Graffiti Junktion -- American Burger Bar

My brother and I checked out Graffiti Junktion back in August. It had been on my mental visit list since it was highlighted in the Orlando annual food awards. The burgers were the draw and always game for a good burger, my brother offered to take me there (and supply the pictures!).

As this is a few months ago, my memory could be tainted; the restaurant is situated in chic Thornton Park on Washington St. From all the reviews I read, GJ is a neighborhood hangout, a place to grab a drink or three and chill, to see and be seen. Since I don't drink nor do I really care about being in a "hip" spot, I was going with my eye on the food.

When you walk in, the name of the place takes full meaning. Spray paint is everywhere: the walls, the floors, the picnic tables...picnic tables??? That's right, most of the seating is picnic tables; there are chairs at the bar and I can't remember if there were actual tables outside or not.

We were told to find a seat wherever; the place has no air conditioning and since it is going for the whole, rough and tough feel, the roof leaked a bit but it all added to the ambiance. Picking the nearest picnic table, we were soon addressed my one of the servers. He supplied us with GJ's simple menu (mostly burgers) and took our drink orders (water).

We had studied the menu ahead of time so we knew exactly what we wanted. I ordered the Iron City, a behemoth of a burger with Canadian bacon, a fried egg, American cheese, onions, and French fries; my brother ordered a plain burger and added mushrooms and blue cheese (I had read online from another review that in some cases adding the toppings you want is cheaper than buying the burger with the toppings already on it--which is completely true). We intended on splitting our burgers and each came with a side of fries so we had more than enough food.

The Iron City

Mushroom and Blue Cheese

The Iron City was by far the better hamburger; the entire thing was one sloppy, delicious mess. My only qualm is that it had too much Canadian bacon; somehow I ate out the burger but still had a sandwich left with two thick slices of the bacon.

Both burgers had a nice grill char on them and were cooked to order (medium well). The buns were supposedly homemade but I don't remember them being outstanding. The fries were not very good either; I ended up using ketchup which, for me at least, indicates that the fries need some help. The mushroom and blue cheese burger was adequate but nothing to return for.

Overall, we both thought it was a fun place, definitely not a typical wateringhole. I wouldn't return for the food and since I'm not into drinks, I wouldn't return for the bar. Nevertheless, I was glad we went.