Ram's Horn, Southfield

The Ram's Horn Menu

I went to the Ram's Horn in Southfield a little while ago.  I was seated in a booth away from the other patrons, for reasons I didn't fully understand.  Ram's Horn was not particularly busy that night, though the table closest to me (which was about a third of the restaurant away) was loud enough to be a bit disruptive.  Very quickly, and without any unnecessary fussing, my order was taken, and I had some time to look around.

The first thing I noticed about the interior decor was that there were a lot of Red, White and Blue decorations hanging from the ceiling.  The second think I noticed about the decor was that there were a number of pictures of diners on the walls.  The third thing I noticed was that there was a bizarrely festive pattern on all of the seats, a pattern whose dominant color was dark green (like the menus, and the many plants hanging from the ceiling).

This is already too much excitement for what was supposed to be a relaxing meal

The fourth interior design choice I noticed was the many pastel colored paper flowers and butterflies hanging.  I think I would advise Ram's Horn to stick to just one design scheme.  I sort of got the sense that they had to put a lot of effort into looking festive, so that you wouldn't notice how unfestive an establishment it was.

The burger was too big for its bun (which, I must say, was expertly toasted).  As you might be able to tell from the photo, it was very charred.  The burger had clearly been heavily grilled.  The patty was thin, but satisfying, with lots of little black charred bits falling off of it.

The fries were pretty standard issue.  They tasted kind of like a potato, though they were frankly a bit oily.  Unremarkable.

All in all, it was a somewhat filling meal at a reasonable price.  If tacky decor offends you, I'd stay away.  Otherwise, Ram's Horn is nothing special, with all the positive and negative that suggests.

I took this picture from my car, and when I took it, the song "From That Day On..." by Nobuo Uematsu came on.  It felt very apt. 

Leo's Coney Island, Birmingham

I ate dinner at Leo's Coney Island in Birmingham not too long ago.  I've reviewed Coney Island restaurants before, and the rule remains: above all, remember that this is a Coney Island.

The Leo's Coney Island Menu.

Leo's was pretty empty and very quiet when I arrived (early evening).  There were a number of TV screens, all seemingly tuned to CNN for some reason.  You could even hear the CNN, faintly, over the waitresses gossiping.  

The walls were painted with a number of murals depicting Greek locations on the walls, labeled 'Akropolis,' 'Olympia,' and 'Salonika.'  There was also an "Athens 2004" emblem to commemorate the 2004 Olympics.  There was also a mural of a location I'd never heard of, 'Nafpaktos.'

I've never heard of Nafpaktos, but I'm guessing it's a port city.

 The seats and tables were very much plastic (sort of a Coney Island standard style).  I can't say that it was clean, but it had a very clean feeling.  There was a sign out front that proclaimed, very prominently, that it's open 24/7.

The burger patty was very wide, but very thin.  It sort of tasted like meat (not beef, generic meat) infused with cardboard.  The bun is pretty generic, with maybe, maybe, a bit of an eggy taste.  There was a lot of bun, too much bun for the amount of burger.  That said, the bun and the burger, with a bit of ketchup, worked well together.

The fries were square cut (as you can see in the photo), with no appreciable potato skin, and little potato flavor.  There wasn't much taste to them at all, except for a small oil flavor.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of flavor in both the fries and the burger, there really wasn't enough of either.  That said, the price was right, with dinner not running much over $5.

Leo's isn't a place I'd go to for flavor, as it really has very little to offer.  However, it's a fine place for a bite between other meals, and a fine place to sit for an evening.  I highly recommend it.

Leo's Coney Island.

The Blue Tractor BBQ & Brewery, Ann Arbor

The Blue Tractor Menu.  I bet the guy who came up with the 'tractor that looks like blue utensils' thinks he's pretty sharp.

I went to the Blue Tractor is one of a few breweries around Ann Arbor.  My previous brewery experiences having been pretty good, so I had high hopes for the Blue Tractor.

The walls were made of large wooden beams.  They were pretty much untreated, they were just cut to be square.  It added an almost rustic feel to a place that otherwise wouldn't have any.

