Westwood Restaurant & Pub

Beef Boy and I ventured out to Westfield, MA with Mr. and Mrs. Maples today. We typically travel there periodically for a "Murphy's Irish Red Run", a great import that we can't get in Berkshire County. Mr. Maples has a "connection" and he is generous enough to share with me.

We knew we wanted to eat out and we had been to the Westwood Restaurant & Pub for drinks before. They have one of the largest circular bars I have ever seen in person. It is probably 3 to 4 times bigger than the bar shown in Cheers. They have a nice menu, so we figured next time we were in town we would try their nosh.

Their menu describes their signature burger as follows: "Pub Burger - Half pound of fresh, lean ground black Angus beef patty frilled to perfection then topped with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Served with french fries or coleslaw. $7.95" One can "Add bacon to your sandwich for $.75 or cheese for $.50. Choice of cheese: Swiss, Provolone, Cheddar, or American. Add any of the following toppings for $.50: Sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onions or roasted red peppers." "Have your burger or salad chicken, steaks or shrimp blackened, teriyake, or BBQ for $.50 extra."

The burger arrived as you see it above. The sourdough bun was grilled nicely. There were 2 thick slices of tomato along with 1 leaf of green leaf lettuce. It was topped off by 3 single rings of onion. On to the burger itself... It was hand formed, topped with American cheese, and cooked on the grill, resulting in a beautiful sear. Mine was a bit cumbersome to eat due to the thickness of the tomatoes and onions, but it was done to a juicy, luscious medium and damn it... I wish this was a Berkshire County establishment! It was really, really tasty. Beef Boy's experience mirrored mine, so it showed consistency in the cooking. Nice!

The fries were skin on and lightly salted and crisp. The pickle... a little to flaccid for my taste.

All in all a delightful meal and we agreed on 4 1/2 burgers as the final rating.

We are happy to report that it is a Coca-Cola establishment.

Westwood Restaurant and Pub
94 North Elm Street
Westfield, MA 01085
(413) 564-6963

Coffee Parisien

Our Adventurous niece is an au pair in Paris for the year. She was kind enough to send this special report, the first of its kind outside of Berkshire County... as a matter of fact, outside of the U.S.! So, without further ado, live and on the ground, straight from the trenches of Paris, France:

Coffee Parisien
46, Rue de Sablonville, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
"BACONCHEESEBURGER"
14 euros (roughly $21.70 American)

As a fairly picky American living in Paris, I found out, very quickly, where to find the best burger Paris has to offer. It's a joke among the French that American food is fast food. I can't help but object, but must acknowledge, at the same time, that the Frogs are half right. We invented Hungry Man dinners (ask the proprietor of this blog for scary sodium information about my favorite frozen turkey meal), McDonald's, airplane food... need I go on? The burger, I believe, technically wasn't one of our own inventions. We just figured out how to mass produce and effectively market the (soy) cow, if you will.

So because canard and frites or jambon and something scary can't be eaten every night of the week, we must, as humans, resort to something more familiar and basic. And what is more pleasant or comforting than a big slab of ground beef surrounded by bread and hopefully cheese, ketchup, and spicy mustard.

Coffee Parisien provides just that. I've eaten there multiple times and I believe I almost always order the BACONCHEESEBURGER. It's delicious. I order it "à point" (pronounced a pwan) which is medium rare. I think it's generally been a technically good medium rare, by most American restaurant standards. The restaurant itself stands testament to the sort of "Camelot" image of America. JFK owns the place; his and Jackie's photos differentiate the men's and women's bathrooms. You can order milkshakes (which frankly, aren't worth the 7 euros). The placemat of the restaurant is a photo diagram of all of the American Presidents.



Trendy is really the best word to describe the place. It's always full on the weekends and Mr. Jean Sarkozy has been spotted there. The Coffee Parisien in the 6th arrondissement is frequented by Hollywood types. Well, kind of Euro-Hollywood types. Read: Diane Kruger. But the best way to describe Coffee Parisien is simply as a French diner that's trying to be American-ish. "Quelconque." (Plain, ordinary)


My BACONCHEESEBURGER arrived on a lightly toasted sesame-seed bun with lettuce, tomatoes, and onion. The bacon used at Coffee Parisien is more like ham-con, which suits a burger well. The cheese is cheddar. It was accompanied by the lovely "hashbrown" that you see above.

