Hello again and we’re currently in our second week of this year’s Burger Month! And, unfortunately, this did kind of feel like a rush job. As I mentioned last week, I generally lay out my plan for each week during this time period. I already have a good idea of what places I’ll go to each week and I schedule it all out. The thing is, for this week, I scheduled this week to kill two birds with one stone as this weekend was also Mother’s Day. The thing is my mother isn’t a fan of burgers the same was I am. Besides, going out on Mother’s Day can be more of a bother since everyone is going to be trying to celebrate the holiday with their mother. And my mother doesn’t like all the hectic stuff anyway. So, the plan was for me to go out at midday to do my Burger Month duties and then, before I head home, bring home dinner at someplace special.

With this in mind, I decided to go to Mad Mark’s. This is actually a place I had tried to fit into previous Burger Month’s before but, for one reason or another, I simply wasn’t able to. But this did seem to be the best time to actually go there as they do have a pretty good selection of food items I can bring home to celebrate Mother’s Day. So, this solidified my plan and Mad Mark’s was locked in my schedule.

The Mad Mark’s branch I went to was their flagship branch in Pioneer Center in the Kapitolyo area. Even though it’s fairly close to where I live, I don’t go to the Kapitolyo area that often because it’s one of those areas where you practically need your own car to get to. There is public transportation in the place but it’s spotty at best. Basically, I haven’t been to Pioneer Center for a long time so it was kind of nice to revisit the area.

Anyway, when I got there, I realized that maybe trying to combine my Burger Month duties with my Mother’s Day duties was a mistake as the place was busy! I thought, since I got there after what I assumed would be the lunch hour rush, there wouldn’t be too many people. Nope! I wouldn’t say it was packed to the brim but most of the tables were filled. I did manage to get myself a seat but I kind of felt a little sheepish as I had a booth all by my lonesome and I just knew there were going to be other people, people who brought their mothers to Mad Mark’s to celebrate Mother’s Day, and I’m sitting solo in a big table! Lucky for me, I got over that pretty quickly.

Now, Mad Mark’s is actually known for their in-house ice cream but, like I said, they also serve other food. And the specific thing I wanted to try was their Double Double Burger. No, it’s not a four patty burger (I wish!). It’s basically Mad Mark’s version of a double patty burger with double the cheese. While it sounds very basic, there’s just something about its simplicity that attracted me to it.

As I already knew what I was going to get, I pretty much placed my order for the Double Double Burger as soon as I got to my table. Since it didn’t come with any sides, I also decided to order their Fat Chips. Now, like I said, I already did my research on the place so I knew what the Fat Chips are. They’re essentially very thick cut potato slices which have been coated with some kind of breading. If you’re familiar with Shakey’s Mojos, they look like that. So, I ordered that to go with my Double Double Burger.

Unfortunately for me, it looks like Mother’s Day struck again as, shorty after I did order, the waitress came back and told me they don’t have any Fat Chips anymore! This was actually kind of depressing as I was looking forward to trying out the Fat Chips as well. Then again, I can’t really blame them for running out of it because, like I said, it was Mother’s Day and I can only assume people were ordering the dickens out of it, leading them to simply run out for the day. So, I just opted for the Double Double Burger.

A few minutes later I did get my Double Double Burger and, in all honesty, I expected it to be a little bigger. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not exactly tiny as there are two burger patties in it so it’s pretty tall. I just expected it to be a little wider than this. Still, Mad Mark’s Double Double Burger did look enticing in its own right. I mean, I can’t help but get excited when I get a burger that has the cheese melted in this way!

Of course, when it comes to burgers, looks don’t matter too much if it doesn’t taste as good as it appears. And I do have to say the Double Double Burger… doesn’t quite match up to how it looks. Now, there is a lot of things I like about Mad Mark’s Double Double Burger. Like I said, I do love nicely melted gooey cheese and this burger does have that in spades! With each bite I took, the cheese would just ooze out of the side and I just love that. I’m not saying it’s just liquid but it’s that kind of melted cheese that does envelop the burger well.

I also really like the brioche bun. While I do wish it was toasted just a little bit longer so it didn’t get as soggy because of the cheese, the bun itself tasted really good. There’s a nice buttery taste to it that I really enjoyed. The vegetables did taste fresh as well. A part of me did wish there was a little more lettuce but that’s a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things.

Sadly, the issue I had with Mad Mark’s Double Double Burger are the actual meat patties in the burger. For one, they didn’t have that nice char crust to them. It’s not like they were undercooked but it does kind of feel like it could’ve used a little more heat while cooking them. They also came off as somewhat underseasoned as well. It needed a smattering of salt and pepper or something. I’m not saying the burger patties were bad. What I’m saying is they could have been better with a few tweaks.

All-in-all, I do have to say I was disappointed with my experience at Mad Mark’s. Now, some of it was probably out of their control as this was Mother’s Day and they ran out of the Fat Chips. But the Double Double Burger itself, the main reason for my visit, just could have been better. Everything was there, from the gooey cheese to the elegant brioche bun. But the burger patties themselves just didn’t hit the way it should have. It’s a good burger but it has the potential to be a great burger.

Have you tried Mad Mark’s Double Double Burger? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!