Friends Grill

I had heard from a great number of people that Friends Grill is a great place to have a drink and some good food. Beef Boy and I have wanted to go there literally for about a year. We have tried to go several times, by ourselves and with Mr. and Mrs. Maples, but to no avail, arriving in their parking lot when it was closed. I found out that they had a hamburger, so this really made us committed to go and I finally called for their hours of operation. We thought that since the establishment had "Grill" in its name, it was portentous in it serving a great burger. We were really excited! In the car we went...

Beef Boy and I decided to take a trip over. Upon arriving, we were amused by the schizophrenic signage. Note the indecision of the word "Grille" ... "Grill"? Upon entering, we experienced the atmosphere is that of a bar, which is fine with me!

On their menu, there was a section called "From the Grill". There listed was a "Quarter Pound Burger" at a cost of $3.95. Add ons were cheese for .50, bacon for $1, fries for $1.25, or sweet potato fries for $1.75. Typically it comes with chips and a pickle. We ordered our regular, a hamburger with American cheese and I opted for sweet potato fries, while Beef Boy ordered the traditional fries. We were not given the opportunity to have our burger cooked to order.


Our order arrived as you see above. The sourdough bun was griddle toasted and the server answered our query that it was baked in house. As you can see two slices of American cheese were provided. The burger was a typical preformed, fast food burger. We think it was purchased from a place like Wohrle's Foods Inc, which is a local food supplier for restaurants. It was a thin, well done patty that was cooked on a griddle without much sear. As you can see, no lettuce or tomato was provided. The burger was "fine", nothing special. Just a Joe burger.

The pickle had a nice crisp. The sweet potato fries and crinkle cut fries Beef Boy got were fine, but obviously frozen and again probably from Wohrle's Foods Inc. The server confirmed that they were not made on the premises. We suspect much isn't.

The bottom line is the best thing was the bun and the generous cheese. I could have easily been happier with about five of those buns and a vat of butter.

*SIGH*

We gave it a rating of 2 1/2 burgers. I apologize for the lackluster review, but it was a pretty lackluster, disappointing burger experience. In fact, it was the most disappointing experience we have had to date.

Unfortunately, it is not a Coca-Cola establishment.

Friends Grill
117 Seymour Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413) 443-4477