Split Rail Tavern

15 N Walnut Street
West Chester, PA 19380
(484) 999-8805
Website

Split Rail is a good place to stop in West Chester for a decent beer selection, and so I decided to try the "Split Rail Commonwealth Burger" that was talked up by the bartenders the last couple of visits I made.

On the menu, it had all of the right components. "All burgers are 6oz Dutch Meadow Farms 100% Organic Grass-fed Beef accompanied by a Russian dressing, shredded lettuce, tomato, red onion, choice of sharp cheddar, American or Swiss, a spicy pickle and house-cut french fries, served on a Big Marty's sesame seed bun." Sounds like a high-end fast food burger to me. Lovely. I ordered it with sharp cheddar, and caramelized onions ($1.50 up-charge on the onions). Which put it at $13.50. Still, when it arrived, it looked quite good, and the fries were tantalizingly golden brown.

The problem with the burger was flavor. It was bland city, the burger meat tasted like watery beef juice that had never heard of salt (and there was a hair on my vegetable toppings served on the side). The hair, well that sometimes happens, but the woeful under-seasoning, that should never happen.

I really wanted this to be awesome, look how good it looks, and is a nice medium (strong medium) which was close enough (I guess) to the medium rare I ordered so as not to offend. But I truly tasted nothing. I asked a dining mate to try it (having given no indication of my thoughts), and the immediate response- "wow, that is incredibly bland" followed by- "is that a hair?". I have been back and tried it again to be sure it was not a one off experience. And it was the same conclusion. Great components, poor execution.

Not to mention the unexpectedly dry bun. Usually these babies are soft and supple, but this bad boy was D-R-Y and crunchy, but not because it may have been toasted (it wasn't), it was stale. Even if the burger had come out medium rare and potentially dripping with jus, the crumbly bun still would have been noticeable.

The fries were the saving grace (I think they mistakenly used the burger salt on THEM). Perfectly fried, nicely seasoned, and pillowy inside, I loved them. Next time I would steer away from the burger, but perhaps try something else that was accompanied by these crispy potato dreams. That is if I venture back during dining time.

Brewster River

(Smuggler's Notch Resort)
4087 Vt Route 108 S.
Jeffersonville, VT 05464
(802) 644-6366
Website

A long weekend in Vermont led to some delicious food and far too many hoppy beers. Brewster River is located by Smuggler's Notch, and is a great bar to grab some food after a day on the slopes. Unfortunately I don't  have any pictures of what is most certainly the best thing on the menu, the teriyaki duck wings. I forgot I was writing about the damn place and failed to gather photo evidence of EITHER order of the drummettes. They were fried perfectly and were so good, I ordered a second round upon completion of the first. I'll also admit that there were a few drinks involved before arriving, so that didn't help my photo taking skills...

They had a "Pittsburgh sandwich" which was based on the famous and over-rated Primanti Brothers "sandwich". As underwhelmed as I am with putting french fries and vinegar slaw on your thick bread and claiming it as your regional identity, I was willing to give it a go, as I had been drinking and it sounded filling.

Brewster executed a great version, but as the Achilles' heel lies in the sandwich itself, it was just kind of okay. The fries were crispy and salty, the pastrami was tender and the slaw was well seasoned. But the sandwich was just a bit dry and flavorless. Too much bread and potato is usually the culprit. Again, I am not criticizing the bar, but rather the city. And the hockey team.

The Godzilla burger was over the top. Pastrami, pulled pork, Beef Brisket, pork roll, smoked bacon, fried egg, hash brown, pepper jack and cheddar. The meat sweats were soon to follow. My biggest complaint, was that the fried egg was fried hard. The whole point is a runny yolk.

I guess the burger was good? You can see the egg yolk, a solid yellow. Otherwise a glutton's dream. And a big fat high five for including pork roll. That is a rarity outside of our area, and a solid breakfast meat underdog.

After gorging on the pub food, we proceeded downstairs where they have an executive-size pool table. It was a lot of fun. Great place to warm up after a cold day on the mountain.

Front Street Fountain

1 W Front Street
Media, PA 19063
(610) 565-4130
Website

Everybody's Hometown has a lot of great little Mom and Pop shops. Front Street Fountain is the perfect place to stop in for a hot dog or burger and some ice cream.

