Burger Quest

I hope you’ll forgive my lack of posting recently. I’ve had a lot on my mind and a lot on my plate as we get close to our cruise date. Today I got the majority of my packing done, and I feel like I’m in pretty good shape as our departure date approaches. Several odds and ends still to be done, but I feel much less harried than I did, and I found myself hankering to write a bit here.

I’ve had this entry percolating for a while, and I’ve also been gathering data. Well, not so much “gathering data” as “sampling.” I don’t recall if it arose from a Facebook conversation or if it was something that Shane and I talked about, but I’ve been on a kick of trying the burgers at various places we go to around town. I don’t always order a burger when we go out...I like club sandwiches, Reubens, that sort of thing. But I still love a good burger, and I decided to try as many as possible in the area.

I have no criteria for what kind of burgers I order other than I prefer them well done (I’m not a fan of pink burgers) and I’m a burger traditionalist: my favorite is a cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato (usually no raw onion because it sometimes upsets my stomach), and I dip it in ketchup and mustard. I have been known to order and enjoy burgers with different toppings on them, like green olives or avocado or even peanut butter. All fun, and I like trying different things, but at the end of the day, I’m a purist. I don’t even order them with bacon!

It’s been a lot of fun to try this little experiment, and it is ongoing. We’re going to a basketball game Wednesday night, and I think I’m going to get a chance to try another place’s burger! Here is a summary of my results so far. Some of these places are chains and some are local, but we don’t really do fast food anymore, so you won’t see anything like that here. I consider Five Guys fast food, and although they do a pretty decent burger, I still consider it fast food and won’t include it here. Same thing for In-N-Out Burger. Heck, I still get a craving about once every five years for a McDonald’s cheeseburger! But those don’t count as bona fide burgers for my purposes here. General rule of thumb: if you sit down and a server comes to take your order, that’s the kind of place that I’m going to be looking at.

BW3 - I liked this burger enough the first time that I ordered one the next time we went. It was juicy and flavorful, and the bun held up well. However, for some reason, I didn’t enjoy the second one as much and even wondered why I liked the first one as much as I did! Was I hungrier the first time? Were my taste buds more primed for a burger? I don’t know, but it wasn’t the same. Would I order one there again? Sure. I’m not a big wing person, and I like getting their sandwiches.

Maxi’s - This is a local place, so if you want a Maxi’s burger, you’ll have to come visit us! Maxi’s is probably our favorite restaurant in town, and you can’t beat it for delicious steaks. It is also locally owned and operated, and that is a big plus in our book. We like to take out-of-town visitors here, so if you head our way, you can probably expect Maxi’s in your dining future. Maxi’s doesn’t do a traditional burger of just a meat patty. They add some spices and stuff in there, and I’m pretty sure that they add chopped onion. Not the kind of burger that I usually like, but these things are very tasty, as well as huge. I think I took half of it home for Ken’s lunch. It was a little on the pink side for me, and next time, I would probably ask that it not be pink, but overall, this was very good. A nice robust bun, because mushy buns suck.

Brothers Bar & Grill - Speaking of mushy buns, I’m lookin’ at YOU, Brothers! We love Brothers, which seems to be a chain that locates in college towns. This is our go-to place before Notre Dame hockey and basketball games. I’ve had a lot of good sandwiches there, and I love both their chili nachos and chicken nachos. I was very disappointed in their burger, though. It was a nice size for me, and I was able to eat it all, but the bun was soft and steamed, and was unable to hold up to the intense pressure of life with a burger. It squished down to almost nothing and although the flavor of the burger was good, the bun really detracted from the whole experience. Get different buns and toast 'em on the grill for a few seconds, Brothers!

TGI Friday’s - Yes, this is a nationwide chain, and we usually try to avoid those. But we had some coupons, and we were going out a lot because of Notre Dame games, so we decided to save a few bucks. I can’t complain a lot about the food there, either...nothing fancy, but it’s decent. Much to my surprise, their burger ROCKED! It had a nice charred edge to it, and I could really taste that charcoal flavor that I love. The bun was nicely toasted and provided a slight crunch. It wasn’t a massive burger, and I was able to eat it all. My only complaint was the chunks of iceberg lettuce (obviously from salad makings) that they piled on the burger. I took most of those off. Just provide a nice, green leaf of lettuce, and a fresher tomato slice (hard to do in Indiana in the winter, though, so no points off for that), and that’s a burger I would eat again.

