Hoosier Burger Boy

Just For You Cafe - San Francisco, CA

2012-04-21T15:21:00.001-07:00

Just For You Cafe in the Dogpatch Neighborhood of San Francisco, sits about two blocks from where I now live. Their food is all fresh and local and is served with the Louisiana influence of owner Arienne Landry. I love their fish tacos and their tuna melt, but I had never reviewed their burger. Until today.

Saturday is generally a busy day at Just For You. They are a very popular place for breakfast and they have a brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays. I went late and avoided the wait. Stephanie was in charge today and she always takes great care of me and the rest of the hoards. As always the entire staff was friendly and prompt.

Owner Arienne Landry behind the counter at J4U.

I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger ($10.50). Even though they don't have gruyere on the menu, they always have it, so that is what I asked for. I also added fries ($2.50). The burger comes piled high with tons of fresh vegetables. Green leaf lettuce, tomato slices and pickle slices are piled on the nicely toasted Acme white bun. Mayo was liberally applied. The seven-ounce patty is made from fresh ground natural beef. Even though they swore they don't add any salt and pepper to the beef, it has a nice flavor as if they did. The burger was cooked a nice medium as ordered. If I had to find a fault, it was not quite as juicy as I like. The bacon was salty and thick on top of the gruyere which was nicely melted. The bun is spongy but tough enough not to fall apart under the stress of all it holds.

The fries are amazing. Fresh cut, they sport skins and medium thickness. They aren't soggy like some fresh-cuts (Hello In-N-Out). Stephanie told me they fry them twice. The first time gets them part way there. Then they are drained and fried again right before serving to get that crisp finish.

The great thing about having a burger here is all the other food your lunch partner can choose if they don't like burgers. Finish off your meal with the great beignets.

Burger 4.5 Spatulas out of 5
Fries 5 spatulas

Just For You Cafe
732 22nd Street (In Dogpatch)
San Francisco, CA 94107
415-647-3033
www.justforyoucafe.com

Short Order - Los Angeles, CA

2012-02-26T10:22:00.008-08:00

Short order in Los Angeles sits in the area at Third and Fairfax Original Farmer's Market, which is really a bunch of permanent food installations. The burger stand sits out in the open air. We were there on a lovely February Saturday and enjoyed the warm winter L.A. air. I ordered the Short Order Burger ($12) with Grass Fed Beef from Magruder Ranch. It comes with morbier cheese, griddled mushrooms, bibb lettuce and mustardy-mayo. I added bacon as well. We ordered the Short Order Spuds with sour cream dipping sauce with North Country Bacon ($6) rather than fries.

We chatted up our charming server, finding out about the neighborhood and admiring her tattoos. She was as relaxed and charming as the setting. Everyone was friendly and chatty and we felt at peace with the world. I had a beer as Pat and I chatted up our nearby patrons.

The burgers arrived along with the spuds. Wrapped neatly in yellow paper, they were a work of beefy art. The first bite did not disappoint. All the flavors blended so nicely wit the slightly spicy sauce. The beef had only the slightest pepper in it that really brought out the great taste of the juicy beef. The bun was firm and toasted perfectly. I must say, this is one of my favorite burgers in some time.

The spuds reminded me of how much I used to like TGI Friday's potato skins. These are the gourmet version. Popping wth flavor along with the dipping sauce.

Take a chill pill and visit Short Order, next time you are in L.A.

Burger 5 spatulas our of 5
Spuds 5 spatulas

Short Order
6333 W. 3rd St. Stall #110
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-761-7970
www.shortorderla.com

Five Guys Burgers and Fries - Fremont, CA

2011-06-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Fremont, CA has finally arrived on the west coast. I had heard good things, so I thought - despite its chainness - I would check it out. Located in one of those generic, California shopping strips, it was a 10-minute, three left turn exit from the freeway. Five Guys is stuck between a pizza place and some other chain store in a non-descript place. I entered and found the entry stacked with bags of potatoes. Everything was white or red. At least they didn’t add yellow like McDonalds or In-N-Out. It was only 11:45 AM, but there was a line. I waited 13 minutes to order. I took a seat at one of the cheapest tables and chairs I have ever seen. Five minutes later, my number was called.

Rather than a serve the food on a tray, it arrived in a brown bag. Inside was my burger, wrapped in foil and a mound of fries spilling over its cup. And about 10 napkins. A lot of trash generated for one burger.

Ok. Ok. What about the burger? I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger ($6.49). It comes with two 3.5-ounce patties of fresh ground beef. (Not ground at the store I was told, but shipped in already ground.) The burger is quite a stack. I ordered the everything, which includes, American cheese, bacon, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, tomato slice, pickle slices, ketchup, mustard and mayo. The whole tower was nestled between a soft, white sesame bun which was toasted. Everything worked together quite well, with a pleasant blend of flavors. The beef was a little overcooked for my taste but had good flavor. The hand-shaped patty reminded me of a home-made burger. The thin bacon pieces were crisp. The onions sweet. The cheese was not completely melted. This was an ok burger, but I figured with all the signs in the restaurant proclaiming things like “Best Burger in Florida” and other such nonsense, that it would be exceptional. In-N-Out is better. Hands down. I would also prefer Nations, a local chain over this. Of course, they don't have those on the east coast.

The fries were medium cut with skins on. Like a lot of fresh–cut fires, they fry up brown, even though they aren’t overcooked. I am fine with that. But these were greasy, limp and not that great. They were hot though.

