Sonny's Three Meat Burgers

                Located at 7683 Beechmont Ave. in Anderson Township, Sonny’s Three Meat Burgers is a new and somewhat unique entry into the local burger game. Taking over a space that at one time housed a catering business and turning it into a small diner with about 25 seats, Sonny’s offers up a limited menu that centers around burgers. They also offer up a chicken sandwich, chicken fingers and a fish sandwich. All of the entrées come complete with a drink and a side. Everything is homemade in the restaurant.

                While this place is small it is bright and comfortable. You order at the counter and then have a seat and your food is delivered to you when it’s ready. The service is fast and friendly. When we were there they had their lone television playing a music video channel which neither of us had never heard of before but reminded Mark of the old days of MTV, back when that channel actually played music videos.

The Burgers

                These burgers, as advertised, are really made up of three different meats. There is fresh ground beef, ground pork and ground chicken all mixed together with some spices. We both detected some pepper in there but nothing was too intense to take away from the flavor of the burgers. And we both agreed, after the first bite, that these burgers were good.

                Each of us made the mistake of ordering the Sonny Burger, a large double decker with cheese and their special sauce. The reason it was a mistake was that there was just too much burger for either of us to finish without a struggle.

                With the first bite you can really tell that these burgers are different. There is a unique flavor to this blend of three meats, different from any burger either of us had ever had before. The special sauce was all but swallowed up by the flavor of these three meat patties. And it isn’t just the flavor, the pork and chicken give these patties a different texture as well. It’s firmer, more condensed. Trust us, these burgers probably aren’t for everyone.

                While we both raved about this unique flavor while we were eating our burgers, a couple of house later we both agreed that maybe they weren’t as good as we initially thought. It can be strange to think back on a burger after it’s gone (unless it’s given you an intestinal disturbance or something else that would require commode counseling) but independently we both agreed that we didn’t like the burger as much as we initially thought.

                Perhaps the problem was that we literally bit off more than we could chew. The Sonny Burger proved to be too much for us at the time. We just weren’t as hungry as we thought and these babies are pretty big. That overpowering flavor just stole the show for us.

                In a way that’s a shame because taking that first bite of the fresh peeled, fresh cut, and perfectly cooked French fries was pure heaven. This is how fries are supposed to be made. You taste potato, not freezer burn. There are bits of skin still on one or two and that’s perfect. Unfortunately, for both of us, the burger was all consuming.

                We both agreed that Sonny’s is well worth the trek out to the east side and we will go back. Only we won’t order up the Sonny Burger, just the regular model and see if having only one quarter pound, densely packed three meat patty stays smoother with us for a longer time. 

Beef O'Brady's

                While we both enjoy eating at the little neighborhood joints more than a chain, sometimes finding one of the many mid-sized chains with good food and decent prices is always a joy. Such was the case with Beef O’Brady’s. We had avoided going here simply because it is a chain (and come on, they have a college football bowl game named after them) and nothing had really led us to one of the three Northern Kentucky or two Dayton area locations. Until recently.

        Begun in 1985 in Bradenton, FL, Beef’s, as the menu and web site (http://beefobradys.com/default.aspx) would have you believe everyone calls it, is a true sports bar with lots and lots of televisions and a rather hefty menu that goes beyond mere bar food. We ate at the location in Newport at 1723 Monmouth on a Saturday at lunch time. While the place was full, we were seated right away and had views of at least six different games. (By the way, this was the day of the infamous “Cross Town Shootout” which Xavier won but U.C., in the end, showed more class in handling the fight.) The place was pretty raucous but even with the occasional cheering and clapping we didn’t have any trouble carrying on our own conversation.

                The service was prompt and our food came out in a very reasonable amount of time which just added to the overall “good times” atmosphere.

The Burgers

                We both ordered up a “Build Your Own Burger” which allowed us to pick our own toppings rather than order one of the specialty burgers offered on the menu. While this is convenient it can also get to be expensive as each optional topping costs fifty cents.

                Josh ordered his with American cheese, lettuce and tomato (the lettuce and tomato are not add-ons and don’t cost anything extra). We each added our condiments of choice. The burgers are fresh Angus beef that is seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper and served on a toasted brioche bun. You can order up either traditional straight fries or curly fries. We both went the curly route.

                The burgers are thick and juicy and the seasoning is just enough to bring out the flavor of the meat without masking it. The bun is a soft with a nice mellow flavor but is a little thick which makes the burger a bit difficult to bite into. Still, that isn’t that major of a drawback. The fries were OK. Other than them being a bit curly there really wasn’t anything special about them.

                Overall we were glad that we finally “discovered” Beef O’Brady’s. Both of us agree that it ranks higher than a lot of the chain restaurants such as Applebee’s and competes favorably with Friday’s burgers. This doesn’t match the quality and flavor of our favorite local joints but for a chain, it’s not bad. If you’re in the area of one of their locations, you might just want to stop in and give them a try.

