Not long ago, we were writing an article on local burger joints and needed photos. Though I've eaten burgers from Kooper's Chowhound food truck, I hadn't eaten them in-house, and neither had Mr Minx. Driving up to Mays Chapel and dining at Kooper's North seemed like a good way to get some dinner and perhaps some good photos, too.
It was a lovely day, but all of the outside tables were taken. Inside, the restaurant is fairly dark, so we took our photos both with and without flash. Can't say any of them turned out well, but at least we got to eat....
We started out with a bowl of the Slainte gumbo. No, it's not Irish gumbo, but it originated at Kooper's sister restaurant in Fells Point, Slainte. If you ask me, and I know you didn't, it's the best gumbo in Baltimore. It's thick and rich, with a nice browned-flour roux flavor and a generous amount of crawfish. It's spicy, but not overwhelming, and worth a taste. The bowl size is HUGE, so you might want to get a cup to start with, unless you want to share, or have it as your entree.
On to the burgers. Mr Minx had "Billy's Wagyu" burger, with applewood-smoked bacon, garlic herb cream cheese, and something they call "truffle arugula." The burger was juicy, with a nice grilled flavor, but between that and the bacon, the cheese and arugula could barely be tasted. And I was hoping I had found a substitute for my all-time-favorite burger, the Boursin Bacon burger at the late, lamented Gampy's.
My burger, the Farmstead Lamb burger also had the truffle arugula, plus feta cheese on a patty made from both lamb and veal. I found the burger to be extremely lamb-y (a good thing) which was probably why there was also some bland veal in it, too. The bun was weird - a tough, dry, ciabatta-ish thing that was too big for the burger. It reminded me of an un-toasted English muffin. If you get this burger, ask for a standard bun, which might also help hold on the crumbled feta that kept falling out of the sandwich.
The meat on both burgers was really pretty good; I think next time I'd choose the create-your-own option. And the gumbo - I'll always get the gumbo.
Posted on Minxeats.com.