I suppose if I had walked into Five Guys without any expectations, I would have been impressed with the burger a little more. But the lousy location, long wait and mediocre presentation dragged down the whole experience.

Burger 3 spatulas out of 5
Fries 2 spatulas

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
43518 Christy St.
Fremont, CA 94538
510-353-1331
www.fiveguys.com

Working Man's Friend - Indianapolis, IN

2011-06-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

The following blog was written by my good friend Ron Newlin

Our mutual friend Greg Hoover emailed me early this week to tell me he was going to be in Indianapolis on business on Friday, and to see if I was free for lunch. I was. On Friday morning when we texted our confirmation messages, I had a mid-text inspiration: “As a tribute to Hoosier Burger Boy, I know where we should go.”

Like Hoosier Burger Boy, I grew up in small towns and the Indiana countryside (we went to high school together), but today I’m 30 years into being a heart-of-the-city urban dweller. Nine times out of ten, when I’m entertaining guests from out of town, I take them to one of my favorite trendy neighborhoods, either MassAve (Massachusetts Avenue) or SoBro (South Broad Ripple) – both places full of locally-owned bistros with diverse menus and clientele and lots of sidewalk dining for the sixty days each year when the Indiana weather will allow it.

But ever since I started following this blog, I’ve known that if Scott ever visits, I have to take him to The Workingman’s Friend. So this week, I decided a visit from Hoov and a guest-blog on Hoosier Burger Boy would be the next best thing.

The Workingman’s Friend is a 92-year-old, continuously-family-owned bar on the near west side of Indianapolis, on Belmont Avenue just north of US 40, the National Road. It’s a simple cinder-block building that got its last makeover sometime around 1940, I’m guessing, when the owners must have got a great deal on glass blocks. Combined with an art moderne backbar in blonde ash that runs across the entire south wall of the building, a sea of formica tables and red vinyl chairs, and some vintage cigarette machines around the perimeter, the place is a time capsule.

Near-west Indy is and always has been a working-class neighborhood, although it’s close enough to downtown that the The Workingman’s Friend’s clientele is always a mix of blue and white collars. It’s the kind of place where you can order a braunschwieger sandwich, although not very many people do. According to our vivacious waitress (and an article in a book called Hamburger America that she was pleased to showed us), “99%” of their business is the double cheeseburger.

That’s what we both ordered, of course, along with homemade onion rings. The rings are crispy, not too batter-y and not too greasy, and just small enough to not leave you feeling like you wish you had eaten two fewer. Considering the small portion size, the $2.95 price tag is a little on the high side, but they’re so much more satisfying than French fries that I can’t resist.

The burgers, at $4.95, are both a steal, and (to my taste), fifteen bites of perfection. I love a burger that has some juiciness in the middle but is smashed down and fried to a crispy lace around the edges, and that’s how they make them at The Workingman’s Friend. The double comes on a simple soft white bun, no seeds, with a separate layer of bun between the two patties. The cheese is American and is content to not compete with the beef for flavor. To my way of thinking, the glory of this kind of burger is as much about the texture as the taste. I love to try new combinations on a big thick burger, but at Workingman’s Friend I don’t want anything more than the little extra tartness of yellow mustard and dill slices. Hoov goes with the works. We both agree that it’s a five-spatula experiencae.

ABOVE: Hoov with the "vivacious waitress".

I tell Hoov that a burger is one of my earliest food memories. Sometime before I started first grade, sometime between the ages of 2 and 5, my family lived in Dubois County in southern Indiana, and my favorite baby sitter was an older German immigrant that I knew only as Mrs. Seitz. Mrs. Seitz would pan-fry me a hamburger for dinner when my parents were out with friends, and my parents could never understand why I preferred her austere, crunchy little patties to the thick juicy ones that they were proud to make for us all.

I’m going from 50-year-old memories now, but it seems that we understood that Mrs. Seitz had come to the US only since the end of the War. That would be World War II, which at that time was less remote in our memories than Desert Storm is to us today. If that’s the case, this was a woman who spent much of her life in Germany during World War I, the Weimar Republic, the Great Depression, and World War II. For much of her life, I speculate, a pound of hamburger probably was expected to feed twenty people. “For a week,” Hoov adds.

I wonder how many other Eastern Europeans who made up the original clientele and staff for The Workingman’s Friend had a similar approach. I’ve never thought of a hamburger as soul food, but this particular affinity for the crunchy edge may just come from that kind of approach … from the effort to get an extra burger out of each pound, by making the burger fill a bun by smashing the edges out flat … and from the deep appreciation that its still beef, and its still a treat.

These burgers aren’t crunchy all the way through; the middles are rich and satisfying. I just think of the crisp edge as a tribute.

And oh yeah, The Workingman’s Friend is a bar. Hoov quickly spied the big vintage 32-ounce fishbowl beer glasses behind the bar and ordered one, filled with one of the two beers on tap – Bud Light (the other option was Bud). I’m no beer snob, I’m perfectly happy with a Miller High Life; which I ordered by the bottle. Our waitress offered some curious commentary on the relative merits of the two containers that we didn’t quite understand but really enjoyed …

The existence of the Hamburger America book causes me to feel both validated and vaguely disappointed. I’m glad to know that this favorite place of mine is recognized by others for the quality of the food, and that I’m not just projecting my attraction to the ambience and the good company that I always share it with, on to the burger itself. I only regret a little bit that I might not be the first person to tell readers of this blog about it!

But if you’re ever in the urban capital city of Hoosier Burger Boy’s agrarian home state, this is the place to go.

