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Vintage Grille’s Bumper-to-Bumper Burger

Nestled between two grilled cheese sandwiches, the Bumper-to-Bumper burger from Vintage Grille on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA is hearty.

My quest for burger bliss brings me back to Shrewsbury Street to the Vintage Grille. Formerly Junior’s, this unique restaurant setup occupies and old garage and mechanic shop. The garage bay doors still function and offer open air seating during the summer months. Being the tail end of summer, the doors were still open with the Red Sox game on the flat screen TVs surrounding the bar. I had been to the previous restaurant (Junior’s) several years and remembered a similar theme for the restaurant, but it had an renewed sense of purpose and attitude about it; from the unique automotive signs hung on the wall, to the menu and the wait staff. I had a Landshark Lager to whet my whistle and then took to the menu to figure out what I wanted to devour for dinner.

Throughout my burger ventures, I have not really had a burger that was crazy or out of the ordinary. While I have come across some delicious burgers, they were all of the generic meat-between-two-buns variety. The burger I ordered was called the Bumper-to-Bumper burger ($11.99). This burger was topped with minced red onions, lettuce, pickles, Thousand Island dressing and served between two grilled cheese sandwiches! I was in the mood to be adventurous and this burger seemed to fit the bill. When the waitress served me my dinner, the burger was massive; I was going to have to pull my best anaconda impression and unhinge my jaw just to bite into it.

The burger was cooked to a nice medium consistency, however could’ve benefitted from some additional seasoning in the meat. The red onion gave a nice crunch and spicy bite to the dish. The best part about the burger was in fact the grilled cheeses. The bread was more buttery than a normal burger roll usually is. The edged were crispy and the interior was light and fluffy. The slices of bread for the grilled cheese weren’t overly thick, so it didn’t make the burger completely inedible. The cheese was fully melted within the grilled cheese and was more plentiful than a regular burger would have. There was always more, ooey-gooey cheese in each bite when you wanted it. The fries were thick cut steak fries that were seasoned nicely and fried to a golden brown consistency. A nice, hearty potato side to accompany a hearty burger.

As if all of this food wasn’t enough, we decided to taste their unique take on a Fried Fluffernutter sandwich for dessert, topped with whipped cream, chocolate and strawberry drizzle, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The PB and Fluff was warm and creamy. The bread was fried perfectly to create a decadent crust on the exterior. If you want a dessert that is out of this world, I suggest you stop by for this classic!

Where will my burger adventure take me next? If you have suggestions of any great burger places, tweet me @EDioufUC5 and your suggestion just might make my short list. Until next time…

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The XXR Burger from Park Grill & Spirits

The spicy XXR Burger from Park Grill & Spirits

Set back from the street on the quieter end of Park Avenue, past Worcester mainstays of Blue Jeans Pizza, Loft 266, Leitrim’s and Shiraz (wonderful middle eastern fare) is the Park Grill & Spirits restaurant. A modest curb appeal with premium parking in front of the restaurant makes the space seem smaller than it really is. The front of the restaurant is the bar, adorned with a generous bar, table top seating and a section for live music. A small hallway leads back to a dining room with seating for upwards of 30-50 patrons during their busy hours. As we made our way back to the dining room, we noticed that we were the only ones there for dinner…a sad state of affairs for any restaurant on a mid-week night. Although, we were enjoying the peace and quiet, although we were still able to hear 90’s tunes being sung from the bar area, which unfortunately sounded more like karaoke than composed musicians.

Anyways, I digress…when it came to picking a burger, I needed to try something different. I had done the bacon route, and the mushroom route, with various cheeses and different toppings. But for those of you who may or may not know, I love a spicy burger. Every time I see a burger that might awaken my taste buds, I have to order it. However, I am usually searching for more heat and am disappointed at the end of the meal. So when I come across the XXR Burger on the menu, I am intrigued. The burger is topped with hot capicola, lettuce, tomato, onion, provolone cheese and XXR sauce. The XXR sauce was described by the waitress as extremely hot and spicy…sold! I got my burger with no tomato and cooked medium. When the burger came out, the XXR sauce was dripping from all sides of the burger, bright red in color, speckled with seeds from whichever pepper it was derived from and resembling liquid hot magma; a visual reminder of my impending doom. However, with taste buds intact, I dive in. The first bite was juicy and gooey with cheese. The burger, seemed to be cooked a nice medium, however appeared as though it was a frozen patty minutes before presentation. Then the heat from the sauce kicks in. Slowly at first and then quick and abrupt…like slamming on the brakes in your car or getting slapped across the face. My mouth was alive. For the first couple of bites, the sauce had great flavor. Very smoky and almost fruity in a sense, but the heat turned out to be cumulative. I found myself reaching for my soda and fries to help quench the unquenchable burn that was happening in my mouth and on my lips.

At this point, the onion, cheese and lettuce were rendered indistinguishable in texture and flavor as they were all consumed by the heat from the XXR sauce. The fries provided a crispy relief doused in ketchup, but this was one of those burns that only time and dairy could calm. After suffering through the end of my burger, I was overcome with joy knowing that I no longer had to consume anymore of this burger. I had apparently met my match when it comes to spicy burgers. You can’t say that I wasn’t warned, as the waitress gave an accurate description of the sauce and I still willingly jumped at the opportunity to try it. As the old saying goes, hindsight is 20/20…as was the case with my burger choice; decent sized patty, buttery bun, great toppings, yet overpowered by one ingredient. But as the burn slowly fades away, my vision is looking forward; forward to my next burger destination. Where will my burger quest take me next? I guess you will have to wait to find out. Until next time…

Have suggestions for burgers in the Central MA area? Tweet me at @edioufuc5.