The specific time in question, ie, when this photo was taken, I had forced my visiting mother and sister to travel to Neuilly for a cheeseburger, because I knew they would be disappointed in one they acquired anywhere else. Unfortunately, because my mother and sister are pains in the ass, they both asked for modifications to their meals: they wanted mashed potatoes. If I've learned one thing about France, it's this: never ask for anything that's not on the menu. Never try to change anything. If you really want the salad, but are allergic to pickles, choose something else. If you make them accommodate you, they will usually do so happily. But in making a change, something will likely go terribly wrong. Equilibrium is lost. The world becomes a spinning vortex and before you know it, you've woken up in Prince's (or the Artist Formerly Known as Prince's??) bed and it's the year 2037. He is no longer hot. He is no longer human. Anyway, those are the consequences you face if you want to shake things up... so go ahead, as you like. Anyway, my little sister got a bacon cheeseburger with no bacon and the hamburger itself was completely rare (she had ordered it a little past medium). I ate it happily, but I'm also disgusting in my love of raw meat. My hamburger was overcooked, but everything on my plate was otherwise normal. I think my mother got the California Chicken Burger, which was also delicious.

Because now that I've done the conversion and am forced to remember how expensive everything here is, I want to give the cheeseburger two hamburgers. But due to lack of other options and just it's inherent goodness, I'm giving it three. If we were in the Berkshires, though, you'd be sure that I'd get a hell of a lot more than a BACONCHEESEBURGER for twenty-bucks....

Proud to report it is a Coca-Cola establishment and they also serve Ben and Jerry's and Stewart's sodas. Hell yes, America.

Coffee Parisien
46, Rue de Sablonville, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Tel : 01 46 37 13 13

The Mill Town Tavern

So close and yet...

As you know, we have had a number of places recommended for a burger. The establishment that we visited today was The Mill Town Tavern located in Dalton. Their menu boasts "Burgers Are Our Specialty." We were excited about the fact that this seemed to be the first place where the burger was their "tour de force" so to speak.

Straight from the menu, the Milltown Burger at $ 8.99 is "Our signature Burger!!!! Half pound Angus burger with Havarti cheese (horseradish & chive) topped with bacon and caramelized onions. Outstanding!!!" Please note that all exclamation points were copied exactly as it reads on the menu. Just by the punctuation we were cranked for the experience! ... or would that be !!!? All their burgers are served with a pickle and their "delicious" french fries.

The burger arrived as you see it above. The cornmeal dusted kaiser roll was grilled and came with a small to medium slice of tomato on one green leaf lettuce. The burger appeared to have a great sear with nice grill marks. The french fries were skin on and appeared to be crispy.

Now to the eating of the hamburger. *SIGH* The first bite was absolutely delicious. The burger was a lovely medium pink and Beef Boy and I were delighted. However, once again, tragedy struck for the Wench here... My second bite into the burger encountered some lovely caramelized onions, but *SOB* also some sadly undercooked bacon. Ack! Undercooked bacon!

As we decided in a previous post about our guidelines, if the eatery has a signature burger with a number of components, all the components must equal the quality of the burger. Alas, that was not to be! Of course, once again the Burger Gods were kind to Beef Boy and his bacon was cooked fine.

He thought the burger rated easily 4 1/2 burgers, where I was only willing to give it a 4. If you are wondering why I thought the undercooked bacon should cause a docking of 1/2 a burger, then you don't know me. Bacon is my #1 stranded on the island food. I absolutely adore bacon. If Arthur Guinness would be my first husband, Oscar Mayer would be my second. So this is quite an effrontery to me.

Well, maybe next time the bacon will be done better. We will go back.

