Terry's Turf Club is Still Rocking the Burger Game:

Before the Gateway Quarter took off, before Bakersfield or Kaze or Salazar--if you felt like some food that was worth the wait, you went to Terry’s Turf Club. 

Hey David, do you want to do something fun? You want to go to Taco Bell Terry's Turf Club?

Remember Terry’s? It’s a hard place to forget, and even harder to miss when driving by. Neon signs galore, a crowd snacking on peanuts outside and throwing the shells wherever, Terry and his faithful staff serving up burgers so massive you need to carve them up with a steak knife.

The sauces! The fancy ingredients served on paper plates! The craft beers in the Bevador refrigerators!

All of those are hard things to beat. David and I are ashamed to say it’s been a while since we visited Terry’s. Recently, I got the urge to go, and I wondered if much had changed at the restaurant since our prior visits. On our end, much had. We had different jobs, a mortgage, and my hair was various shades of purple.

I’m happy to report that Terry’s is just as great as ever, if not better. We sampled some of the menu items that we’d not tried before, like the tomato soup, which extremely rich and full of high quality parmesan. The paté (chicken liver, foie gras, cognac, shallot and creme fraiche), served with boozy apple and crisp ciabatta, was another enjoyable appetizer. And we had to get the halloumi with balsamic and tomato.

paté

Halloumi

One of the things I love about talking to Terry is that I always learn something. He brought out these tiny little root vegetables, called crosnes, which we’d never tried. We also sampled freshly grated wasabi (yeow!), and some 100 year old basalmic vinegar, which was amazing on fries.

Terry and wasabi

crosnes

As for our burgers? I decided to construct a BLTA burger, with mangalitsa bacon, avocado, tomato and lettuce. It was as good as I had hoped, just rather….large. Too large, even to fit in the takeout box I needed for the leftovers. We had to play MacGyver a bit and rubber band it shut.

Yes, that's a whole half avocado

David, attempting to be more reasonable, choose a mushroom option, with portabella and shitake. He ate the entire sizeable sandwich, and in combination with the various appetizers we had ordered, gave himself a pretty severe case of the itis.

only healthy in theory

The actual size of a regular burger you can get anywhere else compared to a TTC burger

While I was contemplating how exactly I was going to take a bite of my burger and not make a huge mess, the lady next to us at the bar piped up. “Excuse me, can I have an irish coffee?” She asked Terry. “Do you have decaf?”

Terry Scoffed. “Decaf, hell no. I do have the most expensive coffee in the world. Would you like to try it?”

That’s Terry’s Turf Club for you.

Smashburger:

Before I moved in with David to our college apartment in Clifton, I lived in the Loveland/ Indian Hill area with my parents. I had several part time jobs in the Mason Montgomery area, and yes, that includes working the Vortex at Kings Island, (because what kid who grew up in that area didn't do some time in an oh-so-fashionable blue polyblend polo?) and I drove through Fields Ertel several times a week.

Nowadays, I rarely venture up North, except when visiting my Dad. Driving around Mason, Westchester and Montgomery, I am usually struck by two things.

1. There is crazy development up there. What was once fields or lots are now entire massive shopping centers. Where'd that Whole Foods come from?

2. It's scary. It's the traffic that's frightening to me. I'm honestly surprised that only my first car was totaled by someone running a red light.

But there are lots of good things, despite the automotive congestion and exponentially expanding suburban sprawl. Lots of new restaurants, like Smashburger, have sprung up, and when my Dad wanted to visit one of them for his 51st birthday, I certainly wasn't going to turn him down. I did, however, ask him to drive there.

David and I each got different burgers with different sides. I chose the "Spicy Baja burger"($5.99) with guacamole, fresh jalapeños and pepper jack on a chipotle bun, and David ordered the classic ($5.99). I got the seasoned fries, and David picked the fried pepper rings.

pepper rings ehn-hance!

The burgers are thick, and rather prettily presented. I can appreciate the artful (though spicy) jalapeño arrangement. I really enjoyed the chipotle bun, and I like the fact there are several buns to choose from. The fries were nice and crispy, and the pepper rings were definitely interesting, though a little salty for us.

artful spicy arrangement

If we were up in that area again, I think we'd return to Smashburger. All the employees were friendly, food was served quickly, and the burger, especially on the chipotle bun, was tasty. I'd say it beats out Five Guys, which is quite a feat.

The Rookwood:

I've got a competitive streak, but I really, really don't like contact sports.

My theory is that I took a soccer ball to the face one too many times in gradeschool P.E. I still shudder when I recall the horrific flag football quarter of '97.

I somehow managed to survive to 8th grade, mostly by learning to run really, really fast. At that point, I was also the volleyball player who crouched down in a panic, squeezing my eyes shut and covering my face to let the ball hit the floor around me instead of trying to bump it.

Which is probably why I always got a B or a C in P.E.. Duck and cover doesn’t really earn you a lot of points.

So when I heard about the BYOB (build your own burger) at the Rookwood in Mt. Adams, which includes a competition to build the best burger, I was all for it. No tackling, soccerballs or take-downs. Just you, your friends, and the burger menu. Construct your burger with care, and at the end of the night, the chef and staff choose their favorite and you get a free burger next time.

We arranged to go with 5chw4r7z and Ms.5chw4r7z. We loved the renovations to the Rookwood. The kilns have been converted to little mini rooms, which can be reserved for 6-9 people. We sat in the main dining area, but next time, we're getting one of the kilns. The place has a sort of steampunk-y feel which I liked. The entire restaurant is bathed in orange and red light, making photos a definite challenge.