 A shot of the Blue Tractor Interior.  It was really dark, and I worried that the flash would bother people (the woman on the far left looks like she was bothered anyway).

The Blue Tractor's interior decorations featured some rusted tractor parts.  There were also some artsy black and white photos of tractors on the walls.  This level of tractor dedication was a bit surprising, but I suppose if there was any restaurant in which I expected to see ex-tractors, it was a tractor themed one.  Interestingly, the tractor parts came in all the primary colors except blue.

It was kind of dark, though not so dark that it impaired the experience.  It was also a lot quieter than I would expect for a bar, though I suppose I was eating dinner really early.  Given all of the lumber and tractors, I thought that the chairs and tables were conspicuously modern, as though they could only take the themes so far.

The Burger was, frankly, overcooked.  It was dry, and it lost some flavor in the overcooking.  The bun was just a straight, white, slightly toasted bun.  The burger was better after I put some ketchup on it, but not a lot.  As far as I could tell, it wasn't seasoned at all.

The waitress actually asked how I wanted my burger, and I said medium, which is why I was so bothered when it was overdone.  Additionally, she specifically asked me if I wanted sweet potato fries, and I clearly said 'no,' which is why I was so bothered when I got sweet potato fries, instead of fries made from regular potatoes. 

The sweet potato fries weren't bad, most of the time.  There was some nice flavor, and the sweet potato was pretty smooth.  They had an unpleasant aftertaste, though, sort of an oily taste.  They also had some weird seasoning that hits you all at once.  It tasted sort of like a mouthful of bad parsley, which is something I don't want at burger time (or, I suppose, ever).  The quality of the fry was inversely proportional to how much surface are they had, which is why it sort of sucks that they were ruffle cut for extra surface area. 

My friend Claire, who joined me for dinner, made me promise to note that they had Coke products, not Pepsi, and now I have.  

Frankly, between the bad service and ungood food, I don't think I'll be back to the Blue Tractor.  I saw someone else who ordered the barbecue, and it didn't look too bad.  If I ever find myself there again, I guess I could try the ribs.  But I'm going to endeavor not to find myself in that situation.

The Blue Tractor BBQ and Brewery.

Vinnie's Stock Pot, Bay City

I spent a significant portion of this past spring living in Bay City, Michigan.  While I was there, I spent a great deal of time at Vinnie's Stock Pot, a place where everyone knows your name.  Maybe not your name, but they certainly knew my name by the time I left.

The Stock Pot's Interior.

Of the many diners I've been in, the Stock Pot was the second most diner-y.  Besides the tables, chairs, benches and coat rack, many of decorations were very reminiscent of the 50's and 60's, or some other decade that can be accurately called ancient history.

This picture was taken in a mirror.  Read the sign backwards, and it says "Route 66," which you may have learned about in a 90's jeans commercial.

The Stock Pot delivered a good, hot burger.  There was no extraneous tastes to it, just straight, grilled beef.  It's a hefty burger to eat at lunch (as I was doing), but it definitely keeps you full all afternoon.  The meat retains the heat from the grill well, for lunch which was probably a nice warm-up in winter, but which is a bit much for early summer.  This didn't stop me from eating it, it just meant I was quite hot at the end.

The bun was toasted, but still soft.  It was moist enough to not crumble, but not so moist that it took away from the burger experience (a wet burger can be unpleasant).

The fries, like the burger, were delivered hot from the kitchen.  They were simple square cut fries, with a lot of surface area, but  also a lot of potato at the center.  The surface was fairly well done, and there generally was not much to the fries besides simple fry taste.

I also have to mention the price: a half pound burger was just under $4, and the fries were not much on top of that.  A very reasonable price for a meal that doesn't leave you hungry later.

I honestly can't say enough nice things about the Stock Pot's wait staff.  The burger wasn't exactly special, but it was cheap, and it was filling.  I don't know how often I'll be back in Bay City, but I know that I'll stop by Vinnie's every time.

