One of the newest restaurant additions to Nassau Street, 30 Burgers presents its take on one of America’s favorite fast foods to the Princeton community. 30 Burgers lives up to its name by literally offering 30 different burgers on its menu. With 29 fixed burgers and a changing burger of the month, 30 Burgers offers so many choices that ordering food can be quite overwhelming. Mushroom, gyro, Chipotle bison…if you can think of the burger, 30 Burgers probably has it. In addition, this burger joint offers a wide selection of wings, paninis, hot dogs and even salads on its menu.
I personally was saved from the headache of choosing what to eat from a recommendation by a friend who had eaten here previously, and came upon Number 22, the Nacho Burger. To play it safe in rounding out the rest of the meal, I decided to try 30 Burgers’ regular french fries to accompany this unique burger. To alleviate my thirst after this fast food meal, I settled on a pumpkin milkshake, an limited season special. As I waited for my order, I entertained myself by reading the witty puns about hamburgers on the wall. Luckily, my order didn’t take too long to arrive, and I was excited to taste what 30 Burgers had in store.
Photo by Lawrence Yu
Nacho burger: 3.5/5
The nacho burger is a Mexican-American fusion, with more traditional ingredients such as a medium rare Angus beef patty, tomatoes and cheese accompanied by nacho chips, guacamole, salsa and ranch dressing. The meat was cooked just right, not too raw or too well-done, and the mix of sauces accented the flavor of the beef. However, I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of chips and scarce quantity of guacamole in the burger, given that the burger is called the Nacho Burger. Instead, an overabundance of jalapeños filled the void with an excess spiciness that overwhelms the taste buds. I absolutely adore spicy food, but the disproportionate ratio of chips, sauces and jalapeños in this burger just did not sit right with me. Still, if you are a fan of spicy challenges and want something with lots of jalapeño spice, you may want to try this burger out for yourself.
Photo by Lawrence Yu
Regular fries: 3/5
30 Burgers’ regular fries are just that: standardly shaped and flavored potato fries. These fries are crispy and have just the right amount of salt, but aren’t anything to write home about. A different selection on the menu, like the bacon cheese fries or onion rings, might be better if you want a more interesting side to eat.
Photo by Lawrence Yu
Pumpkin milkshake: 3/5
I enjoyed the heavy pumpkin flavor of this milkshake, and the whipped cream at the top of the milkshake is a creamy plus. Still, the milkshake simply tasted like milk + ice cream put together into a drink, as it did not seem to be blended as thoroughly as the milkshakes offered at other fast food places such as In-N-Out or Shake Shack. However, I still would recommend the 30 Burgers milkshake over the more watered-down equivalent at the other local burger joint, Cheeburger Cheeburger.
30 Burgers excites with its creativity in its 30 different burger styles. This restaurant will probably never get boring even to frequent diners, as there are so many options that one can sample a new menu item with each visit. However, the price is rather high relative to the quality you receive. The burgers range from $6.75 to $8.50, which is reasonable for the amount of ingredients they put in one burger, yet the burger did not taste like it warranted its almost-gourmet price.
Nonetheless, if you are tired of food on campus and want to go eat on Nassau for something adventurous and filling, 30 Burgers is not a bad choice to satisfy your basic human needs for grease, fat and carbs.