Burger Photo Gallery (click pictures to enlarge)

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THE JOINT

Junior Colombian Burger is a local burger joint that you can only find in Orlando, FL. I was scheduled to attend a trade show at the Orlando Convention center in February and as usual, I used Twitter to scout out my burger adventures before the trip.

I’m not sure how I started following @JuliusMayoJr on Twitter, but I’m so glad I did. He gave me 2 great burger recommendations for me to check out while I was in Orlando.

On my first day of the trade show, we had a catered “happy hour” mixer to close out the day and I asked the bartender if he knew of any good burgers in the area.   He thought for a thought for a while, seemingly at a loss for words and then replied “Well, I don’t know the name of the place or even where it’s at, but my kids bring me home this burger every now and then that is the best burger I’ve ever tried. Matter of fact, it might be the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. The place is called Colombian something or other I think…”

Luckily, because of the previous recommendation from Julius for Junior Columbian and the link on his Droolius food blog with a photo and address, I knew exactly what the bartender was talking about! That sealed the deal, 2 totally independent recommendations told me my first stop after the trade show would be Junior Colombian.

THE BURGER

As per the name, the Junior Colombian burger is a burger with Colombian inspired ingredients. The ingredient list looks a bit intimidating at first glance:

Tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheese (so far so safe), potato chips (umm, ok…crunchy is good), garlic sauce, mayonnaise, ketchup, pink sauce (what’s that?), pineapple sauce (crazy talk right?)

I went to this out of the way burger joint with a friend of mine that was attending the same trade show and his wife, and they ordered first. I think they may have been hoping for something more simple.  As they ordered, they asked for certain things to be taken off the burger. It went something like this:

Friend: “Can I get it without onions and garlic sauce?”
Employee: “Have you tried our burgers before?”
Friend: “No, but I’m not sure I’d like the pineapple sauce either…can I take that off too?”
Employee (un-phased): “Trust me, you should try the burger just as it is if it’s your first time :)”
Friend: “I think I just want ketchup and cheese”
Employee (still smiling): “Tell you what. You order it just like it is up there and if you don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back…no questions asked. I’ve made the offer 100 times and nobody has ever wanted their money back :)”
Friend: “OK…do you guys have some fries I could get on the side?”
Employee: “Our burgers don’t need fries :)”

At this point I was thoroughly intrigued by the possibility of a burger so good that the employee behind the counter stood behind it with pride, just knowing that it was about to knock your socks off. I don’t think you’d get such a confident guarantee from your average fast food burger employee :)

I was pretty hungry since I was in a show booth all day, plus I was feeling the burger love from this place, so I went with the triple cheeseburger.

After the first couple of bites, I knew what the bartender (and the confident burger cashier) was talking about. This was the kind of burger that made you want to talk to it. I think I said “WOW” to mine, among other grunting food noises.

Something about that unusual combination of ingredients just all worked together. The burger patties weren’t huge, but they were super juicy. I don’t know what kind of white cheese was on on this triple cheeseburger, but it held the burger, potato chips and sauces together like a tasty burger epoxy. The pineapple flavor didn’t really stand out like a Hawaiian pizza, it was more like this sweet delicious after thought that made you long for the next bite.

Seriously, about half way through the burger I was already craving another one.

I asked my friend’s wife if she was going to ask for her money back and she quickly shook her head no as we all 3 secretly plotted how to get back here again before we had to fly back to California.

THE VERDICT

The next day I took a taxi back to Junior Columbian just to get a farewell burger in since I didn’t know the next time I’d be in Orlando.

The cab driver thought I was crazy, but he didn’t know he was talking to an official burger junkie :)  This time I just got a double because I actually had a dinner reservation for an hour later.

So yeah, this burger was good. This cheeseburger’s unique flavor plus the great value easily put it in the top 5 burgers I’ve ever tried. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend people go grab one if they are ever in Orlando visiting Disneyworld, attending a convention, or if they’re local and want to step a bit outside the norm. Go get one!

Tags: featured, pineapple, potato chips, value

15 Responses to “Triple Cheeseburger – Junior Colombian Burger – Orlando, FL”

1. 

   Julius Droolius March 23, 2011 at 4:33 pm #

   Glad I could help out, the pics and write up are great! Thanks for the website plug too! I’ll have to join you for this burger next time you come to Orlando. Cheers!

