OYE - 10 From Burger 21

This was another fantastic, if not unique, OYE conjured up by our eminent Yelp Community Ambassador. When did you ever even consider the possibility that you would try 10 different burgers on one day, in one restaurant, in 2 hours? RIGHT!!!

Well, I guess there are at least 40 of us who have now had that experience thanks to Daniel and the management of Burger 21 in Latham, NY. The event was well organized, and came off without a single noticeable flaw. Management gave us a warm welcome, staff were really friendly and helpful in explaining what was being served, and the interaction with other Yelpers having a similar interest in food (burgers in particular) was a true success.

I'm looking forward to many more of these in the future. I only hope that they can measure up to the standard that Daniel has set while at the same time he continues to raise the bar.

Another fantastic OYE.

It was a blast trying 10 different burgers, 5 different beers, and a milkshake, and meeting new people in the Yelp community.

As always, Daniel B. was a great host. The Burger 21 staff were all fantastic too, friendly, helpful, and eager to please.

I'm a fan of the chicken burger. It's not just the standard ground chicken, they make it differently there, and it's quite good. I spoke with the manager and he gladly shared with me how they make it. How cool is that? Now I get to try and recreate it at home!

Many thanks to Yelp and Burger 21 for allowing me to be your guest for the evening.

Burgers, I think I'm good on burgers for at least a month. The first OYE of 2016 was a delight. Thank you Daniel! In addition, a big thanks to the staff and Bruce, the manager of Burger 21. They were hard at work making sure we were taken care of from giving us insights on their personal favorites, refilling waters and flambéing bananas.
It was nice to hear what Burger 21 stands for and the significance of the 21.


Now about the food, the burgers were good. I would say the beef options were more done that what i prefer, but I understood according to event size. The stand out burgers from the night the Tex Mex and Cobb turkey burger. The black bean burger was one of the best veggie burgers I have tried. The Black and Blue burger was delicious, the blackened patty with the char left me wanting more bites. Lastly, the shrimp burger was wonderful-the sauce had a nice kick. It would have been the one I probably wouldn't have tried on my own.

The fries were thin and crispy. It was nice having both, sweet potato and regular and trying the various dipping sauces. The Apple Cider and cheese were favorites at the booth I sat at.

After all of the eating and (beers), I'm surprised I had room for the vanilla milkshake!

Once I'm ready for another burger, Burger 21 will probably be first choice.

I will forever remember this night as the night of my first veggie burger. And I loved it! The black bean burger was the best of the bunch, with a very close second being the cinco burger.

Although I've relegated myself to eating as little meat and carbs as I can manage for the next few days as a sad attempt to balance out last night's feast of ten burger samplings, more than my fair share of fries, and a whole milkshake to myself, it was totally worth it. I'll be visiting Burger 21 for my black bean burger (and free milkshake with the coupon) soon enough.

Great event! Beer, burgers, French fries, cheese dip, milkshakes, and coloring with crayons?! Can't beat that. Thanks Burger 21 and Daniel B.!

What a great Yelp Event. Free sampling of all the delicious Burger 21 burgers they have to offer.

Highlights for me were the Tex Mex burger which had crispy onion rings topped over a generous beef patty. A close second was the buffalo chicken patty. Spicy, juicy, and delicious. The black and blue gets an home table mention because Gorgonzola as it turns out is beautifully paired with a burger!

We also were fortunate enough to try their delicious shakes. The bananas foster was a heavenly dream that I would highly recommend.

We had excellent service from the waitstaff you were knowledgable about their huge menu of burgers. I've also had that experience on previous outings at Burger 21. The employees seem happy to be there...and who can blame them, all those delicious burgers and shakes in one place!

So many burgers, so little time! No, actually the 10 quarter burgers with beer pairings were very nicely spread out to ensure a no-nom period in between to give our chompers a break. I'm not sure if my table took that break though, because we were happily working on our basket of half and half fries and dipping them into the interesting sauces!

I thought the shrimp burger was very unique and I probably wouldn't have ever tried all the burgers (since I admit I do tend to choose the same one if it gets me head over heels) at B21. I loved the tex mex burger 2nd and probably the black n bleu burger 3rd.

Fun times getting creative for our burger drawings, awesome new Yelp swag (minty gum is what we need after a carnivorous night), and of course a sweet way to end the night ala milkshakes!

Yes. I ate two and a half hamburgers. Now it's on the internet forever. I don't regret it for a moment.