The french fries were excellent. They tasted spicy and we asked the waitress to ask the Chef what spices were used, but the waitress came back and stated she was told that there were no spices used. She did, however say, much to our amusement, that the Chef could easily be lying. What a hoot! If they weren't spiced then that cook has some great seasoning mojo.

After much discussion, negotiation, and Beef Boy's adamant stance, we agreed on 4 1/4 burgers as the final rating.

Unfortunately, it is not a Coca-Cola establishment.

The Mill Town Tavern
16 Depot Street
Dalton, MA 01226
(413) 684-0900

Rouge Restaurant & Bistro

Rouge Restaurant & Bistro was one of the most recommended burger locations in our query amongst our friends and co-workers. People absolutely raved about this place, so with this in mind I decided to not let the expectations get the better of us. I find that sometimes when an event, movie, restaurant, etc. is puffed up by massive recommendations that I am always disappointed.

We went down in the evening and were quickly greeted and were led to the dining room. Beef Boy and I perused the menu and saw that no burger was listed. This is when we realized that the bar and the dining area had different menus. Oops! We let the wait staff know we were there to try the burger and since it wasn't as yet busy, they were happy to accommodate us.

We ordered the "Rouge Burger with Fontina & Tomato & Field Greens" that is listed at a cost of $8.

The burger arrived as you see it above. The ciabatta bun was nicely grilled as was the hand formed beef patty. The patty had a lovely crusty sear with grill marks. As you can see, the fontina cheese was nicely melted. There were two slices of tomatoes and a slice of red onion that was about the thickness of one of the tomatoes. There were field greens used for lettuce on the bun. The watercress salad was extremely fresh. The french fries were made on premises, lightly salted, skin on, and tasted good. The plate was finished off with two tiny gherkin pickles.

Now about the donnybrook that Beef Boy and I almost had... He thought it was outstanding and it appeared to have been cooked beautifully medium to an angelic light pink and had an excellent juicy bite. Unfortunately, we did not receive the same burger. My burger arrived just past medium and was moist with a nice flavor. The inconsistency was proven after I made him switch burgers, so that he could experience my patty. I actually think he thought I was over reacting, but he agreed with my assessment after his bite, but was still quite happy with his burger. Taking into account our criteria and after much discussion, his 4 1/2 rating and my 3 3/4 rating was averaged to a 4.

The atmosphere was excellent and we will definitely go back to try something off the dinner menu. All in all, we had a very nice experience. This is just the way the burger flipped!

We are happy to report it is a Coca-Cola establishment.

Rouge Restaurant & Bistro
3 Center Street
West Stockbridge, MA 01266
(413) 232-4111

Pedrin's Dairy Bar

Pedrin's Dairy Bar has been around for as long as I can remember. It opens on Good Friday and closes sometime in the fall. Growing up, we all knew it was basically a fried food haven. This was a place that was recommended. As I was thinking about it, I can't believe in that in all the years, I haven't had a burger there, but I indeed haven't.

Beef Boy and I ordered the cheeseburger special at $2.75. According to the person who waited on us at the window, what made this "special" as opposed to just a cheeseburger was that it came with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. This is not a cooked to order burger, so what we got was what we got. We ordered french fries at $1.90.

The burger and fries arrived as you see it above. The bun was a typical hamburger bun that fit the standard patty. We believe that both the patties and the french fries were purchased off site and then cooked there. The fries seemed to be typical frozen fries that you can get at the supermarket. They were also unsalted. The burger was fry cooked on a griddle and was well done. The outside did have a griddle sear on it.

This was basically a fast food burger you eat while sitting at a picnic table. It was nice eating outside, but the burger and fries were ordinary, similar to a McDonald's. In fairness, it was fine for that type of burger and the price was cheap. Also, Pedrin's does not advertise themselves as a burger joint. They state they are "The Home of the Fish Fry", so that may be where they excel.

Keeping our criteria in mind, we decided that it receives a rating of 2 burgers. Unfortunately, it is not a Coca-Cola establishment.