Pepper Pod

                You can always tell a local neighborhood place when you enter and feel as though you have walked in on a family gathering. That is the case with the Pepper Pod. Established in 1956 the Pepper Pod has been a landmark at 703 Monmouth St. in Newport. While all of Newport has a rather colorful history, according to legend the Pepper Pod was right in the middle of much of it. Supposedly this fine eating establishment was at one time connected to a rather active house of ill repute. In essence you could order up food and a girl and enjoy both at a low cost.

                Today the Pepper Pod serves a menu that offers up some sandwiches and comfort food. The prices are quite reasonable and while parking in Newport can be a problem depending on the time of day, there are generally some street spots open on this part of Monmouth.

                This was one of those times when Josh was in school and Mark was meeting someone who suggested heading to the Pepper Pod to try out their burgers.

The Burger

                The Pepper Pod’s Regular Cheese Burger is a quarter pound of ground beef that tastes fresh and not frozen. I ordered up a platter with fries and cole slaw. But before I get to the food I want to spend a couple of minutes talking about the service. As I said earlier, walking into the Pepper Pod is like walking into a family or neighborhood gathering. While that’s great if you are part of the gathered group, it can be a bit of a problem if you’re not.

                We walked in and sat ourselves since there was no one offering to seat us and plenty of tables available. While folks were talking to each other around the restaurant, carrying on friendly banter among themselves and the server and bus person, no one even acknowledged us. It took eight minutes from when we sat before the server walked by and said she’d be right back to take our drink order. She didn’t come right back. After dropping off the food at the next table she headed back toward the kitchen and didn’t return for a few more minutes. When she did return she took care of the check for someone leaving and then, finally, came to get our drink order.

                And on it went. It was very frustrating to sit there watching other people being served while we waited. When the food eventually came it was rather pedestrian. The cole slaw was first, tasting just like scores of other restaurants that probably order their food from the same place. French fries were the same, crinkle cut and cooked just right but nothing special.

                Then there was the burger. It didn’t suck but it wasn’t great either. It tasted like a burger with melted American cheese, tomato and mayo. Nothing more, nothing less. This was too bad because the place needed a genuinely wonder burger to compensate for the absolutely awful service.

                If you are heading to Newport to grab a burger there are a lot of options. I would suggest you by pass the Pepper Pod and find one of the others.

Roy Rogers

                In November, 1911 just a couple of blocks north of the Ohio River, young Leonard Slye was born. Though he only lived there for a brief time before his family moved to a farm about a hundred miles east of the city, this was the birthplace of the person who would become one of the most legendary cowboys ever: Roy Rogers.

                A high school dropout, Roy first gained some fame as a country singer with a few groups on some Los Angeles radio stations and then, along with his group, the Sons of the Pioneers, was booked on a couple of short films before landing a couple of supporting roles in features. Legend has it that at a time when Gene Autry was at odds with Republic pictures, the studio decided to give the lead to young Roy. Under Western Stars became a hit and made a star out of the “Singing Cowboy.”

                Back in 1968, Roy, always a good businessman, licensed his name to the Marriott Corporation to adorn a chain of fast food restaurants that featured hamburgers and chicken. In 1982 the franchise was sold to Hardee’s which tried to convert all of the restaurants to their signature brand but a customer backlash convinced them to not only abandon the idea but to change back any locations that had been converted.

                At its peak, there were over 650 Roy Rogers locations, mostly in the east and Midwest. Today fewer than 50 locations survive, owned by 13 franchises. Luckily one of those is on the eastern side of the city, not far from Eastgate Mall. Located at 474 Roney Lane just off State Route 32 (and at http://www.royrogersrestaurants.com/#/home on line), the lone area Roy Rogers is showing signs of wear.

                Though the restaurant is small and has seen better days it is still crowded most days, especially at lunch. And there is a reason for that. It’s the same one that caused customers to protest when Hardee’s wanted to change them over.

The Burger

                Josh was in school (darn that senior year) and I was in the area near lunch time and decided to stop in, having not enjoyed a Roy burger in what seemed like ages. Just as I had remembered it, the place was small and crowded. Even at that it didn’t take much time to look up at the posted menu and ordered up my favorite, a Double R Bar. The Double R Bar is a quarter pound burger with cheese and ham. Yes, ham. Add some of Roy’s barbeque sauce to this and it makes one tasty fast food treat.

                Yes, I said it, I added some things to the burger that normally for this blog I wouldn’t dare to even consider. The ham and barbeque sauce aside, this is pretty much your basic fast food burger. Yes it’s better than say McDonald’s or Burger King or Wendy’s. Maybe even on par with those chain’s better burgers. So don’t expect any magical, fresh and never frozen fast food patty here.

                Their fries, like their burgers, aren’t anything out of this world either. They are basic and in my experience have always been consistent in how they are prepared.

                Perhaps it is the nostalgia or that fact that this is now the last one in the area but I do enjoy these burgers and I will go there, given the chance, rather than stop in at one of the big three. If you’ve never had a burger at Roy’s it is worth the effort, especially if you happen to find yourself in the Eastgate area.