Vinnie's Stock Pot

Redcoat Tavern, Royal Oak

Woodward Avenue is the only road in Michigan so important that it's given the designation "M-1."  You can catch Woodward where it starts, next to Jefferson in Detroit near the tunnel to Windsor, and and drive it northwest to all the way to Pontiac.  En route, you'll pass through Royal Oak, and if you look to your right, you can't miss The Redcoat Tavern.

When you walk into Redcoat you're greeted by a mannequin wearing the garb of a late 18th century British soldier, including, predictably, a red coat.  The interior features, just out of reach, enough weaponry to put some rebellious colonists in their place.  (Said weaponry could also, in the hands of rebellious colonists, be used for purposes of rebellion).  Unfortunately, I failed to get pictures of either.

Redcoat Tavern's 'Bill of Fare'

The Redcoat's interior is dimly lit, in a way that's clearly intentional.  The restaurant is fairly loud, but not in a way that makes it difficult to hear.  I went there a few months ago with Wally, who said that the Redcoat always reminds him of an old Woody Allen quote: no one goes there anymore, it's too crowded.

 The Daily Menu.  Note the date, to your burger blogger's great shame.

I have to say a word about the menus.  I loved the menus.  I couldn't name the exact font used, but the first phrase to come to mind when I read it was 'movable type.'  I also liked to Redcoat Tavern insignia in the upper left corner.  Between the font, the foot soldier, and the firearms, Redcoat was quite excellent at evoking the late 1700's, without any negative impact on the dining experience. 

Redcoat Tavern is famous for its Piedmontese Beef Burgers, it bills itself as the only restaurant in Michigan to offer it.  I didn't order the Piedmontese, I will have to review it at a later date.  The burger was delivered hot and juicy.  There was no special flavoring, just some excellent beef cooked well.  The bun is nondescript.  The burger just excels on the fundamentals.

The fries were essentially shoe-string fries, with a hint of salt (you can see a bit of them in the above photo).  Despite this, they had some good potato flavor, a definite best of both worlds fry.

On a wall at the opposite end of the restaurant from where I was sitting, there was a flag of 13 red and white stripes, with a Union Jack in the upper lefthand corner.  Once again, I failed to take a picture of it, but I managed to track down a similar image, and even find some history to go with it.  Apparently the early American revolutionary flag featured the pre-United Kingdom British flag design.  

'Redcoat' was, of course, the term for British soldiers during the revolutionary war.  But the Redcoat tavern flies the colors of early revolutionaries, and is located in the United States (as opposed to, say, Canada).  For an establishment that chooses to identify itself so closely with a military conflict, it bothers me that they're so unwilling to take sides.

The Redcoat Tavern loses points for that, but they'll have a chance to redeem themselves when I return to try the Piedmontese.

Redcoat Tavern, as seen from Woodward

Ray's Red Hots', Ann Arbor

It may surprise you to find out that when I was in college, I ate a lot of hamburgers.  But of all the burger establishments I frequented, Red Hot Lovers was always something special.  Maybe it was the ambiance (more on that later).  Maybe it had a certain mystique; for years they closed early, especially on Sundays (the day dorm kitchens were closed for dinner), so it felt like you could never go when you wanted to.  Maybe it was just that the food was really, truly excellent.  For some reason, I ate there every week.

Every week, that is, until something terrible happened.

Despite the fact that it was fairly well covered in the news, I don't really know what caused Red Hot's to close for the majority of 2009.  I do know that at some point it re-opened with little fanfare as 'Ray's Red Hots'.'*

Ray's Red Hots'.  They're known for their hot dogs, but you need to read the hot dog blog to hear about those.

Red Hots' has never had a lot of seating, at least indoors.  I was meeting a friend there, and I was worried about taking up table space, so I asked the guy behind the counter if I could wait until my friend got there.  His response: "Don't worry about just hanging out."  I think that response tells you a lot about the mood at Red Hots'.  

If their pro-hanging out policy doesn't tell you how laid back Red Hots' is, perhaps this interior shot will.

There was a lot of signage on the walls.  Most of it related to either Ann Arbor or Chicago (I don't really know what the connection to Chicago is), some of it was connected to hot dog consumption.

