Before I start with today's review, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for their kind comments about all of my recent posts lately. And yes, each of my reviews are 100% honest and are written according to my exact experience there, sort of as if you were there with me. I'm always honest and will continue to be & none of these reviews have ever been compensated (even if they were, they'd still be my honest experience regardless). AHHH! And this post marks my 25,000+ pageview!
On to today's review. Recently, one of my really good friends, who's an Elite Yelp!-er, introduced me to Milano bakery. She had been raving on and on about some insanely delicious burger at a Korean bakery in Doraville, and how many Yelpers like herself were on that same boat. Well, when I happened to be in the neighborhood after a Friday afternoon of running errands nonstop, I decided it was finally my turn to see what was so glorious about this burger. Note: this isn't your typical burger joint, especially not one inside of a Korean-owned bakery, but I know that I'll be a frequent customer here even if it isn't. For those of you who may not be familiar with bibimbap, read about it here: Background. Simply, it's a signature Korean dish with loads of fresh and mixed vegetables and meats (to your preference) on a bed of steamed rice, topped with an fried egg and then mixed with gochujang, or Korean hot pepper sauce. Well, the Bibimbap burger here is exactly that, but instead of steamed rice, all of that tantalizing goodness is in between two perfectly toasted and freshly baked sesame buns. With that said, let's get started:
❤Milano Bakery & Cafe storefront on BuHi
❤Inside of Milano
❤The FAMOUS Bibimbap burger-BIGGER THAN MY FACE! Only $6.50-WHAT A STEAL!
❤Cross-section of the Bibimbap burger
❤FOOD (5/5): OH.MY.GOODNESS. When I came here, I was expecting a medium sized burger, like the size of a McDonald's Big Mac, and nothing more. Boy, was I incredibly underestimating myself. When the lady had brought my burger over, my eyes popped out of my eye sockets. I was SHOCKED by how enormous this burger was, especially being less than $7. The bun itself was larger than my face, which should definitely say something. It was so large that 2-3 people could eat this alone and feel stuffed afterwards. If I had known how gigantic it was beforehand, I would've come with a friend rather than coming alone, because I couldn't even finish half of this burger before packing it. Where to start? Before I dug in, I cut the burger into fourths to make it easier to eat, since there was no way I could've eaten it as a whole. The sesame bun was toasted to perfection-very fresh, chewy, a little sweet and the perfect gritty texture from the sesame seeds. Sandwiched in between the buns was a fried egg, marinated strips of julienned carrots and cucumbers, Korean hot sauce, a thick meat patty and a bed of fresh cabbage and Boston lettuce. If you couldn't tell from the picture alone, it's indefinitely a beautifully constructed burger-full of vibrant colors and unique textures. Trust me when I say this though-it tastes a million times better than it looks, which was hard for me to say. The egg was thin and a little bit runny (totally okay with me though), the vegetables were extremely fresh (not a single dull piece of lettuce seen), and the meat was freshly made, perfectly seasoned and onions were added by request. What really brought the burger together was the spicy sauce that really brought out the true flavors of what one might expect to find eating a bibimbap. Fair warning-it gets VERY messy. By the time I left, there was a huge pile of used napkins, but it was so worth it. I like to eat my burgers extra saucy, so I asked the lady for an extra side of sauce and she happily brought more over to me. The price of this burger and the actual size alone shook me to my very core, but the actual tastes literally blew me out of the water. Hands down the best burger in Atlanta! You've got to try it for yourself, I'm already drooling as I'm typing this.
❤SERVICE (5/5): The Korean lady here was such an absolute pleasure to deal with. As soon as I entered the bakery, she was full of smiles and greeted me very warmly. She took my order, which I already knew before coming here was going to be the famous Bibimbap burger that everyone has been raving about, and told me it would take about 10 minutes or so since the burgers are made from scratch daily! While I waited, she offered me bread samples from that day, refills on my water, and even brought my beautifully made burger and plenty of wet wipes for when I was done (trust me, you're going to need them after tackling this beast). Keep in mind, this is simply a bakery, not a restaurant, but I had felt like I was being given VIP treatment since she was practically serving me. She even went as far to ask me how everything was and even if I liked it, while saying goodbye to me & helping another customer out on the side. Talk about tri-tasking! You can tell this little mom & pop bakery shop care about their customers and the quality of their food, which I absolutely love.
❤DECOR (5/5): Very clean, cozy and cute! Before Gwinnett became the mecca of Korean bread, all these bakeries used to compete one another in BuHi (Buford Highway). Many of the bakeries I remember going to were average-ly clean, didn't have a wide selection, and were always so loud it was difficult to have conversations there. Not here though. Before it became Milano's bakery, I do remember it being Koryodang bakery, and something else before that, so either the owner has been changing or the name of the bakery has been changing. Anyways, the inside is so much different than I remember it when it used to be Koryodang bakery. As soon as you enter through the doors, you're greeted by a long black table filled with an assortment of various Korean breads. You'll find your typical red bean, cream and espresso flavored buns here amongst some others. Next, there's a beautifully lighted glass display case of their cakes. To the right, you have refrigerators filled with your typical Coca-Cola products, in addition to some "expensive" sodas, juices and sparkling waters. What I absolutely LOVE about Milano is how much time and effort they put into handwriting their menus on the chalkboards (take a look at the picture)-it's such a unique and cute touch! Not many people take the time to do that anymore since it takes so much time (which makes sense), but I love it. Also, all of the black tables and chairs give it a very classy and elegant appeal too, and the place is always clean (the past three times I've been), as in spotless! I could definitely see myself swinging by here not only to grab lunch, but to also meet with friends and grab some coffee and what not. While I love Sweet Hut, which is literally a minute away from Milano, it gets way too loud and crowded, making it difficult to have private conversations with your friends.
Overall, I think I've found my new favorite bakery in the BuHi area! Even though I don't live close-by here, I'm in the area at least 2-3 times a month. Even if I lived over an hour away, TRUST me when I say that the bibimbap burger is 110% worth the drive. If it's not, I'll even pay your gas (not really, but I promise you'll thank me later). If you plan on coming, I'd definitely recommend making a phone call beforehand as they only prepare a certain number of bibimbap burgers per day-once it's sold out, you're pretty much out of luck. If you don't believe me, check out all of the reviews on Yelp! It's crazy good. And for $6.50+tax for a burger that not only tastes great and is the size of your face (the bun alone!), you can share it between 1-3 people and feel completely full afterwards. I've had a lot of burgers in my days and I can honestly tell you that their burger has officially deserved the title of BEST.BURGER.EVER. (Sorry Flip, you've officially met your match).
Have a great day,
-Sandy
FTC: I was not paid or compensated for this review. All reviews and opinions expressed are my own.
If you'd like to invite Bella Vivere to cover & share your restaurant's media events, tastings or parties, feel free to shoot me an email at bellavivere@gmail.com-Thanks!
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