Well, yes, they’re often dreadful. You go in a place that looks like it’s a down home diner for locals and discover that the burgers are worse than Denny’s, not that i’ve eaten in Denny’s for forty-something years.
Or more often, they’re just mediocre, like the very dry elk burger i chewed through while sitting on a patio at the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center looking at Mt. St. Helens. Umm, maybe it’s moose that’s supposed to taste so good. And the fries that came with? Fries are a special treat on my current diet, so i gobble them. These i ate less than half of.
On the other hand, you can always count on In-N-Out Burger, the best of the chains, if you can find one when you’re hungry, but what’s really wonderful is discovering a local burger place that’s better than In-N-Out.
I blundered onto one on I-5 in the Sacramento Valley last September and got lucky enough to find it again on the way home from Oregon. It’s Bartel’s Giant Burger, and their empire has only three locations. The one i know is at the southwest corner of I-5 exit 631, Corning.
It’s just a burger joint, but oh my goodness, they sure do cook fine burgers. First time i saw it i suspected it was gonna be good when i rolled up and noticed that all the vehicles outside were full size pickups. I knew it was gonna be delicious when i walked in and saw i was the only tourist and that everybody else, patrons and staff alike, were obese. I couldn’t stop myself: giant burger and large chocolate milkshake, also excellent.
This time i confined myself to a giant burger and got it “to go” so i wouldn’t have to smell the obviously delicious fries while i ate it.
Meanwhile, just to throw out a pic, here’s some moss growing on a wall in Portland that looks good enough to eat. OK, or lichen or liverwort or something. I’m not a bryologist. I just know beauty when i see it although i didn’t taste it.