We ate a lot of food and although I wasn't hungry until dinner time the next day (not exaggerating), I didn't leave the restaurant feeling uncomfortable. I think the pairing of a beef burger with a different protein and small portion sizes of each 'course' is to be credited for being full, but not 'stuffed'. The beef patties were all very tender and well flavored. No rubbery hockey pucks here. The other burgers where an assortment of chicken, shrimp, and veggie. The veggie burger, black bean based, surprised me the most. It was flavorful, the texture was phenomenal for a veggie burger, and it had a nice crispy sear to it. It wasn't rubbery (gross), overly dense, or too chewy. Instead it had a great balance between a chunky crumble and keeping it shape. Kuddo's for having this on the tasting menu. I would have never ordered a veggie burger, but I might just get one in the future.

The skinny fries and various dipping sauces were also great. It was nice to be given a small sampling of dipping sauces with the fries, as it would have been overwhelming to have them all. There are 10+ I'm pretty sure. I loved that we were given a half and half basket - half sweet potato fries, half regular. I'm hoping we can order this when we go back.

Speaking of return trip, I though the party favors were a really nice touch as they included a card to use for a free milkshake, a foam can holder, and a list of rotating events and deals.

Five stars for a fun, energetic event, good food, a nicely paced and paired menu, and friendly service. A huge thank you to Daniel and the Burger 21 team for a lovely event.

It was a great evening of tastings. I was excited to be there and give Burger 21 a try for my first time. The manager Bruce was very nice and made us feel welcomed. Thanks a lot Daniel for making it happen.

We were able to try many burgers; our samples were cut into a couple bite size pieces, which was a good way to try as many as we did. Most burgers were cooked well done. I prefer a medium cooked burger and those are the ones I really liked there, which happened to be the haystack and the black and blue. Not sure if I liked them because of how they were cooked or because of the way they tasted. I plan on getting back again soon to get more of a full review.

I also really enjoyed the turkey burger and the black bean burger.

With our two burger selections we had our beer drink pairings which worked out perfectly well. Great choices.

The wait staff did a great job waiting on us and describing what we were having next in case we missed it.

I look forward to the next event and more delicious food.

This was my first yelp event I was able to attend, and I have to say it was nice, I met more of the albany yelp community and got to taste a restaurant that I haven't yet been to.

Burger 21 did a great job hosting this event with about 50 people in attendance, the staff was very informative and attentive to everyone there. We tasted 10 samples of burger21 all where great but my favorite was the black bean burger, still am raving a bb out it to family and friends.

Have to say can't wait to see what the next event is and I hope I get to attend it.

Wonderful staff and a great array of burgers!

While it was a bit of a challenge trying to eat 2.5 burgers total, I was able to manage it in addition to an entire milkshake...

Beginning with the fries was a smart choice. I don't think I would have been able to eat everything if we had more fries throughout the tastings. It was enough to give us a taste and allow us to try all their sauces, but not too much to get full. My favorite sauces were their Cheese Ale, which was topped with bacon and scallions, and the Ragin' Cajun. They both had great qualities.

Out of all 10 kinds of burgers, my top favorites were: Spicy Thai Shrimp, Black and Bleu, and the Blackbean burger. The Black and Bleu was super juicy and flavorful; I made a mess of myself on the first bite. Juciness is an important factor in a burger for me, it adds taste and texture. This one was balanced perfectly in terms of seasonings as well. I liked the Thai Shrimp because it was unique and satisfied that seafood craving. The flavor of the shrimp really shined through; I didn't think it even needed a bun. The Blackbean burger was a pleasant surprise. I've had bean burgers before and haven't enjoyed them, so I was hesitant. This one was crisp on the outside and had a nice balance of flavors. It wasn't too mushy like ones I've had in the past. You could definitely tell it was a blackbeans but it didn't bother me. I especially loved putting their ragin' cajun on it; it paired quite nicely. While a few burgers were on the drier side or a bit over salted, I still enjoyed trying all the different kinds. I especially appreciated that it wasn't all beef patties. I liked that they varied and never gave two beef based burgers in one round.

Out of the beers, the Southern Tier Live was my favorite. I enjoy more citrus flavored beers and this one hit the spot. Unfortunately, towards the end, I was so full that I couldn't enjoy the rest; I had to sacrifice some of the beer to try all the burgers.

The night ended with a nice surprise: milkshakes! They had some really great sounding ones such as Key Lime Pie, Red Velvet Pound Cake, and traditional Cookies and Cream. I decided on Bananas Foster. Apparently they add a banana puree to the vanilla ice cream with a mix of other ingredients. None the less, this milkshake was to die for. It actually tasted like bananas foster. I could pick up on the caramel undertones and mixed with banana made for one heck of a treat. Even though I was super full and told myself I would bring the shake home for tomorrow, I finished it all before I even left. I'll regret it tomorrow, but that was one good milkshake.

Overall, this was another wonderful event put together by Daniel! I look forward to more events in the future.