Is Charley's The Best Burger In Boston?

Charley's Cheeseburger

After a couple weeks of some rather pricey burger tastings, the rule for this week's burger was that it had to be "something cheap".  Easier said then done when your burger joint has to be located in the Back Bay/South End area.  After much scouring through local menus and some internet searches, we came up with limited choices.  Richard even started a little discussion on his Facebook page to get some suggestions.  Finally, we decided to go with a suggestion from one of my readers, Kyle, and found ourselves at Charley's on Newbury Street to try out their cheeseburger (appropriately priced at just under $10).

Served up with thick-cut fries and two onion rings

A quick look of the lengthy menu proved Charley's to be standard American pub food.  There were however, four choices of burgers to choose from, a plain burger and bun, their cheeseburger (topped with aged cheddar), an Au Poivre burger (made with caramelized onions and cheese...shouldn't there be pepper involved?) and finally, a bacon cheeseburger.  All were served on a "pletzel" roll (which for some reason I thought would be a roll that had some sort of a cross between a burger roll and pretzel.  It was not.  After some research, I learned that a pletzel roll is actually a Jewish deli roll that is seeded.  Just a little fun fact of the day for you). I opted for the cheeseburger (medium rare, please).

Cheeseburger - up close!

All things considered, this was a pretty darn good burger for $10, especially in the neighborhood it's in.  My burger actually was medium rare (thank you!) and I found the pletzel roll to be incredibly fresh and soft, but not too soft that it got all soppy.  The roll fit the burger well and the poppy seeds provided a nice little pop with each bite.  The cheese had a nice sharp flavor (of course there could have been more but I've yet to meet a burger that's as cheesy as I'd like it to be) and it did come through pretty consistently with each bite.  The meat itself could have used a bit more salt and it was average in juiciness.  Accompanying the burger was a small order of thick-cut fries and two onion rings.  The fries were pretty forgettable and the onion rings average but still good (I'm a sucker for onion rings).  Just wish there were more, two were a tease.  The thing I liked about this burger is that it didn't seem overly greasy or super heavy.  Maybe my stomach is just getting used to eating a burger a week?  Either way, I'd recommend this burger if you're looking for a no-frills, plane Jane sort of place in Back Bay.

So...any suggestions for next week's burger?! I'm all ears!