Category: Casual Eats

Whether you’re looking to enjoy a quick bite to eat at the bar or sitting down to relax without the fanfare associated with white linen and fancy wine menus, Casual Eats takes a look at all of the food that can be enjoyed when you’re able to sit back and unwind.

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#SundayFunday: Boston Burger Company – A Frappe Lover’s World

Smores from Boston Burger Company

Traveling for a food adventure has become the highlight of most weekends but in our #SundayFunday column, we look to expand the gastronomic pleasures of travel to feature some of Massachusetts’ most underrated food destinations.

Known for its baked beans, creampies, and clam chowdah (yes, chowdah – not chowder,) Boston is a place of no-nonsense eating. Sticking to its traditional values and food groups, Boston is all about its history, its baseball franks and its hearty meals. That is why, it’s no surprise that hidden behind the name Boston Burger Company there is a tradition of sweet, satisfying, over-the-top frappes. If you’re not from Boston, then the term “frappe” is just as confusing as “chowdah” but not to worry, at the Boston Burger Company in Cambridge, MA, you can have it all.

A milkshake is New England is only shaken milk and syrup, not to be confused with a frappe which is a mixture of ice cream, milk, and syrup (in Boston, words have different meanings.) To compensate for the confusion and the battle between frappe vs. milkshake, Boston Burger Company takes it a step further with their #freakfrappes – a combination of ice cream, milk, and syrup, topped with sweets like an actual layer of strawberry shortcake or a horizontal graham cracker smothered in marshmallows and melted chocolate. Each frappe is presented in a tall sexy glass and every part of the glass is used as part of the #freakfrappe. No space is overlooked. The S’more Than You Can Handle #freakfrappe is a frozen hot chocolate frappe with a graham cracker rim (crumbled graham crackers sprinkled onto the rim of the glass), chocolate syrup, and topped with a wicked (a.k.a “great”) big s’more.

Visually, the #freakfrappes are a play on adult nostalgia. It is a calling to our childhoods, when all we wanted to do was mix all our favorite sweets into one great big bowl of ice cream. M&Ms, Oreos, Nutella (a cult classic), peanut butter, and melted chocolate are only but a few of the options offered at Boston Burger Company and they are the essential components of any good frappe.

Of course, the Boston Burger Company serves their famous burgers like the Hot Mess, featured on the Rachel Ray Show, a burger with bacon, sweet potato fries, homemade thousand island dressing, diced pickles, jalapeño, red onion, lettuce, and American cheese – but honestly, who cares about the delicious burgers and fries when you can sustain yourself with a #freakfrappe? Oh, and since it’s #SundayFunday, ask for a Boozy Frappe – you’ll thank us later.

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Head to Ralph’s for Music and a Burger

The Burger from Ralph's in Worcester, MA

There’s something that’s oddly charming about a dive bar. The history, the décor, the clientele and the variety that you find can sometimes have your head spinning for days. While some might avoid the quintessential “dive bar” with a reputation of being dirty and catering to questionable characters, I tend to gravitate towards them. It is only in this atmosphere that you can have a melting pot of so many different individuals who come together from different walks of life, co-mingling shoulder to shoulder, having a great time, conversing and sharing a cold one. Ralph’s Diner is no exception. According the Ralph’s website, the diner was built in 1930 by the Worcester Lunch Car Company, and is actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was moved to its current location on Grove Street and connected to a 19th century-two story brick building that was originally a fire station.

While one doesn’t typically associate food with dive bars, it is amazing to find that Ralph’s grills up one of the best no-frills burgers in Worcester. We headed to Ralph’s one evening to catch some live music and we figured  – Why not have a bite at the diner? Sitting at one of the counter top stools in the dining car is a throwback to simpler times in it’s own right. Touches of chrome trim, worn and carved wood and linoleum surfaces show the age and history of the dining car. While it is dimly lit, a counter spot gives you a front row seat to see your burger’s preparation. For $8, you get a massive hand-made, hand-formed burger cooked on a gas grill no bigger than a place mat. The burger is served with American cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato (but not for me), pickles and a bag of Lay’s potato chips. The chef/bartender/jack-of-all-trades will even plop down a condiment cart with everything from standard ketchup and mustard, to mayo, BBQ sauce, and Sriracha.

What amazed me was that the cook was able to prep the burger and place it on the grill and leave for 6-8 minutes while she was off pouring drinks and taking additional orders, only to come back to flip the burger and prep the plate with the veggies. Normally, I would’ve been skeptical of the cook time; thinking that the burger would be over done or just overall poor in quality. That was not the case as all. After a quick toast of the bun over an open flame, the burger sat before me, ready for my first bite. The burger was cooked perfectly medium on the interior. The meat was seasoned nicely and had great texture. When I say that this burger is no-frills, I truly mean it. This was one of the best “plain” burgers I have had since the beginning of my Mass Foodies journey. It is “plain” in the sense that it consists simply of a bun, a burger patty, lettuce, onion, pickles and some BBQ sauce. It was basic…and it was wonderful! Sometimes too many ingredients can get in the way of each other and essentially ruin a burger. You should be able to taste the flavor of the meat and to compliment basic ingredients, which this burger readily accomplished.

Maybe it was the ‘Gansett on tap or good company, but it seemed like this venture on the path-less-taken was just what the doctor ordered. The live music was quality and people-watching never gets old in places like this. The eclectic decorations and well travelled floors ooze character that you can’t find or replicate without seeming phony nowadays. A dive bar scene is alive and well in Worcester and Ralph’s is a testament to the city’s rich history, it’s staying power, and how something as simple as a great cheeseburger will continue to keep the crowd coming back for more. If you have a favorite burger spot that you want me to check out, tweet me at @EDioufUC5 and maybe your suggestion will become my next burger destination. Until next time…