The burger came on a soft bun.  There was a lot of charred taste on the exterior, with some undercooked parts in the interior.  A lot of the burger juice got into the bun, which was nice.

The fries were waffle fries, which are one of Red Hots' main attractions (or at least it's the thing my friends always liked).  The waffling greatly increase's the fries' surface area, but there's still a lot of potato in the center.  There's a lot of skin on the fries, but without a lot of skin taste.  Also, they taste really, really good.  My only qualm is that my order consisted mostly small fries, without very many large fries in the basket.

Frankly, Ray's Red Hots' just isn't as good as Red Hot Lover's used to be.  Their buns are slightly worse, and they haven't figured out how to grill the patty perfectly (the old Red Hots knew how).  That's the thought that sits looms largest in my mind every time I go there.  But it's not fair to judge Ray's against the burgers of the past, and the fact is that they still make an fine burger.  In the tradition of the old Red Hots, it remains one of a handful of places good enough that I'll eat there alone.

*Is it just me, or is the second apostrophe in that name misplaced?  I followed Ray's name for this post, but I really think they meant 'Ray's Red Hots.'

Hiatus

I want to thank anyone and everyone who's taking the time to read this for taking the time to read this.  I write because like writing and hamburgers, but it's nice to know there's someone out there reading and, I hope, enjoying.  A part of me wishes I could meet each of you, though another, more sensible part of me thinks that that would ruin the magic.

All of this is why it's a bit difficult for me to tell you that I'll be going on hiatus.  I have two more entries in the pipeline (and I don't know when they'll be posted), but after that, I don't know how long it will be before I'm able to return.  I expect the hiatus to last between a week and a month, or between a month and forever, or between a week and forever. 

Until then, I hope that you've enjoyed what you've read.  It's been a pleasure writing it for you.

Guest Post at Free Refills

Have you ever wondered what this blog would look like if it were a different blog?  Well, you should check out the guest post I just did for my friends over at over at Free Refills & Why I Love America.  My guest post is entitled Three Ways Hamburgers Are Like America.  Check it out, I hope you enjoy it.  And while you're there, check out their site.  I don't (yet) have a blogroll, but if I did, Free Refills & Why I Love America would get top billing.

Dick O'Dow's Irish Public House, Birmingham

Dick O'Dow's

It's St. Patrick's Day!  St. Patrick's Day is a holiday honoring St. Patrick (for something involving a snake in Ireland), Irish Americans (for leaving Ireland), and beer (self-explanatory).  A summary of the traditional celebrations can be found here.  This year, I celebrated by having a burger at Dick O'Dow's two days ago.

Elliott (who, for brevity's sake, I usually just call 'Dad') with the Dick O'Dow's Menu.

I've always been enamored of Irish Pubs.*  It's amusing to me the way that so many of them follow the same naming convention ("Something O'Something"), and how much of the menu and interior decorating is the same.  For example, even if I hadn't see the green paint or read the sign at Dick O'Dow's, I could have figured out that it was an Irish pub immediately upon entering, when greeted by more Celtic detritus than my mind could process.  There were more Celtic crosses, tin flutes, and notices of their specials on Guinness and Corned Beef and Cabbage than I cared to count.  Two days in advance of St. Patrick's, our waitress was already rocking some green flair.  Almost all the furniture was wood, and while I was not personally seated on a stool or backless bench, I could have if I'd wanted to.  The floor was a mix of wood boards and some sort of uneven stone.  

We were seated in the non-smoking room, and were the only people there at the dinner hour.  Occasionally, though, we could hear the noise drift in from the smoking room.  It started to fill up as we were leaving, reaching the level of noise I associate with any place calling itself a pub.

I can't start talking about the burger without talking about the bun.  The bun, as you can see, was pretty huge compared to the patty.  It was also square for some reason.  It was soft on the bottom while being crunchy on the top, which was an excellent best of both worlds experience.  The bun also had a very distinct, doughy taste. 