Pedrin's Dairy Bar
1360 Curran Highway
North Adams, MA 01247
(413) 664-9540

The Lion's Den at The Red Lion Inn

My birthday is April 16th, so I thought it would be nice if we had an evening out the night before. The Lion's Den at The Red Lion Inn has live entertainment every night (never a cover charge) and I thought it would be fun to go. I was happy to see they offered a signature burger, so that basically settled the matter. Little did I know that this little den of iniquity would be the hardest rating yet.

The atmosphere is cozy, dark and romantic. I kept on saying... it's about the burger. I saw that they have Guinness on tap *GULP* and they have Harney & Son's Earl Grey tea for Beef boy. This is where the trouble started. Unless you know us, you wouldn't realize that Beef Boy is an Earl Grey freak and if Guinness were a man, he and I would be celebrating our zillionth wedding anniversary. Of course Arthur was a man, but that is a different blog. Focus... stay focused... We started out with the above beverages. I was presented with a perfectly pulled Guinness that looked like this (pic doesn't do the beauty justice):

Utto. Note the gorgeous shamrock on the top indicating a bartender who lovingly pulls with devotion and expertise. Beef Boy was presented with a perfect English tea set up of his beloved Earl Grey. We both took a sip and looked at each other. Both of our eyes glazed over in rapture. Cripes! They were trying to seduce us! Somehow I was convinced that they had learned of our mission. We shook off the ecstasy and gathered our selves together ready to fight the forces trying to come between us and a fair rating.

We ordered the Lion's Den Beef Burger at a cost of $8.50 plus .50 for the added American cheese. If we wanted bacon, it would have also been .50 extra. According to the server, it is a 6 oz. burger.

The burger arrived as you see it above. It arrived on a warm multi-grain roll with 1 leaf of green leaf lettuce and 1 slice of tomato. The burger was griddle cooked with a light crispy sear and was a handformed patty of a medium thickness. Upon biting into it, it appeared to be just past medium. Very close, but just past medium. Nice and moist and tasted good.

There was a small tricolored rotini pasta that was lightly seasoned. The potato chips were mandoline cut thick with ridges and skin on and were cooked on the premises. A pickle was also included.

The waitress was delightful and humored all our questions, making a special effort to ask the chef about the chips, the size of the burger, and the bun.

Adhering to our strict guidelines, we decided that it receives a rating of 3 1/2 burgers. Unfortunately, it is not a Coca-Cola establishment.

The Lion's Den at The Red Lion Inn
30 Main Street
Stockbridge, MA 01262
(413) 298-5545


Addendum: After we ate and rated the burger with a clean palate, we did order their chili which was mild and delicious and finished with their brownie sundae with was heavenly. I also had a raspberry white chocolate martini that was deadly and could have caused quite a problem for me if it wasn't for JC's intervention.

Burger

Burger is a place that has been recommended to us by a couple of people. For informational purposes only do I state that the inside decor is 1950s retro, but the type of retro a "shi shi" restaurant thinks the 50s should have been as opposed to what it really was. Not the genuine burger joint a la Arnold's on Happy Days or Mel's in American Graffiti. But, I transgress... it's all about the burger.

The Burger menu states "Our 100% all American beef burgers and sandwiches are served on a toasted pressed bun with lettuce and tomato on the side.". After being told that it was their signature burger, we ordered the classic 1/4 lb. with onions at a cost of $3.99. We were not asked how we wanted it cooked, so what we got was what we got. Available toppings were Sauerkraut, Chili, Raw Onion, Onion Jam, Mayo, Cranberry Mayo, Tomato-Garlic Mayo, Barbeque Sauce, Tomato Dip, Cucumber Yogurt & Tahini.

I ordered a side of combo fries, which consist of "dirty" (their spice mix) fries, sweet potato fries, and eggplant fries that were cut in the typical string fry way. Beef Boy ordered dirty fries.

Beef Boy wanted to point out that they offered an American Kobe Beef burger at $14.99 that was 1/2 pound wagyu beef. If you wanted double meat add $7.99. He was adamant that at some point in the future he MUST try one. My opinion is that if it isn't hand delivered to him by at least three dancing girls and he needs a cigarette afterward, it isn't worth it!

