La Bohème Curaçao Burger Review – Willemstad, Curaçao
La Bohème Curaçao Burger Review – Willemstad, Curaçao
Robyn and I were on vacation in Willemstad, Curaçao, but the quest for the best Gold Medal Burger doesn't take days off. Our stop at La Bohème, a café, bar and restaurant on a cool little side street, raised a big question: what makes a burger a burger? It scores an 8.2, with an asterisk, and ranks #41 out of 140 on my Gold Medal Burger rankings.
My order
I ordered the usual: a hamburger with lettuce, onion and pickle only. The price was 18 NAF, about $10 US (roughly $13.30 Canadian). On this Dutch island we heard English, Dutch and Spanish, and there was a bit of a language barrier. After they took the order, they told me they had no pickles and gave me the closest thing they had: cucumber.
What arrived was huge, a triple decker, almost Big Mac style, with an extra layer of bun. On top was steak, not a ground beef patty, with cooked onions, sliced cucumber and a mountain of romaine, enough for an extra large salad. We picked the place because Google said it was good and showed a picture of a burger.
First bite
One bite, everybody knows the rules. This isn't a burger, but it's delicious. The beef was tender and fell apart, and the flavours were really good. It was also the messiest burger in the world. I was worried we'd get thrown out of Curaçao for the mess I was making.
To DQ or not to DQ
I had to think this one through on camera. A Gold Medal Burger is a bun, a patty and lettuce, onion and pickle. I've accepted all kinds of patties on the quest, even vegan ones, as long as they're formed. This beef wasn't. And a cucumber is basically a premature pickle.
In the end, I decided not to disqualify it, for one reason: it was too delicious. Instead it gets a score with an asterisk, like the home run records of the steroid era.
The breakdown
- Bun: Three layers, triple decker style.
- Meat: Tender steak instead of a patty. Unreal flavour.
- Toppings: Cooked onions (a little light, but good), cucumber in place of pickle and loads of romaine.
- Value: 18 NAF, about $10 US.
A new friend
I explained the quest to Cave, a fellow diner from Florida. Cave passed on a bite but wanted to hear the score. When I said 8.2, Cave called it an upset, and we got into a friendly debate about grilling on a kamado. I promised to look him up next time I'm in Florida.
My verdict
This is probably the best non Gold Medal Burger Gold Medal Burger I've ever had. La Bohème gets an 8.2, asterisk included.
Find La Bohème Curaçao
Willemstad, Curaçao