The tasty bun was a pleasant surprise, but it was also a necessary surprise, because the patty just had a generic ground beef taste.  I tried to take bites with and without bun to get the comparison, and while the bites with bun had a very distinct (and good) taste, the bites without were really very weak.  That said, I would recommend the overall burger experience.

The fries were pretty standard rectangular cut fries.  They were unsalted, and due to the absence of salt and potato skin, there wasn't much there to like.  There was a hint of an oil taste, but otherwise, they were pretty tasteless.  They were an essentially functional side, with their main functions being 'filler' and 'ketchup delivery vector.' 

I can say with some certainty I'll be back.  I really like the burger here, even though it has nothing to do with the meat quality, and I can forgive a mediocre fry.

Now say it with me, because you know you want to: Erin Go Burger!

Many people will walk into bars like this today, and some will even remember it tomorrow.

*By which I mean Irish themed pubs found in the US, not pubs of any theme found in Ireland.

Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor

Zingerman's Roadhouse

Zingerman's Deli is famous.  It's so famous that if you want to know why it's famous, you need to be reading a different, better blog.  The Roadhouse is an offshoot restaurant they run; I can tell you about that, because I was there just last week.

Immediately upon arriving, two solid pieces of evidence attested to Roadhouse's popularity: a high level of noise and a long wait.  Eventually, my party was seated, and I had a chance to take in the Roadhouse's interior.  I tried to find proper description of the Zingerman's style.  Was it cluttered?  Yes, but that doesn't really fully describe it, especially considering the long stretches of wall and such that were completely barren.  Was it traditional?  It certainly had traditional elements; the tables and chairs were all polished wood, the booths were pretty simply padded, and many of the light fixtures were just simple metal lamps with light bulbs.  There were some cloth pieces that hung perpendicular to the ceiling, which were clearly meant to cut down on noise (and clearly failed).

Just one of the cluttered pieces you can see on the wall at Zingerman's Roadhouse.

The best phrase I can think of to describe the decor at the Roadhouse is Calculated Ad Hoc.  Some interior decorator worked really hard to make sure you know that the interior developed organically.

My friend Walter, with one of Zingermans' paper menus.

The Roadhouse offered excellent food variety.  Walter ordered some sort of cheese sampler, which suggests that there was more than one type of cheese available.  Joey (who was also there) ordered Barbecue something, and he had to decide between three potential barbecue sauces. 

And that brings us to the Roadhouse's service.  When Joey was asked what BBQ sauce he wanted, he said

"I don't know which BBQ Sauce to get."

To which our server responded 

"I'll bring you a taste of each to try."

After which he departed and fetched not three BBQ sauces, but a sample of brisket and two of pork, each barbecued with a different sauce.  When Walter asked for some applesauce, only to find that they weren't stocking it that week, the waiter asked the chef to prepare some applesauce from their apple supply. 

Walter and Joey both wanted me to mention, on the subject of variety, that the Roadhouse offered a 5 burger sampler plate.

I didn't get the burger sampler, and you don't come here to hear about burger variety.  You come here to hear about burger taste.  The burger was excellent.  It wasn't exactly juicy, just good and moist.  It had the taste of a hamburger done on a charcoal grill in your neighbor's backyard.  It's a taste very reminiscent of summer.

The bun was a different story.  I didn't mind that there was onion, but I did mind the amount; it was too heavily onioned. The bun was also hard for some reason.  I don't think it was stale, it was probably just over-toasted, but that doesn't change the fact that when tried to take a bite, the bun was quite effective in guarding the burger from me.  Maybe the burger appreciated that; I did not.

The burger was also small, especially considering how expensive it was.  It clearly arrived at my table with the assumption that I had partaken in one or more appetizers.  Because the burger was not filling, the fry quality was essential.  Luckily, the fries delivered.  They had a bit of salt, and a lot of potato skin, which was really nice.  Additionally, though the Roadhouse doesn't advertise this, there are free refills on fries, without which I would have ended the night hungry.  The second set of fries were hotter and even tastier.

