Butcher & the Burger: Fifth Time and Still Charmed

Days like today demand a really good lunch.  I decided I'd treat myself for once and nab a burger at one of my favorite neighborhood spots.  And I went technology-free for a change, so I could just enjoy my meal.

There are few places where I enjoy dining alone (Starbucks, at home...), but after today, I've decided that Butcher & the Burger makes the list.  Their row of industrial-chic barstools (if that's what you can call them) beckons to the solo diner.  I brought along newspapers, snatched a glass-bottle Coke from the cooler, and ordered my burger as such:

• House prime blend
• Steakhouse seasoning
• Split-top egg bun
• Cheddar
• Ketchup, mustard, mayo
• Pickles

Normally I go with goat cheese and griddled onions and griddled mushrooms, but I just wanted something simple today, something sort of classic, something that would go with that end-of-summer feeling and my very analog choice of reading materials.

I ordered my burger cooked medium-well.  It was a bit pinker in the middle than I anticipated, but I find grayness in a patty far more concerning than pink.  The outside had a great char on it, and it was still perfectly juicy in the middle.  It wasn't necessarily the doneness I thought I had wanted, but it was the doneness that the burger deserved.  That really says something about the place: They know how it should be made.

I ate at the side counter, facing the outdoor patio, thumbing through the food reviews and literature sections of the Reader while leisurely enjoying my lunch.  It became clear to me why newspapers, and not phones, are the ideal reading material while eating a burger.  I have no qualms about flipping pages in the RedEye when I have grease on my hands.  I'm not saving the papers for anything special, I can just throw them away.  Ketchup on my mobile device?  No thanks.

I found, as I always do, a bit of nostalgia in going to Butcher & the Burger, and I'm not quite sure why. I say this because I'm too young to have experienced the "classic" burger joint.  But I understand its appeal, the way it makes you feel.  It's not my first time eating there, or my second.  It still hasn't lost its luster.  And I'm going to share it with as many people as I can, because everyone needs to experience that feeling that you're coming back to a place you've never been.

Until Next Time,

~The Amateur Foodie