It is a sad fact of my life that every summer, my fella and partner in culinary critique must leave and go fight fires. Yes, he is rugged and manly, and that makes up for my sorrow, but about this time every year, I start to get just a little sad that the old boy won't be around as much, and yes, dear reader, this means that these posts will be even fewer and further between until about the end of September.
On this sunny Sunday, Kurt brought me to the Conway Pub and Eatery, a place we had attempted to visit several times before, but each time it had been much too busy, and well, I could say that my fella hates waiting in line with a passion that burns brighter than a thousand suns and I would not be overstating it by much.
On this particular Sunday, we found an open table outside, after we walked through the strange bottleneck entrance which leads people through the bar and into the restaurant. We sat down and soon enough were greeted by a young chipper server who would refer to us, and to every other two top around us, as, "you two," causing confusion amongst the lot of us as to who she was referring.
The back eating area is comprised of a mix of different types of tables, most with beer umbrellas over them. There is a large US flag happy hour banner hanging on the far side of the yard, and when the wind blows from the proper direction, the fresh smell of cow maneur fills the air. In short, a delightful little eating space.
I ordered the famous 1/2 lb hamburger with cheese (only 30 cents extra,) Kurt ordered a steak and a Rainier, and as we sat there, listening to the blues playing inside, I pondered exactly what type of beer Rainier was (Miller is the champagne of beers, Budweiser is the King,) and was informed that Rainier was "Mountain Fresh."
I asked him if mountains were indeed fresh, and he looked at me incredulously and stated, "It ain't rocket science, baby, at least not to me." Then went on to explain that water coming down off the mountains is considered "fresh." I am always learning from my fella. I think that is what makes it work.
It was about this time that the food came out, and it looked great. We looked around for condiments and found them in an old bucket on the table with other stuff. When I went to squirt the ketchup on my chipped plate in which to dip my fries, it was clear that the bottle had not been cleaned in quite some time. I carried on anyway.
The burger was delicious. It was seasoned very well, the pickles was crisp and flavorful, the veggies, (tomato, lettuce and onion) were crisp and fresh, and the bun was perfectly toasted. It was then that I asked our server if the meat was local, and she said she would go ask the cooks. The burger patty was juicy, and both Kurt and I believed this to be one of the better burgers we had eaten. The scores were as follows:
KURT:
SCORE: 7.5
SARA:
SCORE: 7.5
You might be wondering about the source issue. Or, you might not care. Many people don't. Well, our spritely server forgot to ask, so before our check came, I asked again. Even as she told us that she would ask, she seemed pretty tentative. It is something I think about a lot, local food and food from away, and I wouldn't say that local or organic beef has ever proven to be more tasty than regular beef, but, I do know that the fresher the meat, the better it is, and in general, the less hormones and crap in my food, the better it is for my body. On a whole other level, I believe very strongly in putting my money into local pockets, and when the places I frequent do not at least try and use local whenever possible, I will try to find another place that does.
Moments later, the server came back and told us that she was afraid to ask the cooks where the meat was from because it was so busy and they were all in bad moods. I had to laugh because this is the case in many restaurants; the front and the back of the house are sometimes at odds, for whatever reason, and what ends up happening is the customer gets the short end of the stick because the servers are very often humbled by the cooks.
So...yeah. I have no idea where the meat is from, but I do know that it was DELICIOUS, well seasoned, and altogether, a delightful eating experience. At just 10.29 it is one of the best values for a burger in the valley, especially when you consider that the patty is a full half pound, and as I have said before, and I believe in most cases this holds true, more meat is always better.
On this sunny Sunday, Kurt brought me to the Conway Pub and Eatery, a place we had attempted to visit several times before, but each time it had been much too busy, and well, I could say that my fella hates waiting in line with a passion that burns brighter than a thousand suns and I would not be overstating it by much.
On this particular Sunday, we found an open table outside, after we walked through the strange bottleneck entrance which leads people through the bar and into the restaurant. We sat down and soon enough were greeted by a young chipper server who would refer to us, and to every other two top around us, as, "you two," causing confusion amongst the lot of us as to who she was referring.
The back eating area is comprised of a mix of different types of tables, most with beer umbrellas over them. There is a large US flag happy hour banner hanging on the far side of the yard, and when the wind blows from the proper direction, the fresh smell of cow maneur fills the air. In short, a delightful little eating space.
I ordered the famous 1/2 lb hamburger with cheese (only 30 cents extra,) Kurt ordered a steak and a Rainier, and as we sat there, listening to the blues playing inside, I pondered exactly what type of beer Rainier was (Miller is the champagne of beers, Budweiser is the King,) and was informed that Rainier was "Mountain Fresh."
I asked him if mountains were indeed fresh, and he looked at me incredulously and stated, "It ain't rocket science, baby, at least not to me." Then went on to explain that water coming down off the mountains is considered "fresh." I am always learning from my fella. I think that is what makes it work.
It was about this time that the food came out, and it looked great. We looked around for condiments and found them in an old bucket on the table with other stuff. When I went to squirt the ketchup on my chipped plate in which to dip my fries, it was clear that the bottle had not been cleaned in quite some time. I carried on anyway.
The burger was delicious. It was seasoned very well, the pickles was crisp and flavorful, the veggies, (tomato, lettuce and onion) were crisp and fresh, and the bun was perfectly toasted. It was then that I asked our server if the meat was local, and she said she would go ask the cooks. The burger patty was juicy, and both Kurt and I believed this to be one of the better burgers we had eaten. The scores were as follows:
KURT:
- Flavor: 7.5
- Juiciness: 8
- Vegetables: 8
- Bun: 8
- Source: 3
- Value: 8.5
- Synergy: 9
SCORE: 7.5
SARA:
- Flavor: 8
- Juiciness: 8
- Vegetables: 8
- Bun: 7.5
- Source: 2
- Value: 9
- Synergy: 9
SCORE: 7.5
You might be wondering about the source issue. Or, you might not care. Many people don't. Well, our spritely server forgot to ask, so before our check came, I asked again. Even as she told us that she would ask, she seemed pretty tentative. It is something I think about a lot, local food and food from away, and I wouldn't say that local or organic beef has ever proven to be more tasty than regular beef, but, I do know that the fresher the meat, the better it is, and in general, the less hormones and crap in my food, the better it is for my body. On a whole other level, I believe very strongly in putting my money into local pockets, and when the places I frequent do not at least try and use local whenever possible, I will try to find another place that does.
Moments later, the server came back and told us that she was afraid to ask the cooks where the meat was from because it was so busy and they were all in bad moods. I had to laugh because this is the case in many restaurants; the front and the back of the house are sometimes at odds, for whatever reason, and what ends up happening is the customer gets the short end of the stick because the servers are very often humbled by the cooks.
So...yeah. I have no idea where the meat is from, but I do know that it was DELICIOUS, well seasoned, and altogether, a delightful eating experience. At just 10.29 it is one of the best values for a burger in the valley, especially when you consider that the patty is a full half pound, and as I have said before, and I believe in most cases this holds true, more meat is always better.
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