It’s a distinct flavor. You can taste the char and the flame. It’s smokier, not as pure of a beef flavor. Smokey, filling, tasted like a cookout burger. Not greasy at all. Juicy on the inside.
J: Very filling.
C: I couldn’t finish my meal! I had to surrender. Not because it wasn’t good, but there is so much food here. The vegetables are all chopped right up in the back. Toppings were not mass produced and packaged. There’s no way. Big, thick vegetables. Bun topped in cornmeal which gives it extra texture and flavor.
J: The fries were a little undersalted. But I can always put more salt on them. So that’s on me.
C: You know what I used to do as a kid? I would take the salt packet and pour it out into a pile. Then I would take a fry and lick it so it was sticky, and roll it in the salt pile, coating it with salt. And then I would eat it that way.
J: Yeah, that’s the correct way to do it.
C: It was horrible. I could do that about three times before I started having night sweats. It was bad. These fries were nice though. I had a lot of flavor in my fries that didn’t come from the salt. I could taste the fried oil, I could taste the potato. They’re medium thick, and the smaller ones are crispy while the big ones are soft. You get a bit of everything. They’re good fries.
J: How was your shake? Can we talk about the whipped cream? Very good whipped cream. I got a simple vanilla shake. You can taste the ice cream in these!
C: They are generous with the mix-ins. I got Reese’s and there were plenty of pieces in there. Feel free to speak up, Nolan. Nolan is with us. This is going on the podcast. There’s no podcast.
Nolan: I had the Oreo shake. There was plenty of Oreos, I would probably say a solid…fifteen Oreos.
C: There were FIFTEEN Oreos in your shake??
N: OK, ten, probably ten.
J: I’ve had the Oreo shake here before, and sometimes it’s nice because they don’t crush them up all the way, so sometimes you get half an Oreo in the shake.
C: I like how they’re blended. They’re sweet but not in such a way as to imply they pour extra sugar in it. Not too sweet. The flavor is really coming from the milk and ice cream. How was your vanilla?
J: It’s a great vanilla shake. Simple and effective. No funny business. It avoids some of the trappings where, and a lot of restaurants do this, you try to do something too unique or different and miss the mark. They keep it basic here and it results in a fine shake.
C: Apollo Burger does well. It’s not the only pastrami burger option, but it’s a good one. Not a gourmet burger, but a working man’s burger.
Editor's note: Josh keeps his reviews as objective as possible, but I know he has a soft spot in his heart for Apollo Burger. How do I know this? After months of talking about how dedicated he was to the establishment, he decided to buy a house. I remember accompanying him to look at a few options with a realtor. I'll never forget the look on her face when, after she had explained the home's various amenities, features, floor materials, etc. Josh asked her, "How close is the nearest Apollo Burger?" She didn't really have an answer.
Josh eventually bought a house, and when he did, he had some of us over for a housewarming party. After arriving, we were led into the kitchen, which was tidy and minimal (Josh doesn't keep a lot of food at his house as he doesn't usually eat much more than burgers). As we complimented Josh on his new place, he grabbed the drawstring on the blinds and lifted them up. There, in clear view of the kitchen/living room window, just across the street, was an Apollo Burger.
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