Come on, admit it. Even if you’re the most fastidious eater on the planet, you’ve had the experience of attempting to negotiate a burger that on top of being juicy was laden with “the works”: tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles, and ranch or some other liquid condiment. Add cheese and a fried egg, and you’re really asking for trouble as the various components begin sliding against each other — like so many tectonic plates — and ultimately out of the bun.
If you haven’t been there, move on to the next post. But if you have, you’ll want to know about the best invention since napkins. It’s called Burger Buddy, and it promises to put an end to your messy burger woes.
Eating of course is believing, and so our tasting panel decided to test-drive the product, which is realized as a hemispheric envelope of silicone, making it easy to grip. In addition, it has ridges for added traction and can be expanded to accommodate outsize burgers.
But can it hold its own against a really messy burger? To determine that, we pitted the Burger Buddy against the slipperiest burger we could think of, the burgers from 5 Napkin Burger. (If you haven’t tried them, the burgers here justify the name.)
We opted for the eponymous 5 Napkin Burger — which comes slathered with Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, and a rosemary-garlic aïoli — and the Avocado Ranch Burger, with pepper jack cheese, guacamole, tomato, lettuce, and ranch dressing.
The Burger Buddy performed like a pro, down to the last bite. It even allowed for one-handed eating for those who prefer to eat on the run.
If there is one minor nit to pick in the product design it is its inability to stand up to lopsided burgers. The weight of the Avocado Ranch Burger, shown below, was unevenly distributed, causing the Burger Buddy to list to one side. The 5 Napkin Burger, it should be emphasized, stood on its own perfectly.
All things considered, we strongly recommend the Burger Buddy. They may be purchased at the brand site and cost $24.99 for a pack of four. Shipping is free.
For those who really believe in Burger Buddy, the product, which began on Kickstarter, is still apparently accepting investors.