CJ’s Pub - This is another local place that we’ve added to our regular rotation, often before going to shows downtown. This is absolutely one of the best burgers in town. I don’t know what kind of seasoning they put on their burgers, but the flavor is fantastic. They have numerous varieties and all kinds of ways to customize your burger. This is where I had the olives on a burger, and I liked it...but a straight-up cheeseburger is still king for me, and CJ’s does it great. I always get the Cubby burger, which is a smaller sized burger that is just right for me. My sister seems to like the Juicy Ducee, which is stuffed with American cheese, and there are all kinds of other varieties and combos you can get. It really is hard to go wrong with these burgers!

Hensell’s Oaken Bucket - I have saved the best for last. Another local place, one that sits on the St. Joseph River. When it’s nice out, it’s fun to sit on the patio and look out over the river. Like CJ’s, I don’t know what it is they do to their burgers, but these have incredible flavor. Every time we go there, I think that I should order something different, but I always end up with a burger. The Oaken Bucket is right up there with my all-time favorite burgers, the ones at Breakers in New Smyrna Beach and Port of Call and Clover Grill in New Orleans. They really are that good. It’s a very unassuming place, with wooden booths and college-town decor, but it’s been our experience that sometimes the humblest places have some incredible food. Even if the food isn’t incredible, it’s fun to patronize local places rather than chains, and step outside the cookie-cutter model of what a restaurant is “supposed” to be. I have to give the Oaken Bucket the Best Burger in Town...so far.

Upcoming contenders: O’Rourke’s Pub near Notre Dame and Pat’s Bar in LaPaz (a small town a little to the south of us). Perhaps I'll try one in San Juan, too, before we set sail...we shall see.

The Burger Quest continues.

Taking a breath

Whew!

It’s been a busy week, and today I finished up the bulk of what I needed to do before vacation. After doing kitty care at Shane’s, I came home and did a couple of small loads of laundry. I like having all the laundry done before vacation, how about you? You know you’re going to have a bunch when you get back, so I like to have that done before taking off. Then I decided what to take and got all that folded and laid out. I took my final exam in the History of Rock course (29 out of 30! I missed a Beatles/Beach Boys question, darn it. I could take it again, but I’m cool with 29/30.), and I feel like I got the majority of things done. Now I can just enjoy an evening at home, and not have a stressful afternoon tomorrow trying to rush around before the game.

Notre Dame plays USC tomorrow night, and that’s always a big game. We found out earlier this week that our friend Andy was flying out to attend the game with his Dad, Bill. It worked out that we were able to get together with them for dinner last night, and we had a great time! If you recall, Andy is the one who got his doctorate from Cal Tech, and Ken and I went to his graduation at the culmination of our Route 66 trip.

We got to talk and get caught up while enjoying a super yummy dinner at our favorite local place, Maxi’s. (Thanks, Katie!) It has definitely become our go-to place for when family and friends come in from out of town to visit. Although if you’re a vegetarian, you might be out of luck. Their steaks are delicious, and I’ve tried several other items there. I’ve never had a bad meal there, and we love to treat people when they come to visit! So come on by and we’ll take you to Maxi’s!

Bill recently retired and is loving it. I’ve never understood people who hate retirement. You can’t let work define you. It can be a big part of your life, and it was for me for many years. Then you’re done and you can enjoy all the things that you never had time for when you were working! I’m very happy for him and glad that he is enjoying his retirement so much!

Andy is doing great, too. He’s dealing well with his six months in Afghanistan. Something like that can really put things in perspective and profoundly affect a person, but he’s okay. He’s dating someone and seems happy about that. He still seems to be trying to find his special purpose, just like Navin Johnson. I don’t doubt that he will find it. He is incredibly smart, has a personality that just lights up the room, and he makes no bones about it: he wants to change the world!

It was a wonderful evening, and I was so happy to be out and about with three great guys. We’ll try and hook up with them at a tailgate tomorrow before the game. I hope that works out.

Next big thing: New Orleans! I’ll try to update as much as possible. George is meeting us later in the week, and it will be great to see him, too! Good times, people, good times!

Meat market

We’ve had a fairly busy weekend, so it’s nice to sit down and do an entry.

