blt.

At the Mirage, BLT does not stand for bacon lettuce tomato. It stands for Bistro Laurent Tourondel, and this restaurant company and its namesake, the acclaimed French chef, opened BLT Burger here last summer. It is one of the newest gourmet burger joints in Vegas, along with the respectable LBS way out west at the Red Rock Resort.

After one lunch at BLT Burger, it is my favorite burger spot in the city, besting Hubert Keller's Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay. I have yet to try the infamous Bradley Ogden bar burger, but right now I have no problem saying the rather simple "BLT" burger here is the best one I've had in Vegas. (Note: The best hamburger I've ever had in my life, hands down, all time, is the Awful Awful at the Little Nugget in downtown Reno. I don't know if that place still exists or still serves this thing, but it wins.)

This great Vegas burger is seven ounces of certified Black Angus beef, double smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato and sauce. It's definitely the meat, a blend of sirloin, short rib, chuck and brisket cuts of the cow, that makes the difference. The taste is rich and satisfying, and yet somehow putting one of these babies down doesn't kill you. It's light. With a Hoegaarden draft, it was a damn near perfect lunch. I wish I hadn't ordered the fried pickles, though, which were soft and pillowy tempura shit when they should be crispy and salty.

But I must go back, because look at these menu choices: an American Wagyu beef burger, a Colorado lamb tandoori burger, a veggie falafel burger, and holy fuck, an Asian banh mi burger made of pork and shrimp with pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber and sriracha mayo. Seriously? Oh, sriracha, how I love you ... long live the rooster sauce. All this plus sliders, shakes, fries and rings, barbecue brisket nachos, salads, s'mores and a macaroon ice cream sandwich. Damn. Is this my new favorite lunch on the Strip?