Grumpy’s Burgers and Beer – Restaurant Review

by Thomas Miller – Food Blogger / Restaurant Critic for Vero Vine

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Burgers are one of America’s favorite foods, and we sure do eat a TON of them.  According to Google statistics, the average American eats 3 burgers per week, which puts us at just about 50 billion burgers consumed per year!  Vero definitely has its share of burger joints, so how do you stand out and be one of the top burger purveyors in town?  You need to do something special, and give your customers something that the other joints don’t offer.  Owner Will Tseng believes he has the winning formula to get and keep your business when it comes to burgers.

Opening less than a year ago in December 2015, they are located in the old Casa Vecchia location on 21st St across from Pocahontas Park in the Historic Downtown Shopping District.  As you enter the restaurant, you are greeted by the hostess and shown to your table.  Seating is available at low or high top tables. They also offer several different bars with stools to sit and enjoy your meal.  Nostalgic signs decorate the dark grey and red accented walls.  When it comes to the ingredients, this is what makes Grumpy’s stand out from all the rest.  Fresh vegetables, never frozen ground beef, hand-cut fries, and buns locally sourced from Miranda’s Bakery Shop in Fort Pierce. Beer and wine is available with six beers on tap.

Now let’s jump right in and see what I had to eat!

Hangover Burger – ($10.49) – This is one impressive looking burger!  It consists of a toasted bun, all beef patty, Swiss cheese, bacon, a fried egg, and it’s topped off with a creamy beer cheese sauce.  I had to cut it in half to just be able to get a handle on it and take a bite.  The burger patty was cooked a perfect medium and was very juicy.  The next thing I noticed was the smokiness and crunch of the bacon.  The beer cheese sauce was smooth and creamy, but the flavor was more subtle than I expected.  I would have liked to see the egg yolk a little bit runnier than it was, but overall this was a fantastic burger.  The hand-cut fries were nice and crispy.

Pittsburgher – ($9.99) – This was a GIGANTIC burger just like the first one! It’s made with twice fried fries on the bottom under the burger patty, topped with cheddar cheese, bacon and their house made slaw  with a side of Grumpy’s sauce.  The burger again was cooked to a perfect medium, and the slaw on top was nice and crunchy, and had a little tang to it.  I added some of the Grumpy’s sauce on it and it added a nice sweet and mildly spicy flavor to the burger.  The onion rings were awesome!  The batter had a nice richness to it, and the onions were tender enough to bite through easily.  I found myself craving a milkshake with this burger combo, so if you are listening Will, maybe something to think about for the near future?

Korean BBQ – ($10.49) – I think I’m seeing a trend here with the size of these sandwiches!  This “burger” is made with sliced beef that is slathered with their tangy teriyaki sauce.  The bun was toasted and covered with their house made bacon jam, and topped off with an Asian slaw.  The sliced beef was very tender and had just the right amount of teriyaki sauce on it.  The slaw was crunchy with a little Asian twist and was very good.

12 Jumbo Wings – ($12.50) – Wings in general are awesome and I’ve had some pretty good ones in Vero.  So how do these stack up?  I’d say they are on point with the other local wing joints as far as size and how perfectly cooked they were.  They were tender, juicy, and the sauce had just a tiny bit of heat to them.  Along with the Mild Buffalo, Grumpy’s also offers Hot Sriracha, Teriyaki, Garlic Parm and Chipotle BBQ sauces.  I would definitely order these again to try some of the other sauces.

In Conclusion:

My wife joined me for this review and we both thought that Grumpy’s was a cross between a Five Guys and a Red Robin.  They have the same type of fresh made burgers as Five Guys, but more gourmet offerings like a Red Robin, so you get the best of both worlds here.  We were also curious as to how “Grumpy’s” got its name, and the owner Will told me to “ask his wife”!   It’s definitely nice to have another burger option in Vero that is not fast food.  This is definitely an exceptional burger place that has a variety of burger options along with a nice selection of sandwiches and wraps.

Be sure to visit on Wednesdays for Karaoke night with Happy Hour specials, and coming up soon is Taco Tuesdays featuring the infamous Alley Tacos!  You no longer have to wait until Friday to have their delicious tacos. Check out Grumpy’s Facebook page for more information and special events.

Atmosphere – 4 Forks

Service – 4 Forks

Food – 4 Forks

Ratings Scale Legend:

1 to 5 Forks – 1 Bad to 5 Excellent

Grumpy’s Website