KO Prime Burger Test

In the ongoing effort to find Boston's best burger, on Saturday night, Nick and I decided to try out KO Prime, which is in the Nine Zero Hotel.  They have been on a couple of lists for being one of the best in Boston so we were excited to compare. 

The chef of this restaurant is Ken Oringer, who has a couple of places in town that are on our "to try" list.  Each have a good reputation and their own distinctive styles.  KO Prime definitely followed suit.  Rather than being another old school, gentleman's club style steak house, KO Prime was contemporary and modern.  The furniture in the bar had fun patterns with non-traditional tables and chairs.  The chandeliers were really cool.  They were made up of a number of antlers.

The chandelier with a glimpse of the fabrics used

Although there was plenty of room, we sat at the bar.  The windows overlook the Granary Burying Ground, which was a great plus.  The bartenders were helpful with their suggestions - specifically, we asked about some of the different appetizer dishes on their bar menu.  Also, they were talkative without being annoying.  They were having a special on Pabst Blue Ribbons (1 pint can for $3) so that made ordering drinks easy.

Pint can...no glass necessary

However, their drink list did look good.  I would like to go back and give a couple a try.  We both went in knowing we were ordering the burger, but they had some tempting bar dishes to try.  We ordered the seasonal hush puppies, but the bartender also said the tater tots were especially good.  Since we were getting french fries with out main meal, we stuck with the hush puppies and that was a good decision.


Hush puppies in Boston!

They were nice and crusty on the outside with a light and fluffy center.  The Carolina Red Sauce was a barbecue sauce with some added flavors for a good twist.

The KO Burgers are a full half pound burger with Grafton cheese and a special sauce, which we think was ketchup, mayo, mustard, and some Tabasco.

The burger!

They cooked the burger to perfection (as in they know what medium rare is) which is a good thing considering it is a steak place first and foremost!  The burger was definitely tasty, but did not beat out my top favorites (Mooo... and Back Bay Social Club).  However the price point for this burger is far easier on the wallet that some of the others.  This was only $14, whereas others are as much as $21! 

In general, the bar menu was extremely reasonable given it is in a high end steak house.  There are some really good options that would be tempting to try on the next visit.  I would highly recommend going to the bar at KO Prime to hang out for some relaxed drinks and a few tasty bites, or a more substantial dinner.  The burger is great, but I think there could be other better draws on the menu.