My Review Hoosier Burger Quest at Chef JJ's Backyard Grill

I've followed Dick Davis' Hoosier Burger Quest with great interest, even joining the group and attending a couple of events. While I don't get to visit with Dick that often, especially on his Burger Quest, I was excited for his invitation for me and my wife to join him and his wife at Chef JJ Boston's Backyard Grill. (Thanks again, Dick.)

Chef JJ made some Big Green waves of envy last year, especially among some of the Smaller Indiana grillers, when he introduced us to the Big Green Egg grill. The Big Green Egg is a ceramic-lined egg-shaped charcoal grill that cooks better than any other grill. And in the hands of a pro like JJ Boston, it's magical.

Toni and I arrived at Chef JJ's right on time, and the smells of smoke, cooking meat, and bacon filled my nostrils. The place was gorgeously decorated and I stood outside for several minutes and drooled over the outdoor kitchen Chef JJ had installed overlooking the river there in Broad Ripple.

We were going to be treated to a small plate burger-and-beer flight: three half burgers and three beers, plus grilled sweet potato fries.


* The Burger Quest Burger: Dick's benchmark burger: cooked medium, pepperjack cheese, tomato lettuce, and onion, with mayo on the side. Because this was the unassuming burger with nothing fancy, I could really taste the smoky quality of the meat. I didn't ask what JJ was using for wood chips, but the meat was beautifully smoky.
* The Italian Burger: A 50/50 Italian sausage and chopped sirloin burger served open-faced on garlic bread, and ricotta cheese on top. I love Italian sausage, and it seemed almost decadent to have a nice big chunk of it.
* The Indiana Burger: A 50/50 duck and pork burger on a sesame bun. This was my favorite, and I don't know why no one has made this before. Indiana is the 5th largest pork producer in the country, and Maple Leaf Farms in Milford (Kosciusko County) is home to one of the largest duck producers in the world. It's only natural that someone would come up with this combination.

After I took my first bite of the Indiana burger, I said to JJ, "Do you know what would make this better?"

"No, what?" he asked.

"The other half of it."

At one point, Dick's wife, Libby, decided she was full and gave her Hoosier burger to Dick, untouched. We finally convinced her to try a bite first.

"This is so good," I told her, "it's worth the discomfort of one bite. It's actually so good, it's worth the pain of eating all of it."

The beers were a wheat, an ESB, and an IPA beer from Sun King Brewery, Indy's newest micro-brewery. My favorite was the Saison de Taffy, the wheat beer named after Neal Taflinger.. The IPA was also very good. I'm not a fan of hoppy beers, but this one was not actually too bitter or hopped up. I would drink it again, and that's actually saying something.

Chef JJ hosts special events dinners, rather than nightly service, and can handle up to 40 people at one sitting. He has a variety of different foods he cooks during these events, and if the burgers were any indication of what he can do with those Big Green Eggs, it'll be worth another visit. Maybe if Dick has another Burger Quest next Spring. . .