RAB and I visited the Birchwood Kitchen on Wednesday after hearing that they'd started serving burgers and would be offering buy-one-get-one-free on Wednesdays. We love us a bargain, so...
We ordered two medium rare bacon cheddar burgers. The very enthusiastic host/server said that he'd
suggest to the grill man to make them medium rare. When questioned, he replied that they couldn't do undercooked meat because they didn't have a disclaimer on their menu. REB asked, jokingly, whether we needed to sign a waiver. With a smile, he said he'd see what he could do. We figured we were there, the cost was low, and so we'd give the burgers a shot.
We sat and we waited. After about ten minutes the host stopped by with some complimentary mustard potato salad. It was a nice thing to do. Unfortunately, the potatoes had an odd texture for potato salad -- shriveled and dry, as if roasted a few days ago and then refrigerated. The celery and mustard seed were nice, though.
Finally, our burgers arrived. A large hunk of burger, at least a 1/2 lb of meat, on an excellent sesame seed bun. Plentiful, meaty, thick-cut bacon; a nice, thick slice of cheddar; a good, garlicky aioli; and a large, but mealy tomato slice.
My burger was medium rare and nicely seasoned. Sadly, REB's burger was cooked to medium well, at least, which really dried it out. I offered to split mine, but REB played martyr. By this point, the place was packed. That and the bargain price kept her from sending hers back. As we were leaving, the host asked if our burgers were cooked to temp and we were honest. He responded that the grill man is still learning the hot spots on the grill (this was only their 2nd day serving burgers) and that they were sure to improve. I thought that was a reasonable response.
The burger was served with standard potato chips and some strange slaw. The cabbage slaw had chunks of pineapple and jalapeno slices. There was little dressing to tie the ingredients together. It really tasted like someone shredded cabbage, added chunks of pineapple and jalapeno, and dressed it with a watery mayo. Edible, but not good.
We spent some of the dinner trying to figure out the Birchwood Kitchen. On their menu and
their website, they say:
"For most of history foods have been local, seasonal and sustainably produced. Our philosophy incorporates these concepts into our menu to bring you fresh, flavorful foods. We work with a number of folks who share our comittment [sic] to quality and sustainability including Mint Creek Farms, Zingerman's Creamery, La Quercia, Co-op Image's Community Garden, Metropolis Coffee Roasters and many others."
But, nothing on their menu identified product source. Sure, co-op hot sauce was available by the bottle, and I'm sure they actually use Metropolis Coffee. We spotted some La Quercia meats in the case (almost local), but we also spotted Columbus and Molinari meats. As far as I know, both Columbus and Molinari are quality California products, but use CAFO meat - - neither sustainable nor local. I asked about the source of the burger meat and was told that it's choice sirloin from Patuxent Farms. This, it turns out is simply a U.S. Foodservice-supplied brand of CAFO beef. Also, the potato chips were served in the bottom quarter of a sliced paper bag - - what happened to the rest of the bag? This choice was clearly an attempt at cute design, and far from a green one.
The problem is that Birchwood is holding itself out to be this local, sustainable sandwich shop. And, if you care about buying local, sustainable products, you need to ask a lot of questions at Birchwood to make sure that's what you're getting. Even after asking those questions, it remains unclear whether more than a tiny portion of their menu comes from sustainable and local sources. In reality, It seems more marketing than substance.
In the end, though, we definitely couldn't complain about paying under $10 for two fairly good burgers. And, many of the sandwich descriptions on the menu sounded wonderful. If it weren't for the failed promise of "local, seasonal, and sustainable," we'd probably have been much happier. As it stands, we have mixed feelings.
--Rich
edited to fix typo
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