We’re slowly winding down this year’s Burger Month and, in all honesty, it’s kind of bringing me down. After all, burgers are one of my favorite foods out there and #nationalhamburgermonth is my favorite way to indulge with this treat of a meal. So, that does mean that, as this is the third entry for this year’s Burger Month, the next post will be the last time I have an excuse to explore all of the unsung burger places the Philippines and Metro Manila has to offer. I do realize that I shouldn’t be all mopey as, just because when Burger Month ends, it doesn’t mean I can’t get any burgers for the rest of the year. It’s just that I really like to celebrate it.

For this week’s entry, I actually went back to my old stomping grounds when I was back in elementary and high school. Well, saying it’s “old” seems like a misnomer as this location would be the Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan. Basically, if you ask anyone who grew up going to this place when they were young, they’ll say they can hardly recognize the place because of how different it is now! While the location has been “updating” itself for years now, the biggest and most recent change to the area would be the the newly erected Greenhills Mall. Greenhills Mall pretty much ate up the front section of the Greenhills Shopping Area and is now it’s its most domineering feature. The tiangge/flea market area is still active and the “smaller” mainstay malls like V-Mall and Shoppeville are still alive and kicking. But it does feel like the primary reason to go to the Greenhills Shopping Center is now Greenhills Mall.

Anyway, Greenhills Mall is the mall that has a new burger place I just wanted to try: Slap Stack Burgers. The main reason why Slap Stack caught my eye was the name because, well, I don’t get it! It would make a lot of sense if they only offer two burger patties so they can “slap” both of them together in a “stack”. But they also offer singer patty burgers so that can’t be it. The other reason and, this is just me guessing, is the owners wanted to make their burger joint sound like another burger place: Shake Shack. That’s my hypothesis, anyway. Then again, it shouldn’t really matter what name they have. If a burger place serves good burgers, that’s all that should matter.

Then again, my guess regarding the naming aspect might be incorrect because, if they were trying to ape Shake Shack, I would’ve thought their restaurant would kind of look the same as Shake Shack’s restaurants. At the very least, Slap Stack Burger’s facade in Greenhill Mall doesn’t as it’s mostly pink! Maybe it’s just me but, if I didn’t know this was a burger joint, I would’ve mistaken it for a bakery because of the color. Just sayin’.

I will say Slap Stack Burgers has a rather respectable menu as there is some variety to what they offer. Yes, they offer different kinds of burgers. But Slap Stack Burgers also has chicken sandwiches and chicken wings on their menu. They also have the prerequisite rice meals because, you know, it’s the Philippines. Still, the place is called Slap Stack Burger and I’m here for Burger Month! Give me the burgers, please!

Now, there were definitely some really interesting burgers offered a Slap Stack Burgers. I was honestly tempted to try the PB&J Burger as it’s a burger with a peanut butter jalapeno sauce! That’s different to say the least! While I was more than intrigued, I decided against it as this was my first time trying out Slap Stack Burgers’ offerings and I just felt it would be too risky as I might not like peanut butter on my burger! And I didn’t want to taint my first time coming here with a possible bad first impression! So I went with something more safe as I went for their Smokehouse Burger, which is their burger with cheese, bacon and hickory BBQ sauce. I felt this was a nice way to start and, according to the menu, this was their bestseller. I went for a double patty as well just to make sure I could really taste what Slap Stack Burger’s beef patty tastes like. I also upgraded the burger to a meal so I got some fries on the side. Side note: you can also upgrade the meal further to get a milkshake but, being lactose intolerant, I decided against it. I just got a Coke Zero instead.

Anyway, after placing my order and waiting a few minutes, I was served my Smokehouse Burger with a side of fries. I will say the burger did look good. It looked like it had some heft to it, mainly because there were two patties. I do like the nice added touch of them toasting the top of the bun as well. However, I couldn’t help but be a little bit disappointed by the side of fries as there weren’t really a lot of them.

Then again, a burger’s appearance doesn’t matter a whole lot if it doesn’t taste good? So, what about Slap Stack Burgers’ Smokehouse Burger? I will say it was more than decent. The burger patties did have a rather unique flavor to them. They don’t taste like most other burger patties I’ve ever had at least. The closest I can think of when it comes to flavor would be the burger patties you would get from Jollibee. Specifically, their Champ burger patty… but this was cooked better. Slap Stack Burgers’ burger patties definitely had a better char than then ones you would get from Jollibee. And definitely much juicier. But I still couldn’t shake the fact that it tasted somewhat like Jollibee. So, this is both a warning and an endorsement, depending on where you fall. If you don’t like the flavor of Jollibee’s burgers, you probably won’t like Slap Stack Burgers’ meat patties. If you do, then you’ll enjoy them. Me? I’m generally okay with them so it works out in my favor.

The cheese was nicely melted but I kind of wish there was more of it as it generally disappeared amidst the strong BBQ sauce. I can’t say the same for the lettuce as I only got one single solitary leaf of the vegetable. Thankfully, the tomatoes in the Smokehouse Burger were more substantial. The bacon was good but I would’ve liked it if they were just a bit crispier for that added texture crunch. The bun, despite being toasted both on the outside and inside, couldn’t keep its structural integrity because of the BBQ sauce and the general size of both burger patties.

I do have to talk about the fries Slap Stack Burgers has as they’re actually really good. The outside shell of each fry were nice and crisp yet they still had a nice and soft pillowy interior. And they were all pretty long so I didn’t feel shortchanged with one of them being too short. I do feel shortchanged with the amount since they were good and I definitely wanted more. Oh, they could’ve needed more salt overall but, with that being said, their fries were great.

Now, my entire bill, for the Smokehouse Burger (with two burger patties) with a side of fries and a can of Coke Zero, came to P440 Philippines Pesos. That’s a little over $7 US. I do think the price is fair as Slap Stack Burgers’ Smokehouse Burger was good and was pretty filling. It’s not the best burger I’ve had but I can’t really say I don’t want to go back here. It’s above average and, besides from the amount of fries I got, I don’t really feel cheated I paid that amount. I honestly want to go back to actually try their PB&J burger… but I’m not exactly in a rush to do so. It’s a good burger and if you want to see what a better Jollibee burger would be like, this would be the place to go.

Have you tried any of Slap Stack Burgers’ hamburgers? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!