Burger 4.5 spatulas out of 5
Onion Rings 4 Spatulas

Working Man's Friend
234 N Belmont Ave.
Indianapolis, CA 46222
317-636-2067

Spork - San Francisco, CA

2011-01-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

NOTE-SPORK IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS.

Spork in San Francisco is my new favorite restaurant. Pat and I went there for dinner after a lovely day in the Mission, checking out all the vintage stores and eating Dymano Donuts. Spork is a place serving old-school classics in a new-school fashion. They have sustainable-this and local-that versions of slow-food takes on old classics. And despite the political correctness of their offerings, everything tastes like it was pan-fried in lard in a steel skillet by my grandmother. That's a very good thing!

The In-Side-Out Burger ($14) screamed "eat me" from the menu. The beef is fresh from Sun Marin Farms. Two patties griddle-fried, peppery and crispy on the outside. Moist and pink on the inside. The concoction towers over the plate. It is a stack of ingredients as follows starting at the plate: Butter lettuce, tomato slice, beef patty, bun circle, special sauce, beef patty, tillamook chedder and a grilled onion topping so sweet it could be applesauce. The special sauce reminded me of the spicy thousand-island type I make at home, only no islands. You have to eat this with a fork and knife, but it doesn't diminish the burger experience.

The Smashed Fries are an interesting idea. Small potatoes with the skins on, are deep-fried and smashed flat. They are crispy and salty and tasty. Not your classic fries, but a very scrumptious alternative like everything at Spork.

Pat had the pork chop ($23). Big enough to feed a family of four, it was thick and juicy and perfect. For desert we had the After School Special ($6). Humphry Slocumbe malted vanilla ice cream with chucks of chocolate covered potato chips and caramel swirls. Enough said.

As for the ambience, the place is in a converted KFC location. Turns out KFC invented the spork, a combination spoon and fork. The kitchen is in the old freezer. They have converted the old oven hood to a light fixture. We lucked out with a table by the window and watched Valencia Street traffic with more stylish bicyclists than cars. Go. Eat. Spork.

Burger 5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 4 spatulas out of 5

Spork Restaurant
1058 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-643-5000
www.sporksf.com/

Bay Burger - Redwood City, CA

2010-12-18T14:33:00.000-08:00

Bay Burger Gourmet Hamburger in Redwood City was recently pointed out to me by my burger buddy Jeff. They picked a nice spot on Woodside road where there aren't any great burgers to my knowledge. It is set in a strip mall with ample parking behind. The room is large and on this rainy day a little cold. But the place is pleasant, painted in bright colors and offering cheerful table service. The Dalai Lama's instructions for life are posted on the wall, something I have not seen at any other burger joints. It sits there between the big screen TV playing sports and the Giants pennants.

I ordered the 1/2 lb Bacon Burger ($9.99). It comes with fries or you can upgrade to onion rings for a buck. In no time at all my server had brought the impressive looking plate. The burger is presented open faced with the patty, smothered in cheese and covered with grilled onions. The top of the bun is toasted inside and out. There are piles of fresh fixings including pickle chips, green leaf lettuce, red onion and tomato slices. The bacon was crisp salty and excellent. (I always try a piece apart form the burger.) I assembled the whole thing and put on a little of the sauce that had come with my wife's 1/4 pound cheeseburger ($7.50 with fries.) The sauce is a little spicier version of a thousand island sauce minus the relish in it. Very good. But it didn't come with my burger.

The first bite crunched pleasantly. All the flavors blended nicely. The bun enveloped the whole thing, firm but soft. The Niman Ranch beef (no hormones, no antibiotics, vegetarian feed, humanely raised) was cooked close to well-done, despite me asking for medium. This was a little disappointment in an otherwise delightful burger.

Fries were thin and hot. Crunchy but unremarkable. Onion rings were more interesting, light, thin, crunchy and flavorful. The chocolate shake ($4.95) was delightfully smooth, creamy and just chocolatey enough.

My favorite touch was the salt and pepper shakers stacked and made to look like a hamburger. It is a shame this place is not busier. It has been pretty sparse both times I have been in.

Burger 4 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3 spatulas
Onion Rings 3.5 spatulas
Shake 4 spatulas

Bay Burger Gourmet Hamburgers
764 Woodside Road
Redwood City, CA 94061
650-701-0992
Fax 650-701-0952 (For carry out)
www.bayburgergourmet.com

Boon Eat + Drink - Guerneville, CA

2010-07-23T11:17:00.001-07:00

Boon Eat + Drink in Guerneville on the Russian River is a delightful place with delightful food. We stopped by one Saturday to have lunch. The summertime crowd was out in force. The restaurant was pleasantly busy, but not too crowded.

Perusing the menu, I spotted the Boon Burger with grass fed beef, fiscalini aged white cheddar, arugula on a toasted milk bun with house made Parmesan herb chips ($11). I could not resist adding the truffle fries with house made ketchup and garlic aioli ($6). While we waited I soaked in the modern feel of this small storefront restaurant. It has a great vibe with both locals and visitors mixing in together.

The flavorful burger ported salty and savory beef in a hand formed patty. The sharp and zingy cheddar complimented the arugula well. The bun was baked soft and toasted nicely. The pickled onion was a nice touch. Sweat and spicy it contrasted with the other tastes. I added house made ketchup and may too. This is a finely crafted burger that I recommend without reservation.

The truffle fries were elegant and astounding with their crispy and garlicky tones. Cooked dark, they were cut medium with skins on.

Make sure you drive around after eating. This is a beautiful area with trees, mountains and the Russian River all working together.

