The Avenue Burger "Meat"-Up

Just before the start of the New Year, I attended one last local food event, the Burger "Meat"- Up at The Avenue in Allston. The Avenue is not a place you'd walk by and think to yourself, "I bet the food in there is great" and I can't say I blame you. With an outdated exterior that gets it's decor from neon beer signs and a glowing blue roof, it's something that could easily be dismissed as a seedy bar by day and college dive bar by night. But don't let that fool you, the burgers in there are worth the trip.

The Avenue Burger

The Menu for the evening

I have had these burgers a couple of times now and my experience with each visit has been consistently the same - a nice thin patty, seasoned well, served with crispy bacon, adequately cheesed and padded between two pieces of a soft roll, what more could you ask for? With my burger choice, the Bacon Cheddar Delux only making a $4.50 dent in my wallet and a big basket of sweet potato tots making me dip only $2.00 deeper, I'm happy. While I suspect the tots may be of the frozen variety, I don't care, they're addicting. Crispy on the outside and soft, sweet and potatoey on the inside, when dipped in the accompanying maple-bacon ketchup, it's a nice change of pace from the standard fry option. 

Getting back to last week's "Meat"-Up, it was hosted by Burger Boy and held in conjunction with the folks at The Avenue to help announce their new burger menu, to be unveiled early this year. The event started with a hand stamp and a drink ticket that got each guest unlimited burgers off of a special menu, tots and fries and a beer, not to mention the opportunity to mingle with other local burger lovers. Also, throughout the night, a contest for who could build the best burger was held and a winner, who's burger will appear on the menu for a month, will be selected soon. 

Addicting sweet potato tots with Maple-Bacon Ketchup

It was great to see some familiar faces, some that have helped us out serving at our Harvard dinners (Thanks Katie, Colleen and Cameron!) and some we taught cooking classes for as well as some new faces, it was a fun way to close out 2011. Looking forward to 2012 and hopefully more burger Meat Ups!

Katie and Scott showing off their stamps 

Colleen and Cameron eating tots