Will I go back to the Roadhouse?  I not going to say never, but I'm going to stay away if I can.  Zingerman's is incredibly expensive, and for that expense, with that wait, the burger had better be something amazing, not something that isn't even filling.

Grizzly Peak Brewing Co., Ann Arbor

 

Grizzly Peak 

If you walk into Grizzly Peak for dinner, you may mistakenly believe that you're walking into a restaurant named Grizzly Pete's.  This is a common mistake, and you'll likely make it again, because after a meal at either Pete's or the Peak, you'll want to return.

I went there for dinner last Friday with Joey, Dan, Derek and Sarah.  The first word that popped into my head as I entered was 'loud.'  The Peak is that raucous on a Friday.  Maybe that's why people mishear the name.  The lights were clearly dimmed, and I think lack of light emphasized the surplus of noise. The Peak had a certain Irish theme.  I hesitate to call it an Irish Pub, but the shoe fits.  Look at the menu.

 Note the Celtic shamrock design at the top.  And that they were celebrating 'Irishfest.'  And that they reference both Dublin and County Cork.  And that all this is before I even open the menu.

My cohort spent some time discussing whether the interior (a red brick/brown wood affair; it might not be worth mentioning the interiors anymore if they continue to all be the same) more closely resembled the interior of a castle or or that of a hunting lodge.  Whichever it was, Sarah said, it had the clear feel of a place where men gather to be men.  After that the conversation kept circling back to tofu (not a particularly burger-rific topic).

 

The picture I took of the burger didn't come out.  Here, have some bread.

The burger was overcooked on the outside, while still being red on the inside.  That's a common problem, one I've certainly run into many times in the past, but I feel like I can expect better from a restaurant.  It didn't detract from the burger much, the burger was pretty good.  I didn't wind up finishing the meal, but that only showed how filling it was.

I have to make a few comments on the bun.  I think this was the first burger I've had since I started the blog whose bun was made in a single piece, then cut in half, instead of being made as two separate pieces.  This made it a bit flaky (and somehow crumbly at the same time), but I think the bun was better because of it.

The fries were a bit unique, with a highly fried crunchy, crumbly exterior.  Their actual taste was pretty dull, but it fit the meal pretty well. 

The Final Verdict: Grizzly Peak is not a place to go for a quiet evening.  I can definitely say that I'll be back, though.  If I ever meet Grizzly Pete (I think he lives near the summit of the Grizzly Peak), I will compliment him on the excellent dining experience he offers.

Burger Cartography

In a burger related development, someone on the internet took the time to map out the continental 48 by dominant fast food chain.

I don't know anything about the Weather Sealed blog, but this map speaks for itself.

I recommend reading this Burger Cartographer's Entire post on the subject (knowledge of conversational Star Wars required).

Greek Islands Coney Restaurant, Birmingham

 

Greek Islands Coney Restaurant

Not all burgers are created equal.  That's not shocking.  I'm cognizant of it, and I know I can't weigh all burgers on the same scale.  A burger at McDonalds can't be compared against a burger at a family restaurant.  A 1/3 pounder can't be compared against a full pounder.  And a Coney Island can't be compared against a bar and grill.  So when I sat down at Greek Island's Coney Restaurant for lunch last weekend, the first thing I wrote in my notes was "What can I say, it's a Coney."

 

It's a Coney.

I wrote it because it's true.  The interior was decorated by a bunch of different types of plastic (my lunch companion, Marnie, was able to identify formica, vinyl, and I think we saw some linoleum.)  The seatbacks were very low (unlike the other places I've been so far), which allowed us to hear not only the conversation at our table, but every conversation going on 3 tables in any direction.  

There was a noticeable 'Greece' theme, as I would expect from a coney.  It wasn't overwhelming; there weren't lots of posted pictures of ancient gods and modern villages (which I've seen in other coney establishments), for example.  There were, however, places where the wall and ceiling decorations were clearly meant to evoke Greek columns and designs.  While I was there, I saw a few people order and receive Saganaki.  Each time, the wait staff made a show of lighting it in the dining room, but they never yelled 'Opa!' as they do some other places. 

