1203 Paris Avenue
Nashville, TN
(615) 279-3767
I first noticed Burger Up on our last visit to Las Paletas, the Popsicle Mecca in Nashville. It was pretty packed then, but since we arrived in town around 1pm on a Wednesday, there wasn't a line around the corner. However, it was still bustling. Luckily, we were able to get a table on the patio right away. (The main dining room had large community tables, a few regular tables, and a large bar.)
Although there didn't seem to be too many kids in the restaurant, the waitress didn't blink when she saw the monkeys. When she seated us, she gave each monkey a book to read, which I thought was a nice touch.
As the kids read, Warren and I tackled the menu. Burger Up supports local farmers. It's stated at the bottom of the menu and there are a few farm references preceding ingredients on the menu.
There didn't appear to be a kids' menu, so we opted to let the monkeys split a Triple L Classic, which is their basic burger. Warren seemed torn, but he went with a turkey burger. I really wanted to try the veggie burger, which is made with quinoa and black beans. When the waiter came to take our order, Jiro immediately ordered pickle chips much to Satchel's delight. Warren and I approved of his executive decision and at Satchel's request I asked what the soup of the day was. I forget what it was, but it didn't appeal to him so we went ahead with our order. As a last minute add on, I upgraded my standard fries to truffle fries.
By now the boys were bored with their books, so I took a peek. That's when I noticed that the books were also doubling as kids' menus. A small menu was taped inside. D'oh!
Five bucks seemed like a decent amount for a kids' meal, but it also seemed as though it was geared towards monkeys a little younger, or at least with smaller appetites, so I was glad we ordered from the regular menu.
The pickle chips came out a few minutes later and both Satchel and Jiro were surprised to learn that they weren't pickled flavored potato chips. However, once they tried them Jiro declared that they were "the best stuff ever made of pickles."
As I looked around the patio, I was struck by the hipster scene. I felt like there were probably well known Nashvillians (?) in our midst, but not being locals we had no way of knowing. Even the waiters and waitresses seemed like they might be musicians earning a living between records.
Once the pickle chips were polished off it was just a matter of seconds before our burgers came out. We had several waiters come out together so that the four of us all got our burgers at exactly the same time. I thought that was a great touch and I was pleased to see that the monkeys' burger was pre-split. Each monkey also appeared to get a full order of fries.
Warren, totally against Team Oster etiquette, started eating before I could take a picture. Thankfully, his burger was not marred.
My veggie burger came out looking quite fetching, though I was a tad bummed to see that it was probably deep fried.
Jiro dug right in and declared his burger fantastic. Satchel attacked his fries and didn't stop until they were gone. He had no interest in the house made ketchup, which was good, but definitely tasted different than the standard Heinz.
The fries were really good, but different. Warren hypothesized that they were boiled before they were fried. They were super crispy on the outside and almost mashed potato-y on the inside. Also we had a difficult time distinguishing between the regular fries and my truffle fries.
Jiro barely touched his fries and Satchel barely touched his burger, but both seemed full. Warren and I made happy plates, but neither of us was blown away by our burgers. They were definitely made well and had quality ingredients, but they lacked any real punch. Flavor wise everything was just a tad blah.
On our way out, I happened to notice the specials board and had we noticed it earlier or thought to ask our waiter about specials we might have tried the Cuban burger with prosciutto and the summer burger with fried green tomato--both of which sounded very tasty. I'm giving our waiter the benefit of the doubt here. We may have started asking questions and ordering appetizers before he had a chance to do his usual run down of specials.
While we waited for the check, Satchel and I made a bathroom run. It was a one top that was very clean and nice. There was fancy spray and lotion but no changing table.
The dessert menu was tempting--Olive & Sinclair dark chocolate brownie, Bravo gelato, and a Krispy Kreme donut pudding, but we had our hearts set on paletas next door.
Our total bill was $42 plus tip, which was a tad more than we'd normally spend on lunch, but we don't mind paying extra for locally sourced ingredients.
3 comments:
You can't swing a cat in this town without hitting a session musician, so there's a good chance you were served by the next Clint Black Keys.
(Jeni's Ice Cream just opened in East Nashville, and I Dream of Weenie has moved around the corner from its former location and across the street from Pied Piper Creamery, if you want suggestions for your next visit.)
Awesome, thanks!
Grass fed beef generally is a bit less flavorful than the corn fed stuff most of us have been eating all of our lives. Also fries are double fried if fresh. Once at a low temperature to blanch or cook and then at a higher temperature to crisp up. A flavorful mashed interior with a crispy exterior is classically preferred. Once again our palates have become accustomed to fast food frozen instant schtuff.
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