To kick off Jess' birthday I took her and my sweetheart to Elevation Burger out in Wynnewood yesterday. Jess is a self-proclaimed Burgerbaroness, and when given a choice between a birthday brunch at Bar Ferdinand or Elevation Burger, she choose the burger. Nothing against Bar Ferdinand, but I'm glad she chose the burger. It was delicious!

Not quite as stellar as Jess' favorite fast food burger chain, In and Out Burger, Elevation Burger is quite possibly the closest we'll get to that style of fast food burger here in Pennsylvania. Luckily for us, the location in Wynnewood is just the first of three stores the chain is planning for the Philadelphia region. I think I might have a problem on my hands if one of the locations is close to Northern Liberties.

The Elevation Burger philosophy is one that echos sustainability and quality at a reasonable price in a matter of minutes. According to their website, "Elevation burger is more than just a restaurant; it is a vision for fresh food that is better for you and better for the environment". We can all get behind a mission statement like that, no?

Beef for the burgers is grass-fed, organic and ground on the premises, meaning fresh food that isn't pre-frozen into patties and shipped across the U.S. The fries, which are super crispy and perfectly salted, are fried in 100% Olive Oil, meaning no trans-fats.

Upon first bite, I was smitten. I ordered a single cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and pickles. The bun was light, held together with the power of potato and didn't overwhelm the small-ish burger the way some burger buns can. The cheese was real cheddar, none of that processed flavorless American cheese. In my opinion, the only room for improvement would be the lettuce. I really adore a nice leafy green piece of lettuce, but the standard at Elevation Burger is a piece of Iceberg. I understand the need for crunchy textural contrast, but I think that can be achieved with a nice piece of Romaine or Bibb lettuce just as easily as Iceberg.

The shakes are nothing to dismiss either. Just thick enough to make you work a little bit to get the sweet mixture up the straw, but not so thick that you pop a blood vessel in your forehead, the shakes are definitely worth the calories. You can get a Vanilla, Chocolate or Coffee shake with up to two mix-ins for the same low price. I chose Coffee ice cream and added Oreo cookies, and I was delighted with the end product. Other mix-ins include strawberries, mango, pineapple, black cherries, chocolate syrup and key lime!

Finally, the service at Elevation Burger was great. Granted, they've just opened and seem to have an abundance of staff on hand for training, but I felt really taken care of during my whole visit. It's harder to be stealthy about taking pictures with my new beautiful camera, so I'm sure I drew some attention to myself, but still, the kids who were working were very friendly, asked us repeatedly how the food was and if they could do anything for us while we were there. It was nice. Not sure if this is typical of the chain or typical of the suburbs, so it will be interesting to see what service is like when a location opens up within Philadelphia county. For now, however, I'm very very satisfied with Elevation Burger and am already planning another trip out to the 'burbs so I can scarf another delicious and sustainable burger.

Elevation Burger
50 E. Wynnewood Road
Wynnewood, PA 19096
610.645.7704