The Shack

On another day during our sojourn in Alabama, the Major Promotable Troubadour took us to a local burger joint in Marion, AL, the town where we were staying and the place where MPT grew up. It was The Shack.

This place was all about the atmosphere. Beef Boy and I walked in with MPT and you would have thought we walked in with Elvis. Everybody and their brother seems to want to greet our Julie McCoy and it was really nice to see community in action.

After much approbation, the three of us decided to have a seat on the deck. The two natives that I was with love the heat... well actually, I don't even know if they noticed the heat! We ordered a nice cold beverage and obligatory burger. MPT and I ordered onion rings and Beef Boy had his fries. No choice was given to us in the cooking of the burger. The burgers were $3.50.

The burgers arrived as you see above. The were blanketed in a standard hamburg bun, that was a good size for the burger and it was nicely toasted. The patty, which had a nice sear and seemed to be cooked on a griddle, was hand formed and rested on yellow American cheese, a tomato slice, a slice of onion, 3 leaves of iceberg lettuce, and a pickle. I wonder if it is a Southern thing that the burger is on top of the extras and condiments? I have never seen this done and in both Alabama establishments this was the burger construction.

Upon delving into the burger, we noted that it was cooked just past medium. It seemed moist, but we actually couldn't tell if the moistness came from the beef patty or the condiments and tomato.

The star of the show for me were the vidalia onion rings, which were crispy, delicious, and huge. I love onion rings, but rarely indulge in them, so this was quite a treat! Beef Boys fries were krinkle cut, good, and typical joe fries.

I do have to say that the plates were scary, but I decided to consider this part of The Shack's charm.

Our initial rating was going to be 3 burgers, but upon seeing the sign below, we couldn't help but give it an extra 1/4 burger for the sentiment.

Unfortunately, as you can see by The Shack's sign, it is not a Coca-Cola establishment.

The Shack
Route 3
Marion, AL 36756
(334) 683-8966

Pearson's Diner - Fatman's Smokehouse BBQ

I am not sure if I mentioned that Beef Boy is not originally from the Berks. He is actually a native of Aliceville, Alabama and moved here due to his red hot lusty desire to marry and grow old with moi. For some strange, demented reason, he thinks I am smokin'! Of course I think he is ever so dreamy, so the feeling I guess is mutual.

We recently went down to visit his family and had an outstanding time. We stayed with his warm, witty, and thoroughly charming, sister and handsome and stoically funny brother-in-law in Marion. They will be hence forth referred to as the Dame of Dixie and the Handsome Huntsman. We were also lucky to visit with his niece and nephew, who are just a few years younger than us and they will be henceforth referred to as the Magnificent Lady M and the Major Promotable Troubadour.

We were there for a little over a week and a week in the South seems to go by slower than that in the North. I think everything is slower in the South. Pleasantly so!

One day Beef Boy, the Major Promotable Troubadour, and I had decided to trek north to meet some of their friends that they hadn't seen in eons. MPT was gracious enough to do the driving in his GORGEOUS Lexus with cool GPS. We eventually met them in Tuscaloosa after doing some site seeing, which I can't divulge here, else the Major Promotable Troubadour will hunt me down like a dog and roast me on a spit! I have promised to put it in the lock box... Don't ask!

On our way, we stopped in Aliceville to see what changes the town had undergone, since Beef Boy had been there. While driving down the main street, we saw that there was an eatery that was new to us. Previously it had been occupied by Barry's Diner, which served superb burgers, but had closed years ago when Barry decided to explore other business opportunities. Anyhoo... the establishment seemed to be a combination of a diner and a barbeque joint. We checked the window and they advertised a Cheeseburger Combo for $3.49. We were excited to be able to do a spur of the moment burger rating in Aliceville.

The three of us sat down and ordered the combo which came with fries and a drink. No choice was given to us in the cooking of the burger.

The burgers arrived as you see above. As you can see, the burger arrived blanketed between a piece of yellow American cheese and a slice of tomato, iceberg lettuce, 2 pickles, a slice of onion and ketchup and mayonnaise. I was enchanted with the layering of the items. Typically, everything is usually layered on top of the burger, but this just seemed, I don't know, more friendly. Like the vegetables were happy to be with the burger and declared that they were just as important as the beef. A nice change.

The bun was slightly toasted and was a typical hamburger bun. Upon biting into the burger, it was cooked well done, but was still a bit juicy. There were barely pink patches in mine and Beef Boy's was more done than mine.

The fries were "joe" krinkle cut fries and were fine.

The meal wasn't earth shattering, but for $3.49, it was a nice deal and worth it. After much discussion, we agreed on a rating. of 2 3/4. Next time I want to try some of that BBQ!

I do think the Major Promotable Troubadour was amused by how we went about rating the burger. Always happy to entertain MPT!

Unfortunately, it is not a Coca-Cola establishment.

Pearson's Diner - Fatman's Smokehouse BBQ
116 Broad Street
Aliceville, AL 35442
(205) 373-1003