Burger Bros.

There's a space on Allegheny Avenue in Towson that I've been eyeing for months now. For months, there's been a wing joint that built out the space and kept it in ready-to-open condition. Basically, you just needed to walk in, turn on the lights, heat up the fryers and start making hot wings. There was a "grand opening" sign in the window but nothing ever happened.

I once asked the guys at the bagel shop next door what was going on with the space and they said the wing place had opened for a couple of days then closed and never re-opened since. Just odd.

Recently, someone took over the space and opened a burger joint. My guess is that they're riding on the current hamburger trend that's sweeping the country with places like Teddy Burger and Five Guys all across the East Coast. It's a good trend to follow and one that I had thought about several years ago, just after the Teddy Burger craze hit Honolulu.

Seems that in modern-day America, a good burger is hard to find so any new joint is always worth checking out. With a little time on my hands, I decided to swing by and give Burger Bros a go.

The interior is simple, casual fare with some definite cues from the Five Guys chain - notably the placement and execution of the soda fountain. My choice was simple: bacon cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, onions, lettuce, tomato and pickles with a Coke and a medium order of french fries.

When it comes to burgers, I like to keep it simple. Let simple ingredients and simple flavors come to life - and while I might enjoy "fancy" cheeses, like Gruyere on my onion soup or some Allegheny Chevre on my baguette, when it comes to a burger, there's only one choice of cheeses: American Yellow. Yes, I know it's processed but there's nothing better for a proper American Cheeseburger. Forget that Swiss or Cheddar crap - only American will do. Only American has that throwback power of the flavors from your youth.

My burger was good. Darn good. The bun was toasted, the beef had decent flavor, they don't cut a solid slice of onion for your burger - just several choice rings that don't over-power the other flavors. The lettuce and tomatoes were crisp and cold. Sure, it's the middle of winter and all of that stuff is probably trucked in from commercial farms in California or elsewhere and sure the beef probably comes from commercial feedlots, but it was tasty and carefully prepared - not just slapped carelessly together like at other burger joints.

The downsides were the Coke and fries. When it comes to fountain-based sodas, one cannot escape the clutches of High Fructose Corn Syrup with it's thick, viscosity coating the mouth and dulling the senses. It's gross and should be illegalized in America. The fries were okay but they weren't crisp, just kinda soggy. The flavor was nice but they lacked the crisp pop that I prefer in french fries.

Burger Bros.
14 Allegheny Avenue
Towson, MD 21204
41-321-1880
www.eatmoreburgers.com