The burger tasted pretty good, but the taste was pretty shallow.  The most prominent flavor was 'hot,' which means it's most salient quality is 'holds heat well.'  There was a lot of bun, too, and it regularly crumbled into bites of burger, further crowding out the full burger taste.  There wasn't even much of a burger taste to begin with, it tasted more like 'generic meat.'  I don't really have a problem with generic meat taste, though.  What can I say, it's a coney.

The fries, I have to say, were cold, and noticeably greasy.  For cold fries, though, they were actually pretty good.  And they were plentiful, I wasn't able to finish all the fries on my plate. 

I'll be back to Greek Islands again, for sure.  I think it's the less frequented of the Coneys in Birmingham, but it's well positioned between the theater parking lot and the theater.  It's cheap.  It's filling.  It's a fine place to sit for a while.  What can I say?

 

Greek Islands' Exterior.  I don't know why, but I really like this shot. 

Red Hawk Bar and Grill, Ann Arbor

 

Red Hawk Bar and Grill

  

Red Hawk Bar and Grill is right in the middle of one of Ann Arbor's major downtown stretches, near the intersection of State and Liberty.  People walk those streets everyday, and I assume (due to an absence of data) that a very small percentage of them will ever step foot inside Red Hawk as they pass it.  It probably has something to do with the fact that the front of Red Hawk is flat.  The people who just keep walking don't know what they're missing.   

  

The menu was simple and classy.

When my friend Maggie and I walked into Red Hawk last weekend, we were greeted by a greeter who swung wildly between being gratingly cheery and being not good enough at faking cheer.  She gave us a table toward the back.  Red Hawk is oriented lengthwise, as opposed to width-wise.  That's not really very interesting, but at the time it felt important enough for me to make a note of it.

 

I don't remember why I thought this was noteworthy.

The interior color scheme featured a lot of green and brown.  It was brown because the interior building materials were mostly wood and brick.  I don't know why the green was there.  It was a pleasant color, though.  That probably had something to do with it.  

The burger had an excellent charred taste.  The bun was soft and toasted, with onion and poppy seeds.  The bun was a bit over the top actually, there was about one flavor too many.  The burger itself was pink in the center.  It was also very juicy, and leaked through the bun a bit.  It was actually very reminiscent of the burger at Casey's, but it actually had a substantial amount of flavor, which saved it.

The fries were even the same kind fries as Casey's.  They were slightly salted, and delicious.  They serve a lot of fries, which is great if you're hungry, and if you're not hungry, Maggie discovered that the excess fries make a fine building material.

 

Stonehenge comes to mind.

The important question: would I go back?  Red Hawk is a bit more expensive than other similar options, but the food is pretty good, and unlike other Bar/Grills, it didn't feel crowded at any point in the night.  I'll definitely go back, probably pretty soon.

Burgers in the News

Time Magazine ran an article yesterday about the annual Rachel Ray Burger Bash, and what the 2010 results may tell us about the future of Hamburgers.  It's a fine read.

The article's author, by the way, is Josh Ozersky.  Ozersky wrote The Hamburger, A History, a must read Burger book (which I hope to review in the future). 

If you see burgers in the news in the future, send me a link, and I'll publish it.

Pizza House, Ann Arbor

 

Pizza House 

Pizza House, a rather large establishment in Ann Arbor, had an outsize role in my undergraduate days at the University of Michigan.  I think that I probably have that in common with everyone who has passed through U of M since Pizza House was founded in 1986 (good company, to be sure).  It was an important destination up until I got a car, because it was one of only two hamburger-serving establishments near campus that stayed open after 2 am.  I've had more than one 3:30 meal there over the years.

  

Note the plasma screen/fire place combination.

I could have gone at 3:30 last Friday, but instead my friend Joey and I went at a reasonable dinner hour.  They remodeled completely a few years ago.  Today, it feels a lot like a sports bar, crossed with a ski lodge.  I think it was the combination of the wood paneling on everything and the large number of sports programs framed on the walls.  Almost all of the programs were for old U of M games; 'Ann Arbor' was a strong third theme.  Joey and I were actually seated next to a huge mural that crammed more A2 references onto a single wall than I thought possible (and this was a big wall).

