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Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Hot Eats/Cool Seats
Raleigh Durham, NC
By: Rich Williams, VYPE
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Photo(s) By: Kyle Danztler/MyActionPortraits.com
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The Great Post-Game Cheeseburger Tour
After the game, there’s nothing better than going out with friends and family to celebrate a win, relive the big play, or commiserate with other fans when the game doesn’t go your way.
A traditional post-game staple is the classic American cheeseburger. To properly review what local restaurants have to offer, I sampled six cheeseburgers over the course of the last month.
The first stop on my angus-fueled feast was Carolina Ale House. Since I like a bit of spice, I sampled the Ale House Blackened Cheeseburger. Carolina Ale House makes its own special blackening rub that gives the burger just the right bit of bite. Its melted Swiss cheese covering keeps the lettuce and tomato in place perfectly. With TVs every which way you look, the Carolina Ale Houses in the area provide a great place to watch sports.
Next stop on the tour was Red Robin. I went here with my kids who are not in high school yet. Red Robin is a family friendly restaurant used to handling big groups, which is an important post-game asset. I really like the burgers at Red Robin and this time had the Red Robin Bacon Cheeseburger topped with hickory smoked bacon lettuce and tomato. You can choose from a variety of cheese options but as a traditionalist, I chose cheddar. It came with a bottomless basket of steak fries, enough to tame any appetite.
My next stop was Ted’s Montana Grill, not your typical burger joint since it favors bison over steer as the preferred type of meat. I went all in with the Blue Creek Bison Burger, which comes with melted bleu cheese dripping down the sides. I added bacon and mushrooms to provide a bit more to savor with each bite. Bison is leaner than beef but doesn’t give up an ounce on flavor. This is a great burger that I’ll have again.
Stop number four was Five Guys, and if you haven’t eaten there, you need to check out one of the five area locations. The menu is pretty simple; what gets complex is the variety of topping options. I had the cheeseburger topped with American cheese, pickles, fried onions, sautéed mushrooms and mustard, and the Five Guys Fries. The regular burger is two all-beef patties - a bit of a mouthful but worth the workout to eat it.
CharGrill, which has been a staple of the Triangle area forever, was next. At the Strickland Road CharGrill, I had a basic cheeseburger with a side of fries and a vanilla milkshake so thick I had to use a spoon. The burger is handmade, big enough to overlap the bun, and is more square than round. I dined outside to enjoy my own bit of Raleigh tradition.
For my final visit on this cheeseburger tour, my mom came along, and we chose her hands-down favorite burger joint: Sonic, where we ate in the car. Mom likes Sonic because it reminds her of the old-fashion drive-ins from her youth, and I like it because of the Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger with pickles, onions, mustard, lettuce, tomato and a side of onion rings. When you’re on the go, you can get a great burger at Sonic.
That’s it for now. If I missed your favorite, let me know. Next month – pizza!
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