Tables with race car style seating, vintage car license plates, 1960’s era signs on the walls and portraits of Hollywood hotshots all combine to give The Garage Burger & Grill its unique ‘Get your kicks on Route 66′ vibe. Their traditional American decor and robust menu, which offers a variety of burgers, caters well to both travelers and the foreign businesses in Bangkok, particularly the nearby US and New Zealand Embassies.

Flipping through the menu I was stopped in my tracks by the page titled BYOB. No, it wasn’t an advertisement to Bring Your Own Booze, but rather to Build Your Own Burger. Burger devotees have the option to order a Lil’ Burger with cheese, at 130g, then create their own burger-masterpiece by topping it with as many additional 100g patties and condiments as one can handle. Quickly realizing my stomach wasn’t as big as my eyes I flipped the page, but I silently reminded myself that the BYOB challenge would fall victim another day.

After landing on the burger menu it took a moment to sort through their 13 burger options before finalizing my order. I decided on the house specialty, The Garage Burger, cooked medium rare with a slice of cheddar cheese and bacon. Inquiring about the burger while waiting, I found out that the beef used in the handmade 200g patty is local and comes from the notorious Thai-French butchery on Sukhumvit Road.

What really caught my attention though was the curve-ball thrown into the patty mixture. While not wanting to mask the flavor of the beef in their patties, they use only salt and pepper as seasoning. However, to give the patty a little something extra they mix in crushed onions for additional crunch and sweetness.

Service at The Garage is attentive and the burger arrived promptly. My initial reaction when the burger was presented was one of slight confusion. Served on a plate that seemed extremely large in comparison to the burger, it looked a bit dwarfed. The portions of the sides were also quite small and I was particularly miffed with the serving of steak-cut fries, of which I got only 5. The lack of fries together with the small slices of onion and tomato had me feeling slightly unsatisfied before I’d even taken the first bite.

Once I piled the tomatoes, onions and lettuce on top of the bacon, and applied a generous lathering of French’s mustard, I regained enthusiasm as I realized the burger did stack pretty high. Feeling the weight of the burger in my hands and seeing the thick strips of bacon helped to make up for its less than average presentation.

Bite number one could easily be classified as squishy, juicy and delicious. The bacon was greasy, salty and extremely flavorful and the sesame seed bun acted as a nice sponge containing the juices and keeping the burger intact. The juices from the bacon mixed quite well with the beef, providing a well-rounded meaty flavor from the first bite til the last.

The thick cut bacon, the soft sesame seed bun and the French’s mustard each contributed to the backyard BBQ feel of this burger. The burger tasted just like home, and I had a hard time believing that the buns and bacon were both store bought from a local Makro Supermarket.

While the presentation of the burger at The Garage could use a bit of a tune-up, it was cooked well and had a pleasant ‘fresh off the grill’ taste to it. At 190 Baht ($6.00) for The Garage Burger and my add-ons of cheese and bacon only 40 Baht ($1.26) and 50 Baht ($1.58) each, prices are fairly reasonable. If you want to treat your belly to a tasty fill-up, head over to The Garage at All Seasons Place. They’re slingin burgers and servin up your Route 66 fix Monday – Friday and Sunday’s from 11am to 10pm and Saturday’s the grill opens at 12 noon.
Score Card
Burger Juiciness –  3/5

Bun Goodness –  2/5

Cheesy Madness –  2/5

Overall Tastiness –  3.5/5

Price –  4/5

Overall Rating – 3/5

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