If you have kids, this is the place to go. It is always packed with young ones who are equally excited for a grilled dog as they are for a milkshake. Myself, I was most excited for chili cheese fries.

The fries were perfectly crispy, the cheese perfectly processed, and the chili was salty and chock full of meat. I was a happy camper.

They also layered the toppings quite nicely, making sure they were distributed throughout.

I wanted to give the burgers a try. The bleu onion boasted BBQ sauce, bleu cheese, and an onion ring. When I ordered, I had thought there might be a little more to it than that. I was wrong. I was wishing for some lettuce, tomato, onion, or something. I guess I should have known that the was quite literal. Anyway, from the below picture, I believe you can assess the situation as dry.

This was not a $7.25 burger. Especially when I could go to Freddy's and get a meal for that amount. The patty itself was under-seasoned and overcooked. The bread was overwhelming. The onion ring was nicely fried, but that was certainly not going to save this one. It was reminiscent of something that would be at a church cookout.

I had better luck with the crispy chicken club. The roll was fresh and spongy. The vegetables were crispy, as were the chicken and bacon. It ate more like a meal than the burger, and was a much better value.

The chicken breading was deliciously crunchy, and well fried. I needed extra mayo, but that usually is the case anyway. It wasn't mind blowing, but it was solid enough. Next time, I would recommend sticking to the chicken, dogs, and ice cream.

Clearly it's a family place and the kids all seemed more than happy with their plates so if you find yourself babysitting or on a road trip through Media with your niños, stop on in.

Billy Burger & Bakery

2 N 5 Points Rd #4
West Chester, PA 19380
(610) 431-3100
Website

A couple of friends had told me I needed to get out to Billy Burger in West Chester, and it admittedly took me much longer than it should have.

Billy Burger (and Bakery) is a busy operation, with staff members all happily buzzing about, keeping things moving. They also offer an extensive baked goods section, and I was blown away at how good the baked goods at this burger bar were.

Husband and wife duo Bill and Sally are the heart and soul of the operation. Bill has cooked every single burger that the place has put out since opening three years ago. Every. Single. Burger. His attention to detail and love are what make the burgers fantastic. Sally, on the other hand, is the mad genius behind the baking end of things. My god, can she bake.

The burgers are cooked on a gas fired indoor grill, and it gets hot enough to char the burgers perfectly.

Billy working his burger magic below.

I was informed that they were prepping for a local burger competition (hosted the next day) while I was there, and was asked if I would like to try their offering. Obviously. The below burger is topped with Mermaid BBQ sauce (a personal favorite), pineapple sambal, grilled ham, shredded lettuce, and cheese. Unfortunately, the slow roasted pork that was going on the official entry instead of the ham was still in the oven. The charred ham was so good, I don't think I missed the pork!

This burger was sloppy. Up to your elbows in pineapple teriyaki goodness, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I absolutely loved the sweetness of the sauce and sambal mixed with the smoky flavor that both the charred burger and ham contributed. This one was a winner in my book.

The waffle fries were also delicious, fried crispy and well seasoned. Billy Burger has true soul, something lacking in a lot of new restaurants, and you could certainly do worse than to go in there and order anything on the menu (try the chili dog). The owners were incredibly cool, and I have to say, this place rules.

Smashburger

St. David's Square
550 E. Lancaster Ave.
Radnor/Wayne, PA 19087
(610) 200-5225
Website

With over 200+ stores worldwide, Smashburger is a new-fangled chain that's finally making an appearance on the Philly burger scene. And it's about time. What are we, chopped liver?

Now, when I say "Philly scene," I really mean the main-line scene. I'd probably go where there's lots of money and hungry rich families too. But don't get your panties in a bunch - the managing partners are already talking about bringing a few Smashburger stores closer in to the city proper.

It's your typical fast-but-not-too-fast food joint inside, with standard benches, tables, drink fountain, etc. But at last night's preview, we were greeted right at the door by Dr. Tom Ryan - the inventor of stuffed crust pizza and the McGriddle, to name a few. That's right, he started his career at Pizza Hut, moved on to Long John Silver's, next McDonald's, finally Quizno's and only after all of that accumulated knowledge of the fast food world, he decided to conceptualize the Smashburger chain.

