Eating Good at Retro’s Good Eats

We were visiting Williamsburg, Virginia and stopped at Retro’s Good Eats. I have been to Williamsburg before, but this was my first visit to Retro’s.

I ordered a regular hamburger made from 100% Angus beef (I didn’t want cheese or bacon or fancy toppings) with french fries and a vanilla malted shake.

You can order some pretty fancy toppings – blue cheese coleslaw, sweet potato mustard, chilli, jalapenos – and they also serve hot dogs.

The burger was OK. It was a little bit dry. Burgers need some fat in them. Alton Brown says the ideal meat blend should be 50% chuck and 50% sirloin. The burger just seemed a little bit too dry. It was still OK to eat, but it wasn’t as good as I’d been hoping for.

I award this burger a score of 6.5 out of 10. You should visit Retro’s to try their fancy toppings and to absorb the 1950s atmosphere.

The Lasagna Burger at PYT

From ZAGAT, news of the “Lasagna Burger” at PYT in Philadelphia.

Exploring the Captain John Smith Cheeseburger

We were visiting Smithfield, Virginia and stopped at Taste of Smithfield on Main Street where I ordered the Captain John Smith Cheeseburger.

The Captain John Smith is a classic fresh beef burger patty (also available in pork… because it is Virginia) served with local Smithfield pepper bacon and pepper jack cheese. The French fries came sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning.

The pepper jack cheese went well with the bacon because they were both mildly spicy, but not too much. The burger patty was nice and fresh (and fresh is always better than frozen). The waitress asked how I’d like my burger cooked and I asked for medium-well. It came with a “hint of pink” which is a perfect medium well. I recommend you try this burger if you are visiting the Smithfield area (and are tired of eating ham). It is a pretty good burger.

I award this burger a score of 8 out of 10.

Dad got take-out from Gino’s

Dad was out buying groceries and he brought home burgers from Gino’s.

He got me a single with cheese, lettuce and tomato. Oh… and a huge french fries.

If Mom is reading this… Dad says he ate a salad.

If Mom is NOT reading this… he had a cheeseburger too.

Gino’s is one of my favorite burgers in Harford County. I gave the Gino’s Giant a score of 8.5 out of 10 last year. The Giant is great, but I usually order a single because it’s easier for a kid to eat. I always get my single with cheese, lettuce and tomato. It is a pretty good cheeseburger.

I award the Gino’s single cheeseburger a score of 8 out of 10. If there is a Gino’s in your neighborhood then you should tell your Dad to bring one home for you.

It’s a burger cookie (not a Berger cookie)

Here I am eating a cookie shaped like a burger.

This should not be confused with a Berger cookie.

A Baltimore Tradition Gets Even Better – The Berger Cookies MILKSHAKE!

If you know Baltimore then you know Berger’s Cookies.

But look at this milkshake from the Abbey Burger Bistro.

Yeah… a Berger Cookies MILKSHAKE!

I need to get the recipe for this.

Baltimore’s *BEST EVER* Burger Joint is the ABBEY BURGER BISTRO

The Baltimore City Paper is (according to Dad) the city’s “alternative free press” (whatever that means). It has movie reviews and restaurant reviews, but all I really know is that Mom won’t let me read it on my own because (1) some of the articles use words beginning with “f” and (2) the back pages are full of ads featuring half-naked men and women.

So what does this have to do with burgers?

In the June 5 issue of the City Paper they published their City Paper Burger Bracket to find the BEST EVER BURGER RESTAURANT IN BALTIMORE!

Voting was fast and furious. My favorite, Kooper’s Tavern, made it to the Final Four. But the overall winner was the Abbey Burger Bistro.

Apparently it’s Orioles CF Adam Jones favorite place. Follow him on Twitter at @SimplyAJ10. He seems to be really happy about the win 🙂

 

Hallelujah! It’s the end of the year picnic!

Yesterday was the end of Sunday School for the year (hallelujah!) and thankfully there were no classes (hallelujah!) and there was just games followed by a picnic (should be like that every week!).

My “super healthy picnic diet” ™ consisted of flame-grilled burgers and garlic breadsticks.

Vegetables? What are those? Bread is made from wheat… a vegetable. Ketchup is made from tomatoes… a fruit. So relax, Mom, because I ate several servings of fruit & vegetable this way.

Here is my iPod photo of my first burger. I had to take a bite out of it before I took the photo. It was flame-grilled over coals (our picnics rock!) and it smelled so good that I could not wait.

The burger was nice and meaty. It was cooked “well done” and I would like it to be more juicy. (Yes, Dad… I know I could just go and ask the folks grilling the burgers for a medium burger… stop complaining… ugh… PARENTS!)

I award this burger a score of 6 out of 10. It was better than average. For a picnic burger it was pretty good.