First look: WhackBurger

The WhackBurger style includes bacon, jalapenos, provolone and a secret sauce. (Credit: Tony Tribble | Special to Metromix)

Covington’s new gourmet burger joint wants to sucker punch you with their array of burger styles and graphic novel motifs. Located in the Wedding District across the street from the Madison Theater, this hip eatery deserves a visit whether or not it’s a show night.

The mood: Keeping with the comic book theme, blue, yellow and red graced three walls with a yellow lightning bolt cutting down the middle of the azure wall. One wall was plastered with comic panels featuring sounds like “choom kroom doom” and “wham.” For dining in, there’s four tables and a long counter facing a mirrored wall plus two outdoor tables.

The food: It’s counter service here so we perused the menu featuring 14 different styles of burgers. Here’s how it works. Pick a protein patty: beef, turkey or black bean, then choose a wheat or brioche bun or get it bunless as a salad.

The multitude of burgers options seriously stumped me. They have a Kalifornia (avocado, salsa, sprouts, garlic yogurt spread), egg and green chile, curry chutney, an Italian with pizza sauce and Aufiderzein (grilled sauerkraut, Swiss, mustard), and really, you can’t go wrong with any combination.

Adam immediately ordered the Supercuban on wheat (beef patty, smoked ham, provolone, Swiss and mustard). For $9.95, you get one side, so Adam chose jambalaya.

I decided on a black bean burger with fried green tomatoes, pepper jack cheese and lettuce as a salad, ideal considering I usually only eat what’s between the bun anyway.

A few minutes later, our food arrived piping hot. Adam’s burger was piled high and my salad was layered with lettuce, the burger, the tomatoes and smothered in cheesy goodness. I liked how all of my condiments came in separate cups and that the burger was soft, an indicator of that hand-crafted freshness.

My side, hand-cut fries, was slightly soggy and a little too greasy, but it didn’t stop me from eating all of them. Adam and I both agreed the jambalaya was just OK.

The drinks: They offered either bottled or fountain soda, so I ordered a fountain drink and chose old school favorite Mello Yello. Adam had a cup of water.

The verdict: I really liked how they happily catered to both vegetarians and carnivores with their build-your-own-burger concept, which made me want to try the rest of their styles.