Pop quiz. A good burger is:

A. A thick-and-juicy two-fisted affair that requires a big mouth and a brisk metabolism.

B. A three-bite number like the ones you get at your favorite local drive-in (think Rainbow or W&M).

C. Anything from a fast-food window.

D. Any or all of the above.

If you answered "B" - and you're a purist - stop reading now. (No judgment! The little greasy patties that pack a big taste are hard to part with.) If you answered "C," stay with me, and trust me when I say there are better things out there. If you answered "A" or "D," welcome to this discussion about burgers. The big, messy ones.

The Fourth of July brought with it the opening of Kapahulu's Burgers on the Edge, a joint in the vein of Teddy's Bigger Burgers, Kua 'Aina, Cheeseburger in Paradise and South Shore Grill. This one calls itself gourmet -and if Wagyu beef, foie gras, Gruyere cheese and 18 patty toppings from which to choose are markers of gourmet cuisine, then sure, this place is gourmet. But if you take it a level deeper - and yes, I am going to - gourmet food is as much about the preparation as the ingredients, and at this level, I find Burgers on the Edge a few techniques shy.

Burgers on the Edge occupies one of the new spaces in the Safeway strip mall on Kapahulu Avenue and is owned by partners Wes Zane and Almar Arcano of Formaggio, who are busy building on this island what can only be described as a food empire. In addition to their three existing restaurants (two Formaggio locations and Burgers on the Edge), they plan to open two more restaurants (a Mexican place and a casual grill) before summer's end.

BOTE gets a lot of things right. But it seems like for every good thing, there's something that's just a skosh imperfect. And they're not glaring imperfections - they certainly won't impede the place from being a huge success. People will (and already do) stand in line for a burger from the edge, and they'll leave sated and happy. And they'll go back for more.

In that regard, Burgers on the Edge gets it right enough. But since this is a food review, let's review the food.

I'll keep it simple, with what the restaurant gets right, and my reservations - we are talking about burgers, after all.

The staff is friendly and helpful: Let's start with the staff. From the second I walked through the doors on my first visit to the eatery, I was surrounded by super-friendly staff members who were eager to help me learn the best way to order from what could be perceived as an overwhelming menu (more on that later).

But ... : The sheer number of helpers can give diners a deer-in-the-headlights moment that could lead to irritation. I overheard one guy say that "this place is worse than the Apple store." Still, too much service is better than no service (which is sadly becoming the norm).

You get to choose: Burgers on the Edge lets the diners take charge by offering a long list of ingredients with which to build their ideal burger. It's a great idea that promotes gourmandism and experimentation, which is what dining, at its most realized, should do.

And the owners have made it easy to pile your sandwich with everything from Danish Havarti cheese to Cajun aioli to roasted red peppers to grilled ham to fried eggs. The menu offers five kinds of burgers (two beef, one chicken, one turkey and one portobello), 10 kinds of cheese, 12 kinds of sauce and 18 toppings.

Overwhelming? It could be if you were standing at the counter trying to decide between feta and Parmesan while the friendly staff patiently watched. But there's no reason to rush into things because the menu also serves as an order form. Take one back to your table, mull over your options, check the ones you want and hand it back to the cashier for tallying. Easy. And kind of fun.

But ... : The price of these burgers might spoil the fun for some. The chuck burger is $8.49 and includes in the price one cheese choice, one sauce choice and four toppings. The Wagyu burger is $12.49.

French fries and drinks are sold separately, which can bring a meal for two to about $30. But taking into consideration the sheer amount of ingredients the place has to stock to offer diners the kind of variety that it does, it would be logistically impossible to charge fast-food prices.

Combinations are available: For the perpetually overwhelmed, the restaurant (which is actually a counter service with an outdoor seating area) offers burgers that come with an already built combination of toppings.

The "Parisian" burger ($18.88) is a super rich tower of Wagyu beef, foie gras, grilled onions and sauteed apples all topped with a cabernet wine sauce. Decadent? To say the least.

But ... : The combinations don't always work. The "Milano" burger ($8.49), for example, comes with pesto and Gruyere cheese. Gruyere is a cheese that should be tasted, and it can't be when it's paired with something as overpowering as pesto. There's a reason mozzarella and pesto are common plate mates. The "Cubano" ($8.49) doesn't work well either - the ham and cheese toppers may as well not be there and it's missing dill pickles, a key flavor in Cuban sandwiches.

Wagyu beef is a good option: It's a nice luxury to be given a choice of beef. I like having the option of upgrading my burger from regular old chuck to Wagyu, especially with a long list of fancier-than-usual add-ons with which to top it.

But ... : A good burger is only as good as its patty, and these patties are overcooked. Overcooked Wagyu? That's a transgression against good meat.

On my first two visits, I wasn't given a choice of meat doneness. I assumed I would get it back cooked to medium-wellness because by most standards, that's the right way to cook a good burger. Both times, the burgers came well-done, rendering both the chuck and the Wagyu patties virtually tasteless. On my third visit, we ordered our meat medium and it arrived well-done. Good thing there are a gazillion toppings for flavor.

Food comes in a hurry: Burgers on the Edge is far from fast food, but the food comes fast. The kitchen staff is obviously super-efficient, and that's good news for people on the run.

But if you want to sit a while and take in the semi-urban surroundings of Kapahulu Avenue (the Leonard's Malasadas sign in the background lends a cool touch), no one's going to rush you.

But ... : For all its fast service, Burgers on the Edge sometimes errs in its timing. On two out of three visits, our food was less than hot; once it was cold. An order of sweet potato fries - which, on every other occasion, were perfectly cooked and seasoned - were overcooked and then overcooled, leaving a pile of shriveled orange sticks that resembled yesterday's fries.

The sides are good: All the extras - sides like fries and chili - are welcomed add-ons.

BOTE offers two fries varieties besides the almost-always-good sweet potato fries ($4.89): shoestring fries ($2.89) and truffled fries ($4.89). The shoestring fries are just thin enough to retain some substance, and palates that haven't yet reached their truffle oil saturation point (mine has) will like the truffled fries.

The chili is also good - more like the homemade variety than most restaurants.

But ... : The one extra that needs redoing is the bread. The burgers are served on a soft focaccia-like roll that just can't hold its own against the thick burgers and the pile of toppings that ooze lots of juices. It takes all of about 90 seconds for the bread to get soggy and fall apart.

Will Burgers on the Edge succeed here? Of course it will. And it should. This is a good addition to the Honolulu foodscape, and it's in a great location with plenty of parking and long hours, which brings me to the best thing about our new burger joint: It's open late.