Elevation Burger and grading burgers

As we went to Frederick for the final time of the season,a curveball was thrown when a new high-end burger store was recommended by Bruce Begole.
We've been going to Smashburger as previously noted,when we went to Frederick this season.
Being burger aficionados,we have the top notch Five Guys in town,so Smashburger became the summer of 2015 Frederick staple.
We planned one final Smashburger trip,but in our previous Frederick visit.Bruce recommended an new chain that I had never heard of,but that he had said was from a similar vein in Elevation Burger.

Elevation Burger does a gimmick of after their standard two burger sandwich of offering a burger that that can go from three burgers up to ten!
Elevation also claims to be enviro-friendly with 100% organic burgers from grass-fed beef with the french fries fried in "Heart-Healthy" Olive Oil.
Sounds nice,but as usual with these statements,I'll take them with a raised eyebrow,

Elevation has a mostly beef menu,although there are a few chicken items and ice cream/milk shakes with a veggie burger option as well.
I actually don't mind veggie burgers,although those that tell you that you'll be unable to tell the difference from beef are full of something else,so I applaud having that option.

I ordered the "standard" though of two patties with a thick slice of cheddar cheese and added mushrooms,pickles and jalapenos with a side of fries.
Like Smashburger (and unlike Five Guys),the order is brought to your table and they used a metal cake pan for each order.
I liked that because it gives the sloppy eater (like me) a chance to maybe not make a mess on oneself.
The burger was juicy,arguably overly so,so maybe if you like a burger to be more well-done with less juice,you might want to ask them to cook it a little longer.


The cheese was melted,but not to the point of being mush and the side items were all crisp.
I also added "elevation sauce",which was described as similar to McDonald's Big Mac Sauce,which is mainly Thousand Island dressing and sweet relish,by our cashier.
If you are going to try a burger,you try the standard first with the things you like on it.
You can vary things later.

I thought it was a good burger,not a great burger.
The sauce was lacking and if I went back again,I think I'd pass on the sauce.
Just a little too sweet for my tastes.
I did like the cheddar cheese slice though,I thought it added a homemade touch to the hamburger.
The fries were quite good,not as large as Five Guys,but larger than the shoestring cut from Smashburger.

I'd return to Elevation Burger,It was good,but like I said earlier not great.
Maybe it was the sauce,but I feel like my meal was not quite as good as a Five Guys or Smashburger.
Smashburger still retains its title as place to go in Frederick due to its proximity to Harry Grove Stadium.
It's right down the road,while Elevation is across town and if you aren't familiar with Frederick,might be a pain to find.

If I was ranking the three,I would look at it as follows.
You can't really go wrong with any of the three and I certainly would love to see Smashburger or Elevation Burger come to Hagerstown....

1) Five Guys-Winner by a hair.Wins for the following reasons.
They have A-1 as an option (always a plus) and gives you tons of fries for your dollar (A medium can easily feed three people).

2) Smashburger-Loser in a photo finish.
Takes the beefy burger and thins it out for an easier bite.
The fries are smaller than I usually prefer,but I love the Frank's seasoning that they use.
I'd buy a container of that,if they sold it!
Also love the various types of bun options that the other two do not offer...

3) Elevation Burger
Good,not great,
A solid contender,but in my only visit,seemed to be lacking what the other two had.
Don't take that as a non-endorsement,I think you'd enjoy it.

Let me know if you like these types of food posts!
I always enjoy getting input!