The burger and fries arrived as you see it above. The roll was huge and was like a potato bun, if you know what I mean. It was not toasted or grilled, but the outside of both sides of the bun appeared to have pressed marks, like it was put whole in a panini press that had a plate with grill marks close together. We determined that these marks were for show as opposed to having a grilling purpose. There were 5 leaves of iceberg lettuce with 2 slices of tomato (1 thin, 1 medium thickness) and a slice of red onion. The burger itself was cooked on a griddle, showing the dark edges fried. The center surface of the burger was lighter in the center with no sear. Biting into the burger showed it to be cooked well. Not a hint of pink. If they were going for a drive-in burger, then they succeeded. It was tasty, but not what our criteria demands.

Once again, the real star of the show were the fries. They came with some skin on, lightly salted with kosher salt and a lovely crisp. Absolutely a yummy. The tomato garlic mayo was a great change of dip from ketchup and really was delightful.

All in all, we decided that it receives a rating of 3 burgers for it's value and us being a bit kind about it being a drive-in style burger, which was what they purported to be. Also, I did feel a bit guilty about being so pissed off at the atmosphere that seemed so phony to me. *SIGH* We are happy to report it is a Coca-Cola establishment.

Burger
297 North Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413) 997-9797

An addendum to our criteria...

Beef Boy and I were thinking... If a place has a signature burger, this is going to be the burger we order. I reviewed the menus of the two places we already rated and the burgers we ordered do fall within this criteria, so we haven't gone totally off the reservation.

Our thinking is that, if an establishment touts a signature hamburger, they believe it is their ultimate burger offering. With this in mind, this is how we will proceed.

I heard throught the grapevine that "The Wild Rover" was complaining that he couldn't post a comment without having a blogspot account. So, I have opened up commenting to everyone, no matter if they have an account.

If it gets out of hand, where I am deleting inappropriate posts, it may go back to a tighter posting.

Of course... maybe no one will even care to post! Putting back on the humble hat...

The '6 House Pub

The '6 House Pub is another of our favorite places. Again, Beef Boy traditionally gets a burger when we go, but not me. I usually get one of their gourmet salads. Their salad selection is excellent and the rest of their menu is filled with pastas, sandwiches, and simple and sophisticated appetizers. We have never had a bad meal and it is one of the places we go to most often.

We ordered the burger called "The Guernsey" and is listed under the section of their menu titled "'Six' House Bovine Burger Bazaar". You can get a 5 oz. version for $6.46, but we went for the 8 oz. version at $7.96. The Guernsey is described as their "basic no frills burger". All burgers are served with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle, and pepperoncini. "Choose pub fries, signature coleslaw, or vegetable." You can substitute sweet potato fries for .96. The cheeses available to top your burger are: American, Cheddar, Feta, Chevre (Goat Cheese),
Gorgonzola, Pepper Jack, Provolone, Swiss.

The burger arrived as you see it above. The sourdough roll was huge and lightly toasted, the leaf of green lettuce was crisp, the tomato was very thinly sliced, and the red onion was sliced thicker than the tomato. Note that no pepperoncini arrived on the plate as advertised. No big deal to me, but I wanted to point it out. Onto the main event.

The burger was large in circumference and a nicely seared, pressed burger and fit the roll perfectly in quite an impressive way. Upon biting into it, I realized that it arrived medium well with no pink. It was moist rather than juicy. If I had ordered it medium well I would of been pleased, but that was not the case.

The star of the show actually ended up being the pub fries. They were to die for and completely overwhelmed the burger experience. They were skin on seasoned fries that we could not get enough of. Truly, one of the best fries I have EVER had. WOW!

Taking our criteria into account and it arriving medium well, it receives a rating of 3 burgers. We are happy to report it is a Coca-Cola establishment.

The '6 House Pub
910 Cold Spring Road
Williamstown, MA 01267
(413) 458-1896