With my costume being super lame, we had to make up for it by going to some place super cool. Enter 1UP. This place is about a half block from where I work, and it's probably the coolest bar I've ever been to. Ever. Imagine all of the cool, old arcade games you love and beer. Sounds like heaven, right? Well, it turns out that heaven is on 19th and Blake.
I got out of work at around 6:30 and moseyed on over to 1UP. Assuming that my friends would be punctual, I had about 30 minutes to kill before they arrived, and what better way than playing pinball and Pac Man? I spent a few quarters, drank some beer, and set the high score on Pac Man so far that day. It probably wasn't that great of a score, but it was an amazing accomplishment! For me anyways. Hunger set in at around 7:00 when I got text messages that everyone was going to be late. I took my seat at the bar and grabbed a menu. Wings, Mozzarella Sticks, and other typical bar food was available, but I wanted dinner, not appetizers. I found the burger section and figured what the heck? I could eat a burger.
I noticed they had a signature 1UP burger, so I figured I'd give it a try. Beef patty? Check. Bacon? Check. Three cheese? Hesitant on the multi cheese again, but check. Doughnut for a bun? Check. Wait, what? A doughnut for a bun? This, I thought, was insanity, but it was the kind of insanity that just might work. I grabbed the bartender and asked, "So, is the burger pretty good?" He smiled and replied, "It's awesome." He also went on to explain that you'd never think it was going to be good, but it was just something you had to try. I agreed with the, "had to try," sentiment, so I went with the craziest burger I've had for this blog thus far.
I went back to playing the Terminator 2 pinball machine, which is fantastic by the way, and waited for my burger. A couple dollars in quarters later and I looked over to see them bring it up. The patty was a bit thin, but with three kind of cheese, bacon, and a doughnut I figured that was probably alright. They had sliced the doughnut in half and put the glazed parts on the inside. It's going to be messy enough with a hole in both buns, you might as well save yourself from glazed fingers as well. I picked it up, took a bite, and was instantly impressed. I would never have thought to do anything like this at home, but the cook that came up with this concept is a culinary genius.
The three cheeses were a bit much for me, but the bacon was done perfectly. Considering the burger was on the smaller side, it was cooked well. I can't fault them for not cooking it medium because it would be nearly impossible to make that happen. The sweetness of the doughnut combined with the saltiness of the bacon was a great balance. I think the only downside was the cheese. If I had picked only one cheese, this burger would be getting two joystick blistered thumbs up. Even with that minor flaw, the burger was fantastic. I started to fill up about 3/4 of the way through, and I can probably attribute that to the heaviness of the ingredients, but I would totally order this burger again. It's not a burger that you have to try just so you can say you tried it. It's a burger you have to try so that you don't mistakenly order something less awesome when you go to 1UP.
http://www.http://the-1up.com/