Alton who? I mean, this guy's nothing short of a genius. He's a food scientist to the highest degree, with a Ph.D. in Flavor and Fragrance Chemistry and his Masters in Lipid Toxicology, both from Michigan State. Oh, did I mention that he also invented THE DOLLAR MENU? I love this guy.

He took us back into the kitchen, where the magic happens. They use only 100% Certified Black Angus beef and it's ground chuck that's not pressed through a grinding plate, but chopped in a large, open chopping machine that's basically a big bowl with a bunch of blades circulating on the bottom. Like a glorified meat blender. So the meat comes out like it's been freshly chopped with knives instead of being pressed to death.

They ball it up each morning and store the meatballs in these awesome refrigerated drawers right under the flat top griddle. What a dream. Here's Dr. Tom giving his demo.

Here's what he made me eat.

But before getting too dirty, they started us off with the sides. Now, they do offer salads, but this crew doesn't have time for that sort of thing. Do that on your own time. The fries are awesome. Thin, shoestrings that are cooked to perfection. The Smashfries variety has them tossed with rosemary, garlic and olive oil. Simply delicious.

They also offer sweet potato fries, another simply delicious item, again, cooked just right.

Just when I thought I'd had enough, they brought out the fried pickles. These were okay. They're served with a ranch dressing dipping sauce, but you should ask for the chipotle aioli dipping sauce with everything. They were just a little bit too salty and sliced a little too thin for my liking. I really want to taste the pickle, not the batter.

And then came the haystack onion rings. Yum. These babies were sliced paper thin and dipped in a chicken fried steak batter, which is so perfect to get the thin & crunchy coating they should have. Now, I would never order these as a side because you can add them to your burger, which is where they belong. That being said, the spicy brown mustard mayo that came along is not to be missed.

He got me close to a salad with the other 'health' side option - veggie frites. It's just a fancy name for deep fried carrots and green beans. They were still crisp and fresh tasting, even after their par-cooking, quick dip in the fryer. Pardon the sparsity here, my table mates attacked the basket before I could get a handle on what was happening.

And just when I thought the burgers would never come, they seemed to be never ending.

The Classic came out first and was probably my favorite (until the next one came out) burger of the night. It was your basic cheeseburger with American, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and Smash Sauce (mayo, mustard and relish).

This one was cooked to perfection, a beautiful medium rare with a hard sear on the top and bottom. I really liked the simplicity here because the flavors in the well-seasoned beef patty were the most prevalent. Not too greasy, not too dry. This was perfect.

All right, second place goes to the BBQ bacon cheddar.

Applewood smoked bacon, cheddar and aforementioned haystack onions come on this one. The burger is smashed into a dollop of BBQ sauce on the griddle, then finished with another generous smear. The flavor profile here was balanced and every ingredient had an impact with each bite. Apparently they use regional BBQ sauces where they can: Carolina style, Texas, Tennessee, etc. Too bad we don't have a Philly style BBQ sauce, I guess that's where the next one comes in...

Now, I don't know if I was getting tired of eating burgers (yeah right) or if the quality of preparation and assembly took a minor turn, but the rest of the samples sort of fell off for me. Especially this one.

They're calling this the "Philly Smashburger," or something to that effect. They took a soft pretzel, smashed it with cheesesteak toppings and then threw a burger into the middle.

Not very good. The pretzel roll is too hard for a burger, everything slipped out. They use spicy mustard instead of yellow and it just failed on all levels. Enough said.

The truffle mushroom Swiss burger was overcooked and boring. With a drizzle of truffle oil, that's all you taste. Ever.

I'm not even going to talk about the (mushy) black bean burger. But I will mention the chipotle bun it was served on. It was a spicy delight. All of the buns here are light, fluffy and the perfect vessel for any burger. Yet another amazing production feat we can attribute to the incredible Dr. Tom Ryan.

And in case you're more of a poultry person, they offer fried eggs to top any and all of their burgers.

Oh yeah, and they serve chicken breast sandwiches too.

Smashburger is an all around delicious and gourmet alternative to the junk we're so used to eating at the big 3 fast food joints. They don't have a drive-through, so get out of your car and order inside. It won't kill you to take the extra steps, lord knows I needed them. They open tomorrow, so get out to Wayne and see for yourself.