Mama's Grill

                Sitting in what seems to be the middle of no-where off of the Route 133 exit of St. Rt. 32 (The Appalachian Highway) is a classic diner. Surrounded by more fields than anything else, Mama’s Grill is like an oasis of comfort food. Located at 4227 All Star Dr. with a Batavia zip code (though the restaurant is much closer to Williamsburg) Mama’s is the kind of place where the locals all come to dine; even if the locals have to drive several miles in order to get there.

                Since it opened in 1968, Mama’s has been serving up family diner fare that seems a little high on the price side for places like this. Still, it’s the kind of place where you expect to find the same people stopping in once a week or so.

                The interior of the restaurant is exactly what you would expect. It looks and feels just like a well-worn family diner. In fact, the spring on my booth was just about shot because when I plopped down on it I could feel it and hear it wanting to fight back. (Insert favorite burger eating fat ass joke here.)

The Burger

                With Josh in school I was once again on my own (eating with a friend who suggested a ride out in the country). With a standard quarter pound patty of ground beef for their Hamburger and Cheeseburger and the option to double it up to a half pound Double Cheeseburger or one of their nine specialty burgers, Mama’s burger selection is a lot like the rest of their large, two sided menu: complete.

                For an eight dollar price tag (it’s less than five if you go with the quarter pound option) you get fries tossed onto the plate. Still seemed a bit steep for a rural diner and so I was expecting something out of this world. I didn’t get what I had hoped.

                The burger itself was good, a fresh charbroiled specimen but that’s all it was, good. The lettuce, tomato and pickle were decent but nothing special. The bun was the right size for the patties and, while it did its job, hold the burger together, it didn’t really add anything to the experience. And the fries, crinkle cuts which I generally enjoy, they were probably from the same food supplier as dozens of other area restaurants. They were well cooked with a crisp outside and soft, hot inside. But that was all. Nothing special.

                Maybe it was my false expectations but usually when you find a nice little place out in the country you expect it to have outstanding food. And maybe Mama’s does. There were a lot of people eating breakfast during the lunch hour and I heard a couple talking about some of the other dishes as though their taste buds were very familiar. As far as the burger goes, you can get one that’s a lot better and probably both cheaper and closer to home than driving out Route 32 to Mama’s.