Growing up on the Jersey Shore, Burger 25 was the spot in the summertime. After the beach and Manchester All Star Baseball games, Burger 25 had such a cool vibe and their delicious burgers, fries, and shakes brightened up summer even more. As years went by, Burger 25 moved locations, and I remember going in October 2020 to check their new place out. It is astonishing! It is huge with displays on the walls, flat screen TVs, and arcade games in the back. Along with their really nice setup inside, the outdoor seating has benches under umbrellas along the side of the restaurant. And of course the food was amazing.

Fast forward to April 12, 2021 where I planned to go to Burger 25 for lunch. I haven’t had it since October 2020 so I was been craving it for awhile but I couldn’t have it, due to cutting weight in my wrestling season. But I finally caught a break towards the end of the season to reward myself and I was really looking forward to it. Not only was it the first time having Burger 25 since that past October, but it was the first time having a burger in awhile. I was so excited walking in the resturaunt, knowing it was going to be worth it. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I was very disappointed with my burger, but little did I know how this experience would evolve.

After processing this, I decided to write a very long Yelp review on Burger 25 from my personal perspective. To sum it up, I gave it a 2 out of 5 stars. One star for the Milk N’ Cookies monthly shake. A second star for the french fries. No more stars rewared for how disheartening my BBQ Bacon Burger truly was. First off, the food came out 5 minutes after I had ordered, coming out before the milkshake. What kind of resturaunt does that? In my past expieriences at Burger 25, they would bring out the shake about 5-10 minutes after I had ordered to prepare my tastebuds for the main event, which was soon to follow. I was shocked by this, and while I was eating the burger, I became even more shocked. According to the menu, #2: The BBQ Bacon Burger, is an angus burger topped with crispy onion straws, bacon, bullseye BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a fresh baked onion bun. The burger barely matched it’s menu description due to the beef patty being overcooked and dry with barely any onion straws which were not crispy at all with barely any bacon. The BBQ sauce was good but did not taste homemade. No cheese and too much lettuce with one giant juicy tomato that was misplaced on the back edge of the burger, completely ruining my final bites. If you think this is bad, it gets worse because of the stale flavorless bun. It was not fresh whatsoever, it was horrid. This type of pain was unbearable and this is only a piece of what I wrote. I couldn’t control my anger, lashing out on the Yelp review in rage, not having one single regret.

After I posted it, I called my mom and my sister to read them the review over the phone. They told me that it was very detailed and descriptive. I took this in as I read over the review a few times. This self reflection made me realize that I am a really good writer. I had just unleashed a hidden talent I never knew I had. With this, I took off, writing many Yelp reviews on restaurants I’ve previously been to. 

All my friends and family members got a kick out of the reviews. They loved it and it was all they’d talk about. The wrestling team and I were talking about it too. My teamate Alejandro called me “Andrew The Food Critic”. That had a pretty nice ring to it.  It was all fun and games until my buddy Max said to me “What are you a food critic or something?” I responded with “You know what, maybe I am.” It was at this very moment where I decided to take this seriously and make a Tik Tok account, naming myself “Andrew the Food Critic”. 

As of today, I stand as a self-proclaimed food critic. Being a food critic introduced me to Advanced Journalism where I began writing food articles for the school newspaper naming my series “And Now For The Main Event”. Journalism has uncovered another love and talent that I may contribute to my college degree.

Being a Food Critic took me down an endless impactful journey. I thank Burger 25. Not only for my origin story, but for the epic comeback which is soon to be revealed…