Burgatory is located in the Waterworks Mall, in the Fox Chapel area of Pittsburgh. The name is a pun on the concept of purgatory, so the whole place has a heaven and hell theme. Their slogan claims the place makes a "hell of a burger" and a "heavenly shake". We were determined to find out. We previously tried twice to get in, but the wait was to long to fit our schedule. Apparently the third time really is the charm, and last Friday we got to go.
When you get there, they take your name and cell phone number if there is a wait (ours was minimal), then text you when your table is ready. I love this concept, since you can venture a little further than those vibrating dodads most places use will allow. In about 30 minutes our table was ready.
We got inside, and I immediately loved the decor. Colors are red, black, and white, so fitting for the theme. And some cute wall art as well.
But the highlight is definitely the menu.
Each day or week they make a new special burger and shake respectively. Shakes can be regular, or "hard" with the addition of some alcohol. Hubby opted for a burger with cajun seasoning (plain of course), and I tried the special, a burger with kona crust, which is made from kona coffee and seasoning, provolone cheese, mushrooms, greens, and an aioli sauce. It was ridiculously delicious. Burgers come with homemade potato and sweet potato chips, again, delish. And my favorite part was the little pitchforks in the burgers.
We also decided to try the shakes. Hubby got the Coffee and Donut shake, which had little bits of donut in it. Holy cow delicious.
I got the Caramel Pretzel shake, and had them add some chocolate syrup. The little bits of pretzel really made it.
We found the prices to be really reasonable, given the portion size and high quality of the food. It is comparable, price wise, to chain sit down burger joints, but the quality is miles above. And the shakes are probably the best we have ever tasted. The service was really great, particularly given the fact we were there in the middle of happy hour.
So, in short, it would be a total sin (I had to) for anyone in the Pittsburgh area, either for the day or as a resident, to not try this place out.
See more pictures here.
