WORDS David Mowery PHOTO Bryan Carter
The lament of people who are hungry, yet missing key ingredients to make something, is best expressed by Smokey in Friday: “Y’all ain’t never got two things that go together. Cereal, No Milk; Kool-Aid, No Sugar; Ham, No Burger!”
And while Montgomery may be plagued by never having two things that go together, we are blessed with a deep bench of places to get a world class, gut busting, Bloomberg trolling, grease factory of a hamburger.
Elvis died 36 years ago, and there’s a reason he’s still known as The King. Here, Hamburger King has been around for years, and their moniker brings to mind the old saw “It Ain’t Braggin’ If You Can Back It Up.” Located on S. Decatur St., it’s a Montgomery institution. It does not disappoint. Cash only, and the type of dump you’d avoid in a city you didn’t know – this is the type of place “Off The Beaten Path” was built on.
I was introduced to Vicki’s Lunch Van by my fried The Late Great Joe Thomas, Jr. In addition to being an amazing musician, autodidact and renaissance man artist, he also liked to get lunch at the type of out of the way places featured in this column.
Though it’s now housed in an actual restaurant on Fairgrounds Rd. over by Montgomery Coliseum, Vicki’s was Montgomery’s Original Food Truck. Long before we needed a Development Department Contest and a newfangled truck, Montgomery had a van that served cooked-to