CHARRED BURGER + BAR
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Southwest Omaha
Creative Wagyu Burgers
Perfect For: Casual Dining; Lunch; Happy Hour
Standout Dishes: Classic Burger; Charred Burger; Wildfire Burger
Wagyu beef has become a hot buzzword in the burger community in recent years. It’s often thrown around by restaurants as a claim that their burgers are of a higher quality, but do diners really even know what wagyu beef is? And can they tell the difference?
To answer the first question, wagyu beef is known for its intense marbling, which is supposed to impart juiciness, flavor, and tenderness.
To answer the second, let’s take a visit to Charred Burger + Bar.
Charred, which opened just off 132nd and Pacific in 2015, crafts each of its 12 signature burgers solely with wagyu beef. It’s a casual space with seating for 50-60 patrons, and the service is friendly and willing to help diners break down the menu. The menu proudly serves fare made with local ingredients and Nebraska-sourced beef.
While Charred does have some creative toppings, such as beer cheese and balsamic tomato jam, it mostly sticks to ingredients traditionally found on a burger, allowing the beef to be the star. That’s a smart move, as the meat is absolutely delicious. It’s moist, but the patties are packed well enough that they don’t fall apart. The flavor is spot on.
The beef is cooked medium and is deliciously fatty and juicy, making these burgers a tasty but messy experience. And Charred has multiple creative options on its menu, including the Breakfast (bacon, fries, fried egg), Brickway Beer Cheese (cheese sauce and onion straws), and Jalapeno Popper (bacon, cream cheese, jalapenos).
The beef shines the brightest on the Classic, which is elevated by a delicious garlic aioli. It’s also wonderful on the Charred Burger, where the sweetness of the balsamic tomato jam pairs perfectly with the crispy, salty bacon, and Charred provides a healthy amount of pork.
Among the more creative options are the Wildfire, which brings heat in layers with a habanero relish and jalapeno aioli. The French Dip Burger is a treat as well, as Charred essentially recreates the classic sandwich but subs out roast beef for the wagyu patty, an obvious upgrade.
These are just a few of Charred offerings, and the menu’s descriptions will leave you wanting to try several. And that’s something I really appreciate about this place: you can. Charred gives diners the opportunity to order slider trios and get a taste of several options. And at $8-$9 with fries (the sliders are $11), the prices are pretty standard for burger fare.
The fries are forgettable, but the onion rings are large, crispy, and well-breaded, and an order comes with 10 or so, more than enough to share with a fellow diner (or just go to town yourself).
I really enjoy the wagyu beef and Charred’s desire to deliver a higher-quality product. Wagyu beef isn’t just some buzzword flying around food circles. The taste difference is real, and Charred makes the most of it.