Trey Popp tries to cut through the buzz to review P.Y.T. this week. What he may have done is crank up the hype and bluster meter to 11. But first the review:

Popp refers to P.Y.T.’s burger as “a juiceless nugget on a grocery-store bun with mass-market potato chips on the side.” Ouch! He wasn’t much more impressed with the fries or veggie burger. He did however call the onion rings a “title contender” and to his own surprise, he enjoyed the $10 “adultshakes.”

And if you thought Tommy Up would stand idly by while Popp smacked his Pretty Young Thing you haven’t been paying much attention. The first comment on Popp’s review was of course from Tommy Up. Within two hours of that, an e-mail was sent out to Up’s mailing list highlighting the positives and critiquing the critic’s take on the burger. And being the master of promotion that he is, print or tear out Popp’s review between now and the 10th and you can get a free PYT Burger to try for yourself.

Hype Beast [City Paper]
P.Y.T. [Official Site]

It might not be a clone of Good Dog but it’s good to know the burger’s at Swift Half has got Adam Erace’s back.

As at Good Dog, the Swift Half menu hinges on the almighty presence of a great burger. The beef is the same at both gastropubs: an 80/20 sirloin blend that cooked up pink and implausibly juicy. The cheese selection is luxe (Boucheron, Sardinian Pecorino, etc.); slabs of Stilton sat on my burger like slabs of Carrera marble with fine indigo veining. It melted slow, mingling with the toppings on its descent, depositing drops of smoky bacon and beef fats into the slightly sweet, sponge-like Wildflour brioche bun. If all that sounds a bit rich, there was also a piece of bibb lettuce and some tomato.

Swift Half [Philadelphia Weekly]
Swift Half [Official Site]

Oh that Tommy Up. He has ways of making us talk about him. In his latest move, he’s giving away a free PYT burger if you bring in a receipt for Butcher & Singer’s $5.95 Best of Philly burger.

Well played Mr. Up, well played.

Tommy Up [Twitter]

Philly Mag has given us a peek at 10 of its Food and Drink winners for Best of Philly and the winner for gourmet burger is Butcher and Singer.

And yesterday Starr tweated that the burger would be available at lunch for just $5.95. Grub Street hypothesized that maybe this was all related to Tommy Up’s Twitter smack talk but maybe it’s just in time marketing to capitalize on the Best Of win.

Whatever the reason, it’s worth biting into.

Starr Restaurants [Twitter]
Stephen Starr Walks Softly, Carries Big Burger [Grub Street]
Gourmet Burger: Butcher and Singer [Philadelphia Magazine]

As we mentioned in our Metro column, P.Y.T. has sure created a lot of buzz since its opening. The latest angle involves Tommy Up channeling Rocky foe, Clubber Lang and challenging Stephen Starr’s SquareBurger to a showdown. It was a one-sided smack talking fest last night on Twitter and it is continuing today.

But Up is not the only one going crazy over his P.Y.T.

Staying in the Twitter realm, Shola Olunloyo, Philadelphia’s most respected chef without a restaurant says “Tommy up’s PYT chicken burger rocks.”

The menu at P.Y.T. is of course right up Unbreaded’s sandwiched alley. It appears they tried everything on the menu and have the photos to prove it.

Fidel Gastro got the invite to try out P.Y.T. on Sunday and called the burger the best he’s tasted since his honeymoon (he remembers the burger from his Honeymoon) and placed the onion rings in his all-time top 3.

And with all this meat love it might be a surprise to learn there’s treats for the vegetarian too, in fact there’s a whle Bogus Burger section. Living on the Vedge is planning return trips for the ‘Shroom Burger and to find out just how many boozy shakes it takes to get toasted.

Just a reminder though, P.Y.T. is closed until this weekend so you have to hold off a couple days to try all these eats for yourself.

Pretty Yummy Thing: Tommy Up’s Burger Lounge at the Piazza [Unbreaded]
Sunday Vacation [Fidel Gastro]
First Times: PYT [Living on the Vedge]

Today’s the official grand opening of Stephen Starr’s SquareBurger. But it seems everyone with a blog or keyboard has already been to the Franklin Square burger shack.

Metro Philadelphia was there on Monday for the soft opening, finding patrons already dedicated enough to get back in line for a second burger. [Metro Philadelphia]

Phoodie gives a rundown on the menu of SquareBurger salutes the Cake Shake and gives props to the concept, for not overthinking it. [Phoodie.info]

Unbreaded finds the Philly Dog to be the most enjoyable menu item. [Unbreaded]

The Secret is Salt got to sample just about everything and looks forward to returning for another shake. [The Secret is Salt]

Grub Street provides the tale of the tape on the sub-$5 burger. [Grub Street]

Grub Street also asks, is it ok that the SquareBurger uses frozen fries? [Grub Street]

And a third post from Grub Street? Turns out there’s no lines around 2pm, at least on Wednesday. [Grub Street]

Thrillist is there for the top to bottom rundown of the shack in the square. [Thrillist]

And just for good measure, KYW 1060 was there as well. [KYW1060]

And here’s the menu, in case you missed it. [Meal Ticket]

Grub Street Philadelphia launched today with a slideshow of 22 notable Philadelphia burgers including the never before seen Village Whiskey behemoth. It’s a mix of sirloin, chuck eye roll and chuck topped with Rogue’s (as in the beer) blue cheese and sauteed foie gras. Yikes!

Sad/great thing. We recognized 10 of the 22 burgers without realizing the description was on the right-hand side.

The Burger Register: Philadelphia’s Twenty-Two Notable Burgers [Grub Street]

The Burger Baroness heads out to Wynnewood to check out the new Elevation Burger. She’s quite impressed with the simple burger with In-N-Out tendencies. And of course she got fries with that shake. After all, it was her birthday.

And for a second opinion check out Foodaphilia who accompanied the Baroness and was smitten with the first bite.

Update: Meal Ticket says Elevation Burger is eying 9 more Philadelphia-area locations in the next four years.

Happy Birthday to me at Elevation Burger [Fries with that Shake]
Elevation Burger [Foodaphilia]

The description of this Bistro 7 burger has us drooling. Too bad we have to wait until Sunday.

Sunday Burger Nights!
Grass-Fed Beef Burger with Amish Cheddar, Housemade Bacon and Duckfat Fries 

Bistro 7 [Official Site]

Make like burger crooner Craig LaBan and head over to Sketch for a “smashed onion burger.”

GoodTaste [Philadelphia Inquirer]