I am easing into Bacon Week here on pFoody with an overdue review of Mayberry. Mayberry bills itself as A Grassroots American Eatery and is located downtown between Scotties and Hamburger Mary’s. The lunch menu can be described as comfort food with a twist. They do not have a web site for Mayberry (at least that I could find) but you can go to their Facebook page for more information.
They are also open for diner, with an expanded menu. It is part of the World Food Bar group.
We visited Mayberry on MLK day, and I ended up with the last burger of the day. My wife chose the Sloppy Josh and we we also ordered the Mac N Cheese and the Tater Tot Casserole. The menu is written on a chalkboard over the counter:
You know how people use “The” to sound all arrogant. Like THE Ohio State University and whatnot. I am not a big fan of that kind of puffery, but I think Josh is not out of line for calling the hamburger simply The Burger. The Burger is 3/4 pounds of ground beef (from Eckerlin at Findlay Market), Scott Farm Peppered Bacon (hence this review showing up in Bacon Week), Onion Marmalade, then topped with a poached egg. Behold… THE Burger ($8):
It is served with a mixed green salad (see… healthy) with a sweet homemade dressing. Diving into this ridiculously sized burger did guilt me enough to also eat the salad. This burger is over the top in so many ways. I was going to pass on the poached egg, but I decided to take it as designed the first time. You know, sometimes I do make good decisions.
My primary side was the Mac N Cheese ($3). It did not seem to be a baked Mac N Cheese (though I am no expert) and it appeared to have some cheese added in just before serving. I liked it, but I wasn’t crazy about it.
My wife went with the Sloppy Josh ($7). It is described as slow cooked beef (my wife said it tasted like really good pot roast) with rosemary, creamy cole slaw and spicy mustard.
I tried a little (as I shared the Burger with her) and it is a very tasty sandwich. Not sure I would forgo the burger, but it is very good.
My wife’s primary side was the Tater Tot Casserole ($3). This dish has received a lot of buzz, and it may have suffered from being built up too far.
Don’t get me wrong, it is good, but I was not overwhelmed. It could have also been that the burger experience was overwhelming all other things that day.
I WAS however very impressed by the restaurant, and will definitely return for the burger. If they had a Burger JR (say 1/3 pound) it would probably be a frequent lunch spot. It’s not every day I can (or should) tackle a 3/4 pound burger.
[…] I have recently discovered the joys of the poached egg thanks to the now discontinued Burger at Mayberry, and the few times I ordered something besides Sausage Gravy and Biscuits from Take the Cake Cafe. […]