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     Rodney March 24, 2011 at 5:24 pm #

     Thanks for the great tips! I think I originally found your blog by doing a Twitter search for Orlando Burger and I came across one of your burger related checkins and asked how a burger was :)

     Reply
2. 

   Burton Hohman March 24, 2011 at 11:01 am #

   I think I may drive to Orlando just to try that thing, that looks amazing

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     Rodney March 24, 2011 at 5:25 pm #

     Hey Burton, I’m not sure how far you are away from Orlando, but I’d drive at least an hour for one of these :)

     Reply
3. 

   Stephen March 28, 2011 at 10:41 am #

   I have been eating there burgers when they were cooking out of a trailer about a block away from where they are now. This is by far the best burger I have ever had. Great write up. You were absolutely correct, all of the flavors marry well and create a taste adventure. I live two hours away and believe me, I have driven to Orlando just to get this burger.

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4. 

   954 Burger Boi April 13, 2011 at 2:30 pm #

   As soon as I saw th potao chips I knew it was all over. SO DELICIOUS on a burger. There is Columbian joint like this in Tallahasse called Super Perros, which has the same basic ingredients, except for maybe the garlic sauce, which I used to eat at in college. To be honest the burger patty itself there was not that great. It’s a hot dog place anyway and I’m a burger boy. But it first introduced me to these Columbian burgers. This one looks exceptional and has added been added to my to-try-burgers list.

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5. 

   malissa April 17, 2011 at 11:27 am #

   so my cousin introduced me to this burger last week. when you think of burgers, you think typical chain burgers but this isnt an ordinary burger. first of all it was packed, somebody else left with our order and had to wait another hour to make another order but it was well worth the wait. The combinations of the sauces make the burger along with the chips. The columbian burger is full of flavor and the bigger the better! I wouldnt doubt that it will be on the food network soon ;)

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6. 

   Rachel V May 3, 2011 at 12:54 pm #

   This was a fun read…I hope to one day eat my way around the world one day, too!

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7. 

   Stephanie S June 19, 2011 at 9:46 pm #

   Went there for the 1st time yesterday morning…At 2 AM.The place was packed, at 2 AM!!! Once you have the burger you can understand why. I got a single burger with the works. Oh my goodness!!! This is an amazing burger! I have never had anything even close to it.You must have the pleasure of having this at least once..

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8. 

   Babo July 26, 2011 at 9:03 pm #

   Cool article, but it is called ColOmbian not ColUmbian burger….being colombian myself, the pink sauce (“mayo and ketchup) is way too delicious that as a poster mentioned, we put it on hot dogs too along with bits of potato chips.

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     Rodney August 3, 2011 at 10:01 am #

     Hi Babo, thanks for the correction. I thought I had it spelled correctly already in the review, but I may have missed a word :)

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9. 

   David August 3, 2011 at 9:59 am #

   This place used to be good, but the owner of the place seems to have made a bad decision in order to save money. They changed the type of meat that the burger is made with, making the patty resemble something you would find at the frozen section in Walmart. They lost my business.

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     Orlando Web November 8, 2011 at 9:06 pm #

     OH Really? I have not tasted that much of a difference, but now I am going to inspect it tomorrow.

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10. 

    Orlando Web November 8, 2011 at 9:05 pm #

    We go every day for lunch to Junior’s Colombian Burger it is right by our office. It was fun to watch them grow from a trailer in a parking lot to having a real store with a fountain drink, etc. like a McDonalds. It goes to show good product and friendly service still makes it in America.

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11. 

    Ruby November 11, 2011 at 3:23 pm #

    11/11/11
    The burgers were O.K. We had the Doubles ($6.75 each) and the Empanadas Carne ($6.00). It was our first time going to Juniors and the experience was….meh.

    I guess if you are in the area it may be worth visiting, the only unique thing about the burgers were the potato chips on top and the mixing of the sauces that was a little pleasant. The empanadas were pretty good.

    Make sure if you go, don’t catch them when they’re busy. When we went there were only five or six other customers there and they were starting to back up. On a positive note, I believe the burgers are made to order (the reason for the wait).

    The total for our lunch was $24.71. That was for two doubles, one order of empanadas, and two fountain sodas.

    I rate them a 3.5 out 5.

    Reply

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