Burger Boss

Mr. Mochi loves a good burger. He loves everything from cheap fast food burgers to Umami burgers, and everything that lies in between. We have had serious debates and conversations about the various burgers we've had together, tackling tough topics like "which is better: In-N-Out or Five Guys?" Our answer: they exist on two different price points both monetarily and calorically and therefore cannot truly be compared besides personal preference, however I like In-N-Out better and he like Five Guys better.

Burgers are honestly one of his favorite foods, so when we got invited to try Burger Boss of Lake Forest's menu in advance of their grand opening, I knew we had to take a break from blogging about my travels through Japan and go check them out.

Customization is key at Burger Boss; they offer several different ways to enjoy your burger, either on a white, wheat, or gluten free bun, lettuce wrap, or served in a lettuce bowl. Prices start out around $6.99 and you can

The burger salad bowl with sweet potato fries on the side

Beyond that they offer 4 different types of protein, 7 different types of cheeses (add $0.99), 13 types of sauces with no additional cost, 8 toppings with no additional cost, and 5 premium toppings with a small additional cost (all less than $2 but they range). You can even use the toppings and sauces to make custom fries as well! Check out their menu here as I would still be typing if I listed all the options!

They feature grass fed beef, touting the healthiness of their meat options. All of their meat is antibiotic and hormone free, and they even have a vegan black bean patty option as well as a gluten free bun. But Mr. Mochi couldn't care less about whether or not the burger was healthier or not: he wanted to know how tasty it was.

His burger, assembled.

You'll be pleased to know he rhapsodized about his burger all the way home.

This is how serious he is: he informed me he went with a "classic taste profile so he could most easily compare the quality of the ingredients" but with an egg, because you cannot pass up a runny-yolked egg on a burger. Like I said, the man loves burgers and takes them really seriously. He chose a beef patty with a white bun topped with thousand island sauce, pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, fresh onion, turkey bacon, and fried egg with molten gooey yolk. On the side, he chose traditional fries with house-made chipotle mayo dipping sauce (the first dipping sauce is complimentary and of course ketchup is unlimited free).

I broke from tradition with a turkey burger on wheat bun, with swiss cheese, sweet chili sauce and topped with grilled pineapple, turkey bacon, and of course the egg. On the side: waffle sweet potato fries and garlic herb mayo dipping sauce.

We both agreed that the toppings were superb. Fresh lettuce, bright tomatoes, and crispy bacon, plus if you want avocado for less than $2 you get practically half a gorgeous avocado which is both generous and delicious. But a couple things really stuck out to both of us: first, the pickles were not little anemic rounds but thin slabs of pickles that covered the entire surface area of the burger. This allowed you to get a bite of pickle with every mouthful without pulling them out accidentally like what normally happens with pickles. The sauces were of a sufficient amount to keep everything flavorful, so much that you might need a napkin, but not enough to drown everything else out. This is 100% a huge bonus for me, because dry burgers are my sworn enemy.

You can use this to order if you want

The sides (we tried both traditional fries and sweet potato, $2.99 and $3.99 respectively) were also not an afterthought and big enough we could have shared one, and we were very happy with our dipping choices. I'm not always a fan of sweet potato fries, but if everyone waffled them like Burger Boss I might be a convert.

And finally, the egg was perfectly cooked and seriously legit. You must get an egg. Just do it. You will need napkins. The egg will not apologize for oozing tasty yolk everywhere.

All in all, we can't wait to go back. I loved the customization, Mr. Mochi loved the unapologetic beefiness of the burgers and the seriousness of the eggs, and we both loved the quality ingredients.

As far as customization goes, it can be a little overwhelming so they even have screens where you can build your burger and order it without tying up a cashier. Mr. Mochi and I had fun dreaming up combinations for burgers and came up with a couple to share with you:

My burger, stuffed with waffle sweet potato fries

The Buffalo Burger
Beef Patty
White Kaiser Bun
Blue Cheese Crumbles
Cajun Buffalo Sauce
(and of course get ranch and fries to go with it!)

The Hawaiian
Chicken breast
Wheat Bun
Swiss Cheese
Teriyaki Sauce
Grilled Pineapple

The Californian
Black Bean Patty
Gluten Free Bun
Smoked Gouda
Garlic Herb Mayo
Spinach
Tomatoes
Avocado
Grilled mushrooms

Really, you could go on and on! We urge you to stop by and try it and let me know what creation you came up with.. They will be having a grand opening this Sunday from 10:30am to 2pm with motorcycle stunt riders, vendors and giveaways, plus free burgers to their first 50 customers.

One last thing that I have to say about this experience: they did a great job hiring their staff. Sebastian was the one who took our order, and he delivered what was one of the best customer service experiences I've ever had at a fast casual restaurant. I got a little overwhelmed with the customization, and his recommendations were spot on. He was friendly without being over-the-top or fake, and he helped me craft my burger and suggested the dipping sauces we ultimately chose for our sides. It's important for this sort of restaurant to have associates able to engage with their clients as there as so many options, and he nailed it! Yes, I was there on an invite so you might claim that the customer service experience was colored by that, but I don't believe so. You can't fake it that good. And when I visited another Boss Burger in the area (I like to do this for that very reason when I'm invited to a complimentary tasting), the customer service was just as good. In-N-Out, you've been warned!

Burger Boss
23642 Rockfield Blvd #502,
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 716-6330

Disclaimer: As mentioned above, Mr. Mochi and I were invited to a complimentary menu tasting. However, I was not required to blog about the event, let alone paid or pressured to write a positive review. I also visited the restaurant chain again as a paying customer before penning this, and will be returning again soon in the future. This review reflects solely my opinions, and the prices are at the time of publication if listed.