Dad’s Luncheonette is the first stop of a day trip with the kids today. When we got there, it was pretty sparse and 4 people were eating. We ordered, then moved two stools to the side of the counter near the register so we were covered by the shade umbrella and avoided the rain.
Apparently Bauer published his review about Dad’s Luncheonette two days ago, as I found out after the chef mentioned Bauer and the review to a tourist couple as we placed our order. I had no idea about that or I would have stayed away for months from the place and the inevitable crowd that descends like a plague of locusts. So much to my relief, the rain apparently deterred many today, and it was pretty peaceful.
I got the burger sandwich, the mac and cheese with chips, and the blondie. The chef delivered the food. There were no new customers for a while so he stuck around and chatted a bit. Take my report with a grain of salt given I was split among listening in and half-participating in the Bauer conversation, trying to keep the kids from knocking over things, convincing them to eat, and actually eating.
The sandwich was pretty good, with the egg yolk oozing over the components the sandwich. Patty was cooked to medium by default. White cheddar was the slice of choice. HMB had the perfect weather for growing quality non-watery salad greens and the sandwich put some of those to good use. What stood out to me was the red onion pickle (chef pickled himself) which added a bright pop of tartness to the rest of the sandwich. It was a pretty good sandwich. Forgot that it was a sandwich when I ordered- so I was wondering for a couple of seconds what exactly I got. I Ate too quickly and don’t remember much about the patty now. Someone else would have to comment.
Burger sandwich:
The mac and cheese was ordered for the kids. It was made with pepperjack, layered with potato chips on top. The kids wouldn’t eat much of the mac and cheese because its slightly spicy, so I finished it.
Chocolate strawberry blondie- thoroughly enjoyed this delicious cake. It had small chunks of chocolate, maybe a little vanilla, a dash of salt.
Menu:
Canned wine:
The eating area, and the counter on the right. Note: its not covered. It was pretty amusing that a few diners that arrived after me went back to eat their burgers in their parked cars.
Would love to go back and try the mushroom sandwich, the herb salad, and other seasonal specials.
While eating, chef Scott Clark was talking about Bauer with the tourists. That’s when the topic of the review on Friday came up. I asked whether Bauer disguised while eating there and the answer was no. The comment was that the reviewer could be recognized by looking at the tip of his blond hair from the back. So there you go. He visited there 3 times before the review. I guess it is standard but that is curious given the small menu. Murphy was present in at least one of those visits. Because of the review, they ran out of food on Saturday by 5pm.
The chef’s credentials on HMB Review.