The cocktail list is impressive and interesting. David chose a Com Tollins, with citrus vodka and juniper syrup ($8), and I chose a Cloud Nine cocktail ($9). 5chw4r7z opted for the Stone Pale, which was recommended by our server. Ms. 5chw4r7z went with a glass of white. The beer list isn't huge, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality. 21st amendment, Dark Horse and Stone were all featured, as well as many other quality beers I'd have been happy to order.

cloud nine

Com Tollins

After much debate, we chose to get the chicken fried bacon to split as an appetizer. It was excellent, and served with a jalapeno honey that offset the saltiness of the bacon.

Appetizers and drink orders out of the way, we grasped our pencils, burger menus and prepared for competition. Bob chose to go the heart attack route, with bacon and fried baloney, as well as a fried egg. David chose goat cheeese, ranch dressing, mushroom, tomato and pickle. Ms. 5chw4r7z chose her toppings as well, among them white cheddar and fry sauce (a mixture of worcestershire, ketchup, sriracha and mayo).

I thought and thought about my burger, paralyzed by choice, circling and scribbling out toppings, and finally decided to go griddled, with a fried egg, chili, Velveeta and fry sauce. I labeled my burger "keepin' it classy" and sent it off to the kitchen.

When our burgers arrived, they were served on a plate with crispy fries. Except mine, which was a giant, chili covered burger monstrosity in a bowl. I happily started eating mine with a fork and knife. Everyone at the table abruptly stopped conversation as we dug into our burgers (after sufficient photography, of course).

I never thought that my burger would win. Though it was delicious, it wasn't pretty. It was sloppy and gloriously messy and it was by sheer luck I didn’t drop any chili in my lap. But, lo and behold, our server comes over to talk to us and lets me know that my combination had won best burger!

The chef came out to take my name for the free burger next time. I should have asked him why he picked it, but I didn’t. Maybe he respected the bold move that is ordering chili on a burger. Or, he like I can appreciate the virtues of Velveeta's melting powers.

We left the Rookwood planning our next visit--which is always a good sign. The burgers are of excellent quality and Wednesday night is a great value and a fun time. I thought the regular menu was also appealing, and the desserts --Brekenridge vanilla porter float with salty caramel ice cream? Wow-- were very tempting. Honestly, I think we all still felt guilty about the chicken fried bacon, so we skipped desserts this time for fear of keeling over in the parking lot.

Jean Robert's Table:

We've been watching the evolution of Table for months now. Only recently in the past few weeks were the doors and shutters slightly opened so we could peer inside as we walked past.

the menu boards appeared to be jig-sawed by hand

Once the long awaited opening of Table was announced for dinner service, we made plans to check it out for dinner the second week it was open. We made our reservations (which are highly advised) and headed over to vine street. We even bought our camera--and our readers, by extension--a present.

house sparkling water

I'd never visited Buddakan, or for that matter, the longhorn steakhouse that the restaurant apparently originally was, so I can't say how much it has changed. The feel is classy, yet casual, with higher ceilings, some exposed duct work, and pretty chandeliers. There's not a lot of clutter around, so it feels very open in the restaurant, despite it being crowded that evening. Different dining spaces are on different levels, which I thought was a nice use of the space.

The bar is to your right as you walk in. It was very busy, with lots of patrons sipping wine. There is a rose and a white on the menu that are both $5 a glass---a pretty good deal.

We saw Jean Robert wandering around talking to tables, but we didn't get the chance to talk to him. The kitchen is in the back of the restaurant, open enough to see chefs and staff moving around inside.

By the bar, separated by a half-wall and raised a few feet, are a few tables, which is where we were seated. To our left, a lowered section of the restaurant has the communal tables--where couples and groups can be seated together. I'm not sure how I feel about that--I saw one uncomfortable looking couple on what I presume was a date, trying to have a conversation while the solitary stranger next to them chowed down on a burger. Awwwkward.

Farthest to the left is the highest area of the restaurant, with additional tables bordered by windows.

Now that I've described the restaurant sufficiently, I'll get down to it and talk about the food. And the drinks. The beer list was a pleasant surprise. LaChouffe, Southern Tier Unearthly IPA, Hudy Delight, and some Unibroue stood out to us. My friend Janelle and I both ordered the French chateau burger, ($13) served on brioche with a little french flag stuck in the top accompanied by fries, and cooked to medium.

David chose to be more adventurous. He ordered one of the specials of the night, the heirloom tomato salad, as well as the surf and turf tartar ($10) (half tuna and half steak, topped with radish and cucumber and garnished with a smear of pureed avocado) and the sweetbreads.

As we waited for our orders, we were served the house bread--crunchy on the outside and hot and chewy on the inside.

As for the burger, it was a very good burger, and I think that anyone ordering it would be pleased. The sauce that came with the fries was excellent, a little tangy and sweet. The burger was served with tomato, lettuce and a mayonnaise sauce. The patty itself is more of a meatloaf (if you have ever had Mayberry's burger, you know what I mean) I could see bits of bacon, as well as some carrot and other vegetables mixed in. I liked the bacon addition particularly. It was just enough, and not too much.

David devoured his tomato salad, as well as the tartare. The sweetbreads were served atop a bleu cheese and mushroom quiche, which was excellent. The port sauce the sweetbreads were served with was, as David put it, “straight up concentrated deliciousness”. As for the quality of the sweetbreads themselves, David found that they were slightly overcooked, which was unexpected.

surf and turf tartar

sweetbreads

We decided to go for dessert, and ordered the crème brulee ($7). Apparently it has lavender in it, however, I mostly picked up on a nice cinnamon flavor. I was very happy with our dessert choice. I took half of my burger home, and I thought it was nice that the server kept my little flag from my burger in the box.

We'd definitely return to Table, maybe after the hype dies down a little. The service was pleasant, and the food was well prepared, but the our table was a little noisy, being right next to the bustling bar.