Ken didn’t get back from Pittsburgh until about 12:15 am on Saturday, and although my intention was to read until he got home, I’m afraid I got too sleepy and conked out! We didn’t sleep super late on Saturday, because we had to pick up the side of beef we ordered from one of Ken’s former coworkers. Actually, Ken went and did that while I got the cooler out of the garage, loaded it with what remained in the basement freezer, and started defrosting it. It took a little longer than expected, because I don’t think we’d defrosted it since the last time we got a side, which I believe was two years ago. (We did pretty good on getting through that side...only had a few pounds of hamburger, a couple packages of rib steaks, and a couple of roasts left. I’m cooking one of the roasts this afternoon.) We may not have a fistful of dollars or a pocketful of shells, but we definitely have a freezer full of beef!

Then we took Ken’s Mom out last night, to our favorite new southside restaurant, Maxi’s. A great dinner, great service, and very pleasant company! We hadn’t tried out the bar area yet, so after we ate, we went upstairs for a couple of after-dinner drinks (Bailey’s on the rocks for me...yum!), and to see our favorite server, Katie. She was the one who took such good care of our party of ten a few weeks ago, and she remembered us and took good care of us this time, too! When we got home, we were both pretty tired, so decided to take a nap. Ken woke me up when “Saturday Night Live” started, so I slept for quite a while! Apparently I needed it, though.

We didn’t sleep late today, either. After “Meet the Press,” I ran over to Cousin Shane’s and Matt’s to do kitty care, since they were visiting Matt’s folks in Milwaukee. All was well, and all four kitties are fed, with fresh water and clean litterboxes. I gave them as much loving as they’d let me...they’re all so cute!

Then it was home, getting the roast in the crockpot, Ken mowing the lawn, me calling my Mom, getting my workout done, then time to relax on the deck with my book. I finished The House of Mirth (which was very sad), and next up is Showdown: The Inside Story of How Obama Fought Back Against Boehner, Cantor, and the Tea Party by David Corn (I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while). I’m in the mood for a political book. I have laundry to do, but that can wait until tomorrow. The sun has come out after a cloudy day, and I want to enjoy that by spending a little more time out on the deck. I love this time of year, and it’s supposed to be a beautiful week!
I hope you all had a pleasant day and weekend!

Callie Grace

We met up tonight with several family members at one of our favorite places, Maxi’s. Me and Ken, my sister Diana and her husband Tom, Shane and Matt, and Tom’s daughters Heather and Jennifer, and Heather’s husband Rey and their son Liam. Still with me? It was ten of us for food and drinks and conversation and laughter. Liam turned five years old this week, and he is such a super cute and smart kid who lifts everyone’s spirits. He totally conked out early on, but came to life later and we had a lot of fun rawring like dinosaurs and just being silly!

It was not exactly happy circumstances that brought us all together this time. Tom’s father, Heather and Jennifer’s grandfather, left us this week. Heather and Jen and family were able to come out from California to be with their Indiana family for a sad occasion which turned into a family get-together...and I know Ben would approve! Tonight was a lot of fun, a chance for some of us to meet up and celebrate our connections with each other. I hate to get too smarmy or sentimental, but damn...I love each and every person who was there tonight, and I can honestly say that I would take a bullet for any one of them. No lie.

To top it all off, we were discussing various political things and science things...and Heather pushed my buttons about vaccinations. She knows that is my hot-button issue, and she knows that just the mention of it gets me going! (Her and Rey are smart parents who follow the science, and Liam has all of his immunizations. Yay!) I mentioned that I recently got my booster shot for Tdap, and that no one there was going to be getting diphtheria or pertussis from me! Heather is at risk for infections, Liam is at risk as a young person, and we all, even as adults, can pass infectious diseases like pertussis on to those who are at risk.

Well, our server (who was awesome, by the way) came up to us and said, “Did I hear you all talking about pertussis?” We said yes, we were talking about vaccinations. It is making me cry to think about this, but she said that her daughter died from whooping cough (pertussis), and she is now an advocate for immunization and awareness of the dangers of not vaccinating. I went over to her and gave her a hug and said that I support her 100%, and she brought us all bracelets that have her daughter’s name on them: Callie Grace.

This is the very real face of non-vaccination. This woman lost her baby daughter because her daughter was too young to be immunized and she caught it from someone else.

I’ve written here about the importance of vaccinations, but it’s one thing to just write about it. It’s a whole other thing to encounter a person who lost a child to an infectious disease that is very preventable. It was astounding to me, and a very moving moment, to be discussing this with family and to have someone overhear us and say, “Yes...I know. And I lost my daughter to this infection.”  

Here’s to my family, here’s to those who we are missing, and here’s to Callie Grace.