Burger Lounge Opens 6th San Diego Location In Gaslamp Quarter

Online, August 1, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Hamburger purists (and even vegetarians) in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter can rejoice in the arrival of Burger Lounge to 528 5th Avenue. Just don't let the "upscale comfort food" menu and environmentally friendly interior fool you-Burger Lounge is serving up a philosophy that's more old school than fast casual.
The 75-seat Gaslamp Burger Lounge is open until 3am on weekends, and features a hidden back patio and a custom-crafted "word wall" with fan inspired quips like, "Our burgers whip ass on Chuck Norris."

It begins with beef
"We do a common thing uncommonly well," explains Burger Lounge CEO and president J. Dean Loring. "To us, it's about making burgers the way they were always intended." For Loring, that means starting with pure grass-fed beef.
"We believe cows were meant to eat grass," says Loring, "and anything less than a grass-fed beef patty is a shortcut. We also don't cover up the taste of the patty with a smorgasbord of gourmet toppings. Instead, we use fresh, simple ingredients that create the right balance of flavors and textures. We're not doing this to make a so-called 'better burger.' We make the best burger possible-one that lets the beef take center stage."

Fast-casual refined-and redefined
Careful attention to the best possible food carries over to the rest of the Burger Lounge menu-where Loring and executive chef Jim Little have deliberately chosen a handful of simple entrees, sides and desserts. Even the salads, onion rings and chicken tenders are made with the best available ingredients.
And of course, there are fries-handcut and cooked in the Belgian tradition.

A better restaurant by design
Burger Lounge Gaslamp, along with its five other locations, is a Certified Green Restaurant-meaning it meets strict requirements in areas such as energy efficiency, packaging, sustainable ingredients and recycling.
"We have a pure, simple concept," explains Little. "We serve healthier products and respect the environment. It's a burger people can feel good about eating."

Back to the future
The Burger Lounge philosophy appears to be catching on. San Diego Magazine has named the restaurant "Best Local Hamburger Joint" for three consecutive years. And about the vegetarians? Even for them, Burger Lounge leaves nothing to be desired.
"It's unusual for a burger-centric restaurant to offer something unique for vegetarians-if anything." says Loring. "We created a Quinoa Veggie Burger to give them something authentic and flavorful. And we just added a Wild Alaskan Salmon Burger as an alternative to red meat."
The Gaslamp location is the sixth in San Diego-joining its neighbors in La Jolla, Hillcrest, Kensington, Little Italy and Coronado.
Burger Lounge Gaslamp is located at 528 Fifth Ave., between Market St. and Island Ave, and is open daily at 10:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., Sun. - Thurs., and 3:00 a.m., Fri. and Sat.