Burger 5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 5 spatulas

Boon Eat + Drink
16248 Main Street
Guerneville, CA 95446
707-869-0780
www.eatatboon.com

Burger Me! - Truckee, CA

2010-07-04T22:18:00.000-07:00

Burger Me! In Truckee, CA was another recommendation from my cardiologist. He took his family there when he was in Tahoe at North Star and texted me some photos. I decided to swing by on my way back to Cali from my three week road trip across the U.S. It was a nice ending to my trip.

The proprietor happened to be taking orders at the counter and recommended the BBQ Bison Burger ($9.95) a 1/3 pound patty of fresh Durham Ranch Bison with bacon, cheddar, jalapeños and BBQ sauce. I also ordered up hand cut fries ($2.50), hand cut onion rings ($3). The even had house made tea. I gave my name and took a seat at the concrete topped table. In fact everything in the place was either concrete or corrugated metal. This fit in well with the building, which appeared to be a former fire station or car repair garage. It was all opened to the beautiful alpine day. People also sat outside at picnic tables.

The burger came nicely wrapped in red and white-checkered paper. It towered, having shredded lettuce, tomato and pickle slices mixed in with all the ingredients mentioned above. The bun was firm and toasted, a little heavier than most, but to good effect. Burger was cooked well, which with bison, one would think would be a bit dry to due to the lower fat content, but it was still fairly juicy. I would like to try it a little more medium next time. The mix of ingredients was interesting. Not as much BBQ sauce as one gets on most BBQ burgers. This left room to taste the crisp and yummy bacon, the pickle and jalapeños. I removed the jalapeños while I ate the second half of the burger and really enjoyed the flavor.

The innovative onion rings wrapped themselves in a thick batter featuring paprika, onion and garlic powders. The onion was thick and sweet. This was a very different o ring than I have experienced and I quite enjoyed them.

Fries were medium cut with the skins on. Soft and tasty on the inside, they were crisp and salty on the outside.

Great food and a very pleasant atmosphere on a sunny Sierra day, made this a great burger experience.

Burger 4.5 spatulas out of 5
Onion Rings 5 spatulas
Fries 4 spatulas

Burger Me!
10418 Donner Pass Road, Suite A
Truckee, CA 96161
339-587-8852
burgermetruckee.com

Wonder Bar - Casper, WY

2010-07-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

Wonder Bar in Casper, Wyoming is way more than a burger place. My friend Teresa took me there to get a burger on a Wednesday night and the place was hoppin’. (For those of you not from the Midwest, hoppin’ means there were a lot of people there having a good time.) We went through the lively bar with its live music and sat in the restaurant. Our very attentive server took our orders.

I had the Roadhouse Burger ($8.99). A half-pound Weinrich Meat fresh ground patty topped with a fresh jumbo fried egg, bacon, Swiss cheese and served with Miracle Whip; not just mayonnaise. The bun was a Kaiser type bun, soft and nicely toasted. The beef was tasty, if slightly over cooked. It also included fresh onion, tomato and lettuce. The egg was fried hard. I would have preferred it slightly runny. The bacon was crisp and tasty. Overall it was a nice tasting burger, but I would tweak it by having it cooked a little less and having the aforementioned egg, runny.

Teresa had a Patty Melt Burger $7.99 and was quite pleased. One nice twist is that they include house made, freshly seasoned potato chips with the burgers instead of fries. We found these quite addictive, salty and crisp.

We also ordered onion rings ($6.49). These beer-nattered beauties were very tasty, crunchy and hot. Yum.

Reading up on the Wonder Bar, they have a nice history in Wyoming. Founded in 1942, a cowboy could ride his horse right up to the bar and get a beer for both he and his horse. They had actual pictures to prove it. You gotta like that.

Burger 3.5 spatulas out of 5
Onion Rings 4.5 spatulas
Potato Chips 4 spatulas

Wonder Bar
256 South Center Street
Casper, WY 82601
307-234-4110
www.thewonderbar.net

Hemmer Brothers Burgers, Sioux Falls, SD

2010-07-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hemmer Brothers Burgers in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is easy to drive by as it is placed inside an office building on bustling S. Phillips Avenue. But make sure you find it. They make a nice burger. I parked in the nearby garage and went inside. The décor is basic tables with red vinyl covers, faux plaster exposing faux bricks, but that isn’t why we come to a burger place is it? The brothers put all their creativity into the food and it shows.

I ordered the Piggy Back Double Bacon Cheeseburger ($5.99). Hemmers’ grinds their own beef on site and in a little twist they grind in the bacon as well into each quarter pound patty. The single patty version is called the Squealer ($4.29). I ordered mine with American cheese. All the toppings and condiments are laid out fresh in the nearby condiment bar. I threw lettuce and onion under my bun, along with some mayo. The bun looks kind of crunchy on top, but in fact is fresh and soft. The first bite yields a sausage patty like effect, but I grew to like it more and more with each bite. The beef was juicy and flavorful.

Fries are hand cut on site as well. They are medium cut, crisp and hot. They don’t sag limply like some fresh-cut fries. They have fresh squeezed lemonade. Don’t miss this spot if you are heading to Sioux Falls. Or maybe even head there just to try these burgers.

Burger 4.5 Spatulas out of 5
Fries 4 spatulas

Hemmer Brothers Hamburgers
230 S. Phillips Ave., #101
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
605-334-3301

Hotel Crandon Restaurant - Crandon, WI

2010-06-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Hotel Crandon Restaurant in Crandon, Wisconsin came highly recommended from the ladies at the local visitor’s bureau. Seems the husband of one of them liked their Hotel Heart Attack burger very much. How could I resist. I had stumbled into the visitor’s bureau after being unable to find Ed’s Main Street Grill, which turned out to be 20 miles farther off my path in another town. (Never trust a free tourist pamphlet.)