 

Imagine this mural bigger and less blurry, and you'll get the idea.

The service was a bit slow.  It's not really that important, but it was actually slow enough to warrant mention.

 

The burger was grilled, and served on a toasted but fairly straight white bun.  The strong plainness of the bun served to accentuate the taste of the meat.  The burger was juicy, but not overly so.  It's a 'take you out of commission' burger; once I was done eating it, all I could do for a good 15 minutes was sit.  

If the last paragraph feels like burger filler, that's because it was.  What can I say?  The burger was unremarkably good. An uninspiring, pleasant eating experience.

The fries were steak fries.  The thickness of the fries gave their interior a certain level of cookedness (or uncookedness, as the case may be), and there was a nice contrast between the consistency of the fry exterior, the interior, and the fried potato skin (which was abundant on each fry).  The fries were slightly salted, I think with seasoned salt.  I'm usually not a big fan of steak fries, but these are the exception.  My only complaint: there were not enough of them.

Thus far, I've failed to mention Pizza House's most famous quality, and I'd be remiss in my duties if I never got around to mentioning that quality.  Pizza House costs a lot.  It's not exactly an expensive restaurant, but anything you order there will cost at least a dollar more than it will anywhere else.  The food is always high quality (I haven't actually gotten a pizza there in many years, but I remember it as the best I've had), but I really don't feel that the gain in quality one gets by going to Pizza House justifies the loss funds it entails.

That said, I can say for sure I'll be back.  Aside from the terrible dorm kitchens, no place can match it for college nostalgia.  And even if that wasn't true, there's bound to be a time in the future when it's 2:01, and I'm hungry.

Joey's clearly forced smile fits right in at Pizza House.

Bastone, Royal Oak

 

Bastone

Last Friday, my office was ordering in from a place with highly regarded burgers (I'm withholding the name until I write a review, sometime in the future), so I ordered one (of course).  I opened my to-go container to find that, horror, the top bun was smothered in mayonnaise.  I was able to salvage the burger by eating it open faced on the bottom bun, but even then, I would occasionally get a strong whiff of mayonnaise, creating unpleasantness.  The burger was actually pretty good, even with only half the intended amount of bun, but the experience as a whole was lousy, part of a very disappointing Friday, burger-wise.

So, when my dinner companions the following Sunday said that mayonnaise was an essential element in making Bastone, a restaurant in their neighborhood in Royal Oak, excellent, I was very skeptical.

 

I'm going to get right to the point, Bastone is awesome.  Despite the fact that there was a small quantity of mayonnaise on my plate and rather a lot of it on the table at large, not a single bite of the burger was ruined.  There was, though, a discernible flavoring to it.  I couldn't quite put my finger on it, until after Beth pointed out that the bun was toasted.  I think, as part of the bun toasting process, some butter entered the process.  The end result was just about the perfect mix of beef, butter, bun and toastiness.

If I have one complaint, it was that the burger wasn't particularly juicy.  I'm not sure the burger needed to be juicy, though, that wasn't the taste they were going for.

I also have to make mention of the fries.  A very generic fried outside hides a delicious liquid potato inside.  The fries were also salted, but not heavily so, just enough for flavor.  My only complaint of the night: there weren't many of the long fries that you can grab and dip in ketchup, too many were too short for comfort.

The rest of the dinner experience made an excellent frame for dinner.  My companions were Beth, Alden, and Amanda.  Each of us got hamburgers, and a delightful discussion of what exactly makes a burger a burger (just hot beef on bread?  does it need a bun?  does it need to be ground beef? more on this at a later date).  The restaurant wasn't really themed, unless 'Gentrification' is considered a theme.  If it is, then I would have to say that they went a little over the top with the theme.   

 

The menu.  Note the Latin reference at the bottom.

The ultimate test: would I go back?  Absolutely.  The meal was excellent, heavy in a good way, very filling.  I recommend it highly.

What makes a burger a burger?  I don't know, but I know Bastone knows.