We had never been to this place before, but we happened in one day in search of snackage before an arduous dinner ahead, and discovered to our surprise and delight that they had a burger on their menu, so we decided to return. 

Seeds in La Conner has kind of a cool layout and the atmosphere is pretty cozy. When we returned, we sat at the bar, as is our habit in most places we frequent, and ordered. Kurt ordered the meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and I ordered the Plain Jane with Cheese. It came with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and mayo. I ordered the cheddar for $1.50 extra. 

We waited a while before the food came because my partner in culinary critique ordered off the dinner menu. While we waited, the TVs were playing a strange show called Biz Kids, where the children in question were talking about the business of being children, if you can believe it; ya know, how they would pay for college, what they would be when they grew up, stuff like that, in annoying and sometimes ridiculous skits. We asked our friendly bartender to change it and she did, to soccer, which was as much of a relief as drinking water is after a long hike in the desert. And I hate soccer. 

When our food came I was super excited. The fries looked perfectly golden brown and crispy, the bun was perfectly toasted, and the veggies looked pretty fresh. A whole half pound of beef. The looks of this burger was promising. When I smelled it however, I picked up very little. So I took a bite. The burger was so well done that it rivalved the lettuce for crispness. And it was at that point that I also realized just how MUCH lettuce there was on this burger.

Let me be clear: I don't like well done meat. Ever. I know for a fact this is just a matter of my particular palette. BUT, this burger was literally crispy on the edges. So well done that I really couldn't taste the meat. The lettuce and the bun were also getting in the way of allowing the flavor to come through, but I am not sure it would have mattered had the burger been cooked to medium. It is at this point that I will tell you, if you like well-done meat, this is your place. If you don't, you might want to skip the burger. 

The scores were as follows:

KURT:

• Flavor            5
• Juiciness      4
• Vegetables   6
• Bun                8
• Source          6.5
• Value             6.5
• Synergy        6

SCORE:                   6

SARA:

• Flavor:            4
• Juiciness       4
• Vegetables   5
• Bun                 9
• Source           7
• Value             6
• Synergy         6

SCORE:                   6

The scores are a bit higher than either of us thinks they should be, but in all, the experience wasn't that bad, we just happen to be rare beef eaters. The mood was summed up perfectly by Kurt as we were exiting the bar: "I would rather watch two episodes of Biz Kids than eat another one of those burgers."

The meat was grass fed from California, and at $14, it was about what you would expect in a restaurant/bar type place. We did enjoy the oysters, the meatloaf, and the other things we have eaten there, the burger just wasn't our thing.

I was not expecting much from the burger if I am being honest. My partner in culinary critique and I had gone into C Square/Third Street Cafe a few times before and had mediocre experiences. I love co-ops, and all their endeavors, however, so I keep going back, hoping for improvement. 

That is why I was dreading this meal. I did not want to be in the position of having to slam a co-op. Thank goodness this burger turned out to be so tasty.

As is usually the case at the co-op, Kurt and I sat at the bar waiting for the server to finish her conversation with her friend who was also eating at the bar. I believe we waited too long, but Kurt felt like we barely waited at all, which I believe is the result of living in the PNW for so long and having to tolerate bad service. But, tomato tomahto.

We ordered, he the shrimp pasta dish and me the Third Street Burger. As we waited, we watched the kitchen staff work and spoke with a staff member who I had worked with at the Community Food Co op in Bellingham. It was quite pleasant, though again, seemed to me to be a long time to wait, and Kurt felt like it was not. Six of one, I guess.

When our food came, I was optimistic. One reason is that our server took our food out of the window as soon as it appeared, the other is that the burger was beautifully prepared, and smelled LIKE A BURGER. Which is always nice. The Co op gets their meat from Double R ranch, so it is clean and local, and when I bit into it, I could also tell that it was cooked perfectly to temp, the Medium we requested. The burger was juicy, had a great texture, and was flavorful. In fact, Kurt proclaimed it to be the best patty he had eaten in both thickness and flavor. So that really is something. It was served with fried leeks, very fresh lettuce, a tangy sauce and white cheddar. I could not find the cheddar flavor in the mix, but the sauce added a nice flavor; in fact I would say it even helped bring the flavor of the meat out.

The leeks became a bone of contention between Kurt and myself, as he kept referring to them as onions, "the onions are too overpowering," and I kept reminding him that, "those are leeks, actually." It got to the point where he finally let me know that, "It doesn't fuckin' matter, leeks are onions, babe." So....after we cleared that up, we got to scoring:

KURT:

• Flavor            9
• Juiciness      8.5
• Vegetables   6
• Bun                8
• Source          8    
• Value             7
• Synergy        6

Score:                      7.5

SARA:

• Flavor           9
• Juiciness     9
• Vegetables  6
• Bun               6
• Source         8.5
• Value            6
• Synergy       7

Score:                    7.5

So, Leek Argument not withstanding, (Kurt thought they were overpowering flavor-wise and I thought they were a bit too tough), this really was a good solid burger. At $13, it is standard for a burger of this quality at a restaurant of this type, though by no means a great deal. The fries were pretty standard; salted nicely but somewhat anemic. My guess is that the co op has not gotten the memo about double-frying their french fries.

So, in sum, we both vote yes on this burger, my faith in this cafe has been partially renewed, AND, I basically went along with Kurt's assessment of the "onions" just because life is not always about arguing over the difference between "leeks" and "onions," if you catch my drift.

​

There we were, in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere, idling next to a caboose, ordering burgers, fries, and a shake. We had heard great things about this place they called The Skagit Burger Express, but as with all other situations where you are relying on the opinions of strangers, I was only cautiously optimistic.

Of course, when it arrived, and I opened my styrofoam box and beheld the burger in all its brightly colored, fresh-veggie glory, I had an inkling that I might indeed be in for a special kind of treat.

When I ever eat a burger, and I try to do this once a week at the least, I determine its success based on several factors, which I will only briefly go into. In a word, the burger, in its entirety must contain contrasts. The vegetables should be crunchy to offset the relative mushy nature of the patty and the bun. The sweetness of the tomatoes should compliment the sharpness of the onion, and the pickles should bring out the flavor of the patty and the cheese with its saltiness. 

There is obviously much more to it than that, but with this description, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this burger had it all. Though the patty was most definitely well done, it still held an abundance of flavor, and the bun was just sturdy enough to hold up throughout the course of my meal. As with other burger interludes, my partner in culinary critique ordered the double version of my burger, and I can honestly say that in this case, more meat did not make this better.

In addition, the service was incredibly welcoming and friendly, and knew that the burger was local-ish and grass fed. It was, in its entirety, a most satisfying experience. The scores were as follows:

KURT:

• Flavor             8
• Juiciness       6.5
• Bun                 8
• Vegetables    9
• Source           9
• Value              9
• Synergy         9

Final Score: 8.5

SARA:

• Flavor               8
• Juiciness         6
• Bun                  9
• Vegetables     9
• Source            9
• Value              10
• Synergy         10

Final Score: 8.5

 Yes, it was a fine day for eating burgers in the valley, and as of this writing, this one is officially my favorite. But, as usual, I think Kurt summed it up best when he looked up at me after the last bite of his double burger was consumed, and said wistfully, with a tear in his eye, "It made me want to hug that wooden burger and wail, Halleluyah!! to the blue sky above." Yes, there are even burger statues at this amazing place. They do indeed have EVERYTHING.

So the next time you have 7 bucks in your pocket and a hankerin' for a burger done right, look no further than Skagit Burger Express. They are making MAGIC in that little red cabboose!!!