I walked into the restaurant and all heads turned to see the interloper into their small town haven. Undeterred, I sat at one of the tables covered neatly in red vinyl tablecloths. A very pleasant server greeted me in that familiar northern Wisconsin accent and I was put right at ease. I ordered the Hotel Heart Attack ($5.95), which features both burger and bratwurst patties, pepperjack cheese and grilled onions. The menu states “Doctor’s Release Required”. My cardiologist recommends such fare and also encourages I wash it down with scotch. I added fries for an additional $2.

The burger is a very handsome looking sandwich, sitting on a soft Kaiser roll. The bratwurst was on the bottom, hand-formed burger patty on top of that, with Pepperjack and onions evenly distributed on top. I added mustard from the accompanying packet. The Hotel Heart Attack was great. The brat dominated the flavor, but with the cheese and onions, everything seemed to work well. I had no trouble finishing the sandwich and lived to write about it. I was very pleased to get my Wisconsin brat and burger experience in one fell swoop.

The medium-cut, piping-hot fries were amply supplied and very tasty. As I ate them, I overheard an introduction at the next table. “This is Bill he and John fought in World War one on opposite sides. Bill came to this country after the war.” What a cool little town in which to have a burger.

Burger 5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 4 spatulas

Hotel Crandon Restaurant
200 N. Lake Avenue
Crandon, WI 54520
715-478-2414

The Original Root Beer Stand - Culver, IN

2010-06-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

The Original Root Beer Stand In Culver, Indiana has overlooked the beach at Lake Maxinkuckee since before I was a kid swimming in the lake. It has changed names and owners over the years, but is still a summer staple for the folks who descend on the lake for summer fun. It offers its drive-in, car-hop service, walk-up window and picnic tables. The drive-in has a real waitress who takes your order and delivers it on a tray. Sonic should take notes.

We stopped to try the burger and the breaded tenderloin. I ordered the Big Guy Burger with two quarter-pound patties for $4.20. The burger patties are frozen, but are thawed and seasoned before cooking, according to Katelyn, our cheerfully helpful server. One of the melted American cheese slices oozed from between the patties and another underneath. There was shredded lettuce, fresh tomato slices and soft white bun. I added ketchup and mayo. It was a good burger, somehow the patties were tasty and crumbly – better than the typical burger of that ilk.

The crinkle cut fries ($1.60) were thin, hot and salty. Very enjoyable. But as always, when we come home, the breaded tenderloin sandwich ($2.95) steals the show. Big as your face, the thin-pounded pork tenderloin, breaded and deep fried, extends out and beyond the bun. When done right, this is a treat you just can’t get just anywhere. The stand did a nice job with theirs.

We actually got out of the car and sat at a table overlooking the lake. It was a beautiful summer day to enjoy lunch at the stand.

Burger 3.5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3.5 spatulas

The Original Root Beer Stand
824 Lakeshore Dr.
Culver, IN 46511
574-842-2122

Top-Notch Beefburgers - Chicago, IL

2010-06-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

Top-Notch Beefburger Shop in Chicago has been a fixture in the south side’s Beverly neighborhood since 1942. Surviving the onslaught of fast-food burger chains for 86 years is a testament to their staying power. This old-school place sports wood paneling and booths with tan Naugahyde. The place is well-worn, but clean and sports a friendly, lived-in vibe, like having a burger at your aunt’s house.

Choose from the Basic or Deluxe Beefburger. The Deluxe adds lettuce, tomato and pickles. Either can be had in ¼, ½ or larger versions. I ordered the half-pound Deluxe with cheese ($8.10). My wife had the quarter-pound Basic cheeseburger $3.75. The deluxe came with a nicely toasted sesame bun. The basic had a plain white bun. Both buns were fresh and spongy.

The beef, which is US choice ground round, rather than chuck, was very flavorful. The thick patty on the deluxe was juicy, despite the lower fat content of round. Both burgers were cooked well-done, but did not seem too dry. I had the onions grilled on my Deluxe, a good choice that added to the enjoyment of the burger. There was a small container of mayo with the plate, which I slathered on the bun. Pickle slices were abundant. There was a mound of lettuce and two big fresh tomato slices. The whole thing was very good, and I wolfed mine down without hesitation. Pat equally enjoyed her Basic, which she ate plain.

The onion rings ($2.60) were heavily battered. The crunchy exterior wrapped itself around the moist breading and sweet onion on the inside. Pat’s fries were unusual, as stated on the menu. They appeared very brown and a little limp, signs that they are fresh cut on site. They were very tasty and we enjoyed the thin cut morsels.

I also ordered a small chocolate shake ($2.40). It was very thick and came stacked over the rim of the small glass. Barely suckable through the little straw, the shake was very creamy and very chocolaty.

We really enjoyed our trip to Top-Notch. I hope they last another 68 years at least.

Burger 4.5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 4 spatulas
Onion rings 3.5 spatulas

Top-Notch Beefburger Shop
2116 West 95th Street
Chicago, IL 60643
773-445-7218
www.topnotchbeverly.com

The Garage Pub and Grill - Columbus, IN

2010-06-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

The Garage Pub and Grill in Columbus, Indiana, sits amongst the modern architecture that dominates this town in the middle of Southern Indiana. My wife and I traveled south to see the sites. When we got there we were hungry and stopped to get a bite. The Garage Pub and Grill looked like a good spot. It is fairly new, with flat screens adorning the wall. It has a vaguely chain restaurant feel, but a very extensive menu.

