BRGR

          Last Friday my wife and I were in Cranberry visiting her grandmother and we planned to visit BRGR afterwards.  We arrived around 5ish after trying to figure out where the restaurant was located.  There are two levels to the Cranberry Mall and they are on the lower level near the movie theater.  There is plenty of parking available.
          After the huge success that was Spoon a few weeks ago I figured I have to try their sister restaurant BRGR.  When you get there you notice just how big BRGR is, it probably sits 100+.  The front of looks to open up during the warmer months.  It is very well designed with a huge center bar and lots of table and booths. 
          We were really hungry so we started out with the salty caramel shakes on the recommendation of our waitress.  She gave us a few minutes to figure out what we wanted and took our order, I got the double yoi burger and my wife made her own burger and we also got a side of fries that are portioned for two to share.
          The waitress brought out our shakes and I must say I was disappointed.  What she brought us was two empty glasses with the salty caramel sauce drizzled on the inside of it and the metal containers that the shakes were made in.  Look I am not looking to be amazed but I can get that at any crappy bar around, if I am paying $8 for a drink I want them to put some effort into the look of the drink as well as it tasting good.  All the shake was, was a vanilla bean base with Bourbon mixed in and the salted caramel on the glass itself.  All I could taste was the Bourbon, and the caramel just stuck to the glass and really added nothing to the shake.  It was a waste of $8, I would rather go to Steak N'Shake and get one there. 
          Our burgers and fries came out and they looked great.  Mine was on a butter toasted bun topped with a fried egg, pastrami, cole slaw and a thousand island dressing.  My wife's was basically just a normal burger, onion, lettuce, cheese, etc.  We asked for our burgers to be cooked to medium, they were medium well but still very moist so I can't really complain.  The biggest problem I had was about half way through the burger my bun got saturated with the dressing from the cole slaw and just started to fall apart in my hands.  It just turned into a mess.  My wife like her burger it also was a bit overcooked but good just the same.  The fries were very good, they were topped with herbs and Parmesan cheese.  They were hot and crispy and the herbs and cheese just made it that they didn't even need ketchup.
          Overall I would say that after a great meal I had at Spoon, BRGR was way below expectations.  If you are in the area go for it, the burgers are worth the money, can't say the same for the shakes.  Burgatory is all around better though and I will remain a Burgatory customer and pass on BRGR.  I don't know if this was just a bad experience at the Cranberry shop and maybe the original on in East Liberty would be better.  In the end I would say if you want good food go to Spoon, if you want good burgers go to Burgatory.  I really wanted to like it I really really did.  Spoon is a success maybe they should focus more on BRGR and it will get to that same level it has everything that is needed it just needs some fine tuning.

Overall 7 of 10

Price 8 of 10

Food 6.5 of 10

Service 7 of 10

BRGR

20111 Rt. 19 & Freedom Rd.

Cranberry, PA 16066