Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Conceptually Sound

Quarter lb cheeseburger by jaceman4
Quarter lb cheeseburger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.
Okay, granted I went to a service station off the highway which is only marginally better than eating at the airport, but still, I have yet to see a Roy Rogers not in a service station off the highway. Now I had remembered generally good things about Roy Rogers but I suppose I'm such a burger snob now that I must inevitably be disappointed by something like this. Theoretically it's a pretty nifty concept, it's basically Arby's meets Wendy's meets a condiment bar. Execution however, was lacking, I'm going to blame the service station.

Yes, there is a patty under there, it wasn't phenomenal, but it was pretty good. You can't really rate the fixings or condiments a whole lot when you kind of pick your own, the selection overall was pretty good, with banana peppers added to the normal selection of pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes. I opted for mayo and their BBQ sauce, which was nice and tangy. Otherwise, a generally forgettable meal.

The fries were pretty typical of a fast food joint, let's say comparable to Wendy's, good not great. If you find a Roy Rogers not in a service station I'd like to know where so I can go. Otherwise, it's not really worth making a trip for.

Is it a burger, is it a sandwich?

Reuben Burger by jaceman4
Reuben Burger, a photo by jaceman4 on Flickr.
I do get good burgers at work, that I have to say. The special for the day was a Reuben burger which to me is intriguing because it's sort of up to interpretation in regards to what exactly would be a Reuben burger. Is it a burger with a Reuben sandwich on top? While generally everyone agrees that you need to have saurkraut and Russian dressing and Swiss cheese, do you include the pastrami/corned beef or do you just use some kind of seasoned ground beef patty? Do you use grilled rye bread or a standard bun? Well, my place opted to go with the former on the first and the latter on the second.

It was a good burger, Bob, the expert burger maker in the cafeteria does a great job of making sure my burger is done just right somehow by just poking it. I don't know the secret either. Maybe he has a magic finger thermometer. All in all it was a good burger, though the cheeses and sauces my work cafeteria use are of a more mild flavor in general. The fixings are always fresh, the saurkraut good but also a little on the mild side for my tastes. Overall it's what I've come to expect from the place, good, high quality burgers without a lot of fuss or frills.

The fact they have freshly fried steak fries does make for a good side as well. If you ever do visit while I am working, I will make sure you can try one.