I ordered the BBQ Bacon Burger ($9.49) with onion rings. It comes with a thick, tasty Angus Chuck patty. The sauce, American cheese and bacon were tasty. Lettuce, onion and tomato fresh. Kaiser roll was a little tough and not as fresh tasting. It was a good burger, but didn’t really knock my socks off.

The onion rings were breaded, crisp and very thin. Crunchy and pretty good.

Burger 3.5 spatulas out of 5
Onion rings 3 spatulas

The Garage Pub and Grill
308 4th Street
Columbus, IN 47201
812-418-8918

Triple XXX - Lafayette, IN

2010-06-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

The Triple XXX Restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana is one of those classic places where everyone should experience a burger. When I was in college, I enjoyed it, as generations of Purdue Boilermakers have. My favorite was always the Duane Purvis All-American ($6.75) - a ¼ pound ground sirloin burger with peanut butter. I have always said peanut butter should be the third condiment on the table after mustard and ketchup. This burger makes that argument more forcefully than I ever could.

The Triple XXX cannot be ignored with its black and orange stripes screaming from along the street in West Lafayette. Inside are U-shaped counters, autographed photos from all the Purdue greats like, Gene Keady, Drew Brees, Bob Griese and Joe Tiller.

The burger comes with peanut butter smeared on the bottom of a spongy, toasted sesame bun along with American Cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle. You bite into the burger and taste the great combo of tastes that a well-prepared burger always exhibits, followed by a nice peanut after taste.

The onion rings are thin and very crisp, with not a lot of onion to them. The fries are thin and salty and hot, very good.

By the way, my daughter had the grilled cheese. At $1.85, it is the deal of the century.

Burger 4.5 spatulas out of 5
Onion rings 2.5 spatulas
Fries 3.5 spatulas

Triple XXX Restaurant
State & Salisbury Street
Lafayette, IN 47906
765-743-5373
www.triplexxxfamilyrestaurant.com

Powhatan Restaurant - Pocahantas, IL

2010-06-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

The Powhatan Restaurant in Pocahantas, Illinois, beckoned to us as we sailed along I-70. We had just veered off our Route 66 trip to head toward our final destination in Indiana. A very well-kept scarbine establishment, the Powhatan has tasteful billboards along I-70 along with its sister restaurant the Blue Sky Café, home of the Mile High Pie.

We stopped in at about three in the afternoon, so there were only a couple of farmers seated among the wood tables and booths. Gretchen Wilson stared out in to the restaurant from a signed poster. The Red Necked Woman is a resident of Pocahontas and in fact has a song about just that.

I ordered the Colby and Bacon Burger ($6.95). This is a fabulous burger made just the was my grandma used to make burgers. Fresh ground beef is smashed into a patty on the griddle, resulting in a thick, juicy patty with a crisp outer “crust”. Shredded Colby cheese was melted on top with crisp, salty bacon. The bun toasted bun held the whole thing together. This was not your standard frozen patty cheeseburger. A lot of care and thought went into producing a unique and flavorful product.

Onion rings were killer as well, thick sweet and battered crisp. The fries were thin, hot and salty.

What a delectable find in the middle of the infinite flatness of middle Illinois. Don’t miss the Powhatan.

Burger 4.5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3.5 spatulas
Onion Rings 4 spatulas

Powhatan Restaurant
Exit 36, I-70
Pocahontas, IL 62275
618-669-2233

Tally's Cafe - Tulsa, OK

2010-06-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Tally’s Café in Tulsa, Oklahoma was shown on our Route 66 map as we motored across the U.S. It sounded good so we stopped in for a burger. Nestled on a corner in the old section of Tulsa, it is a bustling place. It seats at least 100 people in its red booths and stools. The place looks like it probably has for forty years. Not a re-creation of a 50’s diner, but the real deal. The waitresses have probably been there for years. They have plenty of attitude, but are sweet at the same time.

I ordered Double Meat Cheeseburger ($6.95) with Bacon ($1). I upgraded from fries to Onion rings for another dollar. An order of the Tally-Os goes for $4.95 by itself. My daughter had fries with here Texas Toast Grilled Cheese, so I got to have those as well.

The burger was great. The sesame bun was perfectly toasted. The two 1/3 pound patties were juicy and just smoky enough after being charbroiled. The bacon was crisp and flavorful. Fresh lettuce, tomato and onion sat under the burger. American cheese was melted on top. I also selected mayo, when asked “mayo or mustard” by the server. I think this is the best burger I have had in a long time.

The onion rings were just as good. Crisp and lightly battered, juicy and sweet on the inside, I cannot say I have had better. The fries were medium cut and coated, not my cup of tea, but hot and tasty none-the-less.

I found Tally’s the perfect mix of atmosphere, authenticity and good food. Check it out when you are cruising Route 66.

Burger 5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 2.5 spatulas
Onion Rings 5 spatulas

Tally’s Café
1102 South Yale Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74112-5343
918-835-8038
www.tallyscafe.com

Aurelia's Diner - Gallup, NM

2010-06-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Aurelia’s Diner in Gallup, New Mexico was named after the grandmother of our server, the day we stopped in on our Route 66 trip. This is a clean, spotless little gem of a diner. It is obviously run with pride by the family that owns it.

All, chrome, white tile and red naugahyde, it is tastefully decorated to feel like a fifties diner. I ordered the Bacon Swiss Mushroom Burger ($7.95) with fries included. We also had onion rings ($4.50 and a chocolate shake ($4.25).

The burger looked great. It was a big patty, probably frozen, that was a little overcooked. The bun was soft but a little crumbly on the edges. The Swiss cheese was nicely melted and gooey, to good effect. The mushroom blended nicely with the flavors. It should probably come with mayo. If it sounds like I am overly critical, I guess it was because the lovely place and great service got my expectations up. With a little more attention to detail, this could be a very good burger.

The onion rings fared better, huge, crunchy and sweet. The fries seemed fresh cut. They were wide and flat and quite unusual. I liked them.

The shake was good. Creamy but maybe a little thin, it was presented well in the coke glass.

I would recommend Aurelia’s, despite the quibbles. It was a fun place with good food. Just a few details from being very good.

Burger 3 spatulas out of 5
Fires 3.5 spatulas
Onion rings 3.5 spatulas

Aurelia’s Diner
2502 E. Historic Highway 66
Gallup, NM 87301
505-726-2800

Mr. D's Route 66 Diner - Kingman, AZ

2010-06-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

Mr. D’s Route 66 Diner in Kingman, Arizona is a nice stop on your visit to the old route 66. We set out to take the old Route 66 that breaks off from Interstate 40 from Kingman to Seligman. We kicked it off at Mr. D’s.

The restaurant is a clean and attractive diner with pink and turquoise chairs and booths. I ordered a Cheeseburger ($6.95.) The patty is one half pound. The burger has shredded lettuce, tomato, onions and a pickle spear. It comes with fries.

It is a big burger, moist and cooked nicely, but obviously from a frozen patty. Bun was soft and toasted. The veggies fresh. Fries standard issue medium cut, but hot.

The service was cheerful and the place had a nice charm. You could do a lot worse.

Burger 3 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3 spatulas

Mr. D's Route 66 Diner,
Old Route 66 & 1st St
105 E. Divine Ave
Kingman, AZ 86401
928-718-0066
www,mrdzrtdiner.com

Snackbar - Austin, TX

2010-06-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

Snack Bar in Austin, Texas, sits right in the middle of my favorite part of Austin, the South Congress area. I had visited earlier in the week and enjoyed their pulled pork sliders, but had noticed the Brie Burger on the menu. Drea the charming hostess, waitress, artist that works there, assured me it was quote good. Anyone sporting a "Where the Wild Things Are" monster tattoo on her arm has credibility with me. So I ordered it the second time I ate there.

The Brie Burger ($10) is made with "Beef raised right", caramalized onions, brie cheese, of course and the usual lettuce, tomato, etc. The bun is nicely toasted and fits the large patty well. The onions are so sweet, they could have been apples. The beef is prepared to order, medium for me, and was cooked right and tasted very good.

As good as the burger is the ambience of Snackbar. There is outdoor dining and indoor. Indoor they have a dining area and bar area. They play movies on the wall. This night, Kung Fu Hustle, was playing on the wall with subtitles below. A steady stream of Autsin's energetic young crowd came in and out keeping the place lively on this "First Thursday", a night once a month that South Congress stores stay open and the street is packed.

Drea recommended I try the burger at Jackalope next. A fine idea next time I am in Autsin.

Burger 4 spatulas out of 5

Snackbar
1224 South Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704
512-445-2626
www.snackbaraustin.com

Steak 'n Shake - Austin, TX

2010-05-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Steak 'n Shake has been a favorite of mine since we used to stop there in Indianapolis when I was a kid. I was very happy to see one in Austin Texas on a recent trip and felt compelled to stop by and see if it still held the magic it did when I was young. I am happy to report it does.

First of all, Steak 'n Shake, sets out to set itself apart from the other burger chains. The signs inside read “Famous for Steakburgers”. I ordered a double Steak 'n Cheese Burger with fries. $3.99. But instead of ordering from a drive up window (which they also have) or at a counter, they actually have table service. And here in Austin, the service was polite and speedy. I also ordered a chocolate milkshake $2.99 and a side of baked beans $1.69.

The food came before I could even finish my notes about the clean restaurant trimmed out in black, red and white. The food serves up on an actual plate, not in a paper box. The burger tasted yummy, with crisp toasted bun, tender flavorful beef from “real cuts of steak”, and fresh and crisp pickle, lettuce, tomato and onion. There was no sauce but Ketchup and mustard were at the table. The skinny shoestring fries were crisp and light, but a little tepid. The beans brimmed with the taste of onion and bacon. The shake towered over the table, a creamy chocolate confection with a mound of whipped cream on top.

The place was cheerful on this Friday night. Families filled the place and bubbly staff kept it hopping. Yes, Steak 'n Shake still has the magic.

Burger 4 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3 spatulas
Shake 5 spatulas

Steak N Shake
Bldg E, 9300 S I H 35
Austin, TX 78748-1751
(512) 291-8095
www.steaknshake.com

Slider Bar Cafe - Palo Alto, CA

2010-04-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

Slider Bar Café in Palo Alto recently opened on the popular main drag, University Street. There were countless restaurants bustling on a Friday night, including this place. A striking, high ceilinged room welcomes folks to the café. We sat at the bar as all the tables were full. Slider Bar Café has a sophisticated take on the slider concept, also serving several micro brew type beers and mid-level wines. If you sit at the bar, the friendly bar tender will take your order and get your wine, while you watch the soccer game or ESPN on the flat screens behind the counter. If you sit at a table, you have to order at the counter, take a number and have the food brought out later.

Pat and I ordered up three sliders: the Classic American $2.89, a plain Classic American and a Mediterranean $3.69. The price drops for each additional slider you get. For instance, for the American, one slider costs $2.89. Two are $5.29. Three will set you back $7.49 and a dozen are $28. We also ordered baked fries $1.99. They don’t have a fryer.

The order got messed up in the back and took about 15 minutes to come out, but we didn’t really mind. The beer and wine were good, the young lady at the counter charming and the other customers friendly. When the sliders did arrive, the burgers were nicely arranged on the white plate. A little more than 3” in diameter, the little burgers are artfully and carefully constructed. On my American Classic, the yellow bun was squishy and fresh. The Niman Ranch all natural beef patty, was thick and nicely cooked to medium. On top was the melted American cheese. Stuffed underneath the patty were shredded lettuce, tomato, onion and a crisp pickle chip. A little mayo lubed the thing up. The burger was quite enjoyable.

The Mediterranean was a combo of flavors I had not had before on a burger: garlic and ginger spiced lamb was accompanied by Bleu cheese, artichokes, tomatoes, red onions and garlic sauce. But the nicest touch were the sliced black olives, which I don’t usually like.

The baked fries were surprisingly good, served up in a little silver pail. They were thin and light and not the limp soggy things I expected.

Two sliders, baked fries and a beer, I could get used to hanging out at the Slider Bar Café and enjoy it.

Burger 4 spatulas out of 5.
Fries 3.5 spatulas

Slider Bar Café
324 University Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94031
650-322-7300
www.sliderbarcafe.com

Jack's Prime Burgers & Shakes - San Mateo, CA

2010-02-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

Jack’s Prime Burger’s & Shakes in San Mateo, CA came highly recommended by a fellow burger enthusiast. I wasted no time in getting my self to the clean, modern looking place to give a burger a try. Jack himself greeted me at the door and showed me to a wood-tabled booth. I compliment Jack for not going for the faux chrome-and-white-tile 50’s diner look, but rather a more authentic and classy mid-century vibe in the converted shell of the old hubcap store on El Camino Real.

A diminutive young lady with a British accent, like Jack’s, quickly took my order of Jack’s Prime Classic Cheeseburger ($9.00 with bacon added). It also comes with shoestring fries. The fries are normally $2.50 on their own, but there are a whole host of other sides offered including onion rings, sweet potato fries, fried pickles (all $3.95 each) or Irish Nacho Fries ($4.50). My server nicely offered to make my fries a half and half with onion rings. Perusing the menu, I am intrigued to go back and order the Ultimate Bacon Burger with maple bacon mayo and bacon in the burger.

The burger was delivered to my table in less than ten minutes on an impressive plate with fries, onion rings and fixings, which included pickle strips placed artfully in an X, lettuce, tomato slices and onion. The crisp and tasty bacon sat on top of melted American cheese. The bun was puffy white with an X cut in the top. The patty itself is made from 1/3 pound of Meyer Ranch natural Angus Beef. It is not ground on site, but brought to the store and cooked fresh. I found the burger to be cooked perfect medium, juicy and flavorful. The Thousand-island inspired sauce was updated with what I think was a little dill for a nice twist. Among lots of new burger places lately, this the best new burger on the Peninsula since the Counter opened in Palo Alto.

The onion rings were beer battered and crisp with sweet onion in the middle. The first were a little too thick for what I would call shoestring – more about the size of MacDonald’s fries. They were hot and fine, but not as outstanding as the burger.

I will definitely be returning to Jack’s. I liked the vibe as much as the burger.

Burger 4.5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3 Spatulas
Onion Rings 3.5 spatulas

Jack’s Prime Burger’s & Shakes
3723 S. El Camino Real
San Mateo, CA 94403
650-638-1479
www.jacksprime.com

Burger Bar - Macy's San Francisco, CA

2009-10-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

The Burger Bar recently opened to much fanfare in San Francisco. One Friday afternoon I took the crowded elevator to the sixth floor of Macy’s on Union Square. I almost couldn’t get off with the crowd waiting to get in the restaurant. I went in and noticed no one sitting at the tables, but the hostess quoting a half hour wait for a table. So I sat at the bar without waiting. There was lots to look at with a full compliment of booze behind the bar and memorabilia for sale.

After perusing the menu I chose the basic Black Angus Beef Burger ($9.75). I added Swiss cheese (75 cents), Bacon ($1.15) and got it on the sesame bun. The choices of buns (6), cheeses (8) and other toppings were endless. They even offer a half lobster ($12). I also ordered buttermilk onion rings ($3.55).

The burger arrived very quickly and I dug right in. The burger patty was thick and pink and perfectly cooked. It was especially light and airy and had not been over-packed like so many often are. The bacon was crisp and all the topping, lettuce onion and tomato were fresh and crisp. The sesame bun was toasted and firm, but fresh. I must say t is one of the better burgers I have tasted this year.

The onion rings were also fabulous. Crisp batter covered sweet and juicy onions.

Next time, I think I will go for one of the many combo burgers, maybe the Rossini with Kobe beef, sautéed foie gras and truffles for $60. But more likely, I will try the Country Natural made with sustainable beef for $10.50.

Burger 5 spatulas out of 5
Onion Rings 5 spatulas

Burger Bar
6th Floor of Macy’s
251 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-296-4271
www.burgerbarlv.com

Oasis Double Cheeseburger always good.

2009-10-25T13:52:00.000-07:00