Jun
19

We’re on a Road to… Burgers

Angel:
“We’re on a road to…(burgers).” Okay, so that isn’t quite the lyrics to the Talking Heads song, but that was ours.

4 days, 3 nights, and (at least) 6 burgers, many stops, and fun times for all… or at least the two of us.

Every journey starts with a single step and the first step in this journey took just over 5 hours and spanned almost 300 miles, to Alfred State College.

I don’t know what your college dorm food experiences where like, but mine… lets just say I remember a small salad bar, a lot of things they called bagels, Ben & Jerry’s and the other gruel (that my mind blocked for the protection of my sanity… or maybe it was the beer). So, when I saw a college on the list of the best burgers in NY, and it wasn’t the Culinary Institute, I was scared and began having flashbacks.

Sean:
With my college dining hall experiences rivaling Angel’s, I was equally hesitant. That is, until we found ourselves talking to one of Angel’s cousins. Now in college himself, not only couldn’t he stop talking about how great their food was, but he was naming the various gourmet dishes they served on a daily basis. He easily reinvigorated our excitement and we left him both hopeful and cautiously optimistic.

Angel:
I will say, “poor Sean.” I worked a very long and very late job the day before we left, so he was dealing with a brain dead individual. After being trapped in the car for 5 hours while my brain felt like it was leaking out of my ear, we finally arrived at Alfred State. Never feeling so old, and with much trepidation, we walked in.

This cafeteria was everything I thought it would be and (unfortunately) not what I hoped.

As we entered, we saw the nominated Asian inspired burgers prominently displayed in the front hot food counter window. Being late in the lunch hour, we ordered, were served, and found ourselves seated in front for our two Asian Mandarin burgers quicker then a drive though.

With a smaller size, they were just a bit bigger then a slider and the meat was a bit rounded like a meatball topped with a pile of matchstick mandarin orange peal and scallions.

Sean:
While we respect the creativity and attempted infusion of flavors, we simply can’t recommend the stop.

Angel:
After 5.5 hours of driving and a short 10 minute break for the burgers, we were walking back to car to drive another 1.5hours for the next burger on the list, McGirk’s Ale House. A previous visit had us eager to go back knowing it would be a great burger, beer and good times.

Sean:
We arrived at McGirk’s and it was just as we remembered: a great live band was performing, the beer was flowing, and everyone was having a grand ol’ time. Even though there was a healthy and lively crowd enjoying themselves, it didn’t take long for us to be seated and presented menus.

Angel:
While skimming over the burger description, we both missed the part that said it wasn’t corned beef over a patty, but an actual patty formed from chopped corned beef with coleslaw. With neither of us being a fan of coleslaw, we weren’t looking forward to the this burger.

It soon arrived and, although it didn’t fill bun, my taste buds were singing with joy. It wasn’t as good as my mom’s coleslaw but that is a hard race to win. I can easily say it’s top 5… I would definitely eat a side of that.

The corned beef was great in flavor but a bit dry as the stand a lone beef in the bun. If offered, I’d have it again, but it would be hard to order over what won them the regional title last year, the Irish Whiskey BBQ Jack Burger, a1/2 lb. juicy Angus burger topped with their Irish Whiskey BBQ sauce, Monterrey Jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and fried onions (you can read about our experience with that burger here).

Sean:
Once again, creativity was running high. We’d never before heard of a burger actually made of ground corned beef, but it was a nice and tasty new experience… especially for lovers of corned beef. The biggest problems, as Angel mentioned, were that it didn’t come close to filling the bun which in turn made it far drier than preferred.

Since we were simply splitting the burger, and wanted a (slight) change and something tad healthier, we also ordered a Hibernian Black & Bleu Salda (Fresh romaine, blackened flat iron steak strips, tomatoes, bacon, bleu cheese crumbles, and tossed in a Caesar dressing) to split as well. Due to Angel’s abhorrence to bleu cheese, we asked for it on the side so I could enjoy it. As a salad, this one did not disappoint. Everything was fresh and the steak was tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Thoroughly enjoyable.

With two more burgers down, almost 7 hours worth of driving for the day, and a few more days worth of burgers (and driving) ahead of us, we called it an early night as we retreated to our hotel rooms anticipating what the next few days would bring us.

As we mentioned last week, the Boilermaker is NOW available! If you’re in the Utica area, please do yourself a favor and stop by either Babe’s Macaroni Grill or Carmella’s Cafe before July 14th to enjoy one of the delicious burgers yourself.

In the meantime, enjoy our favorite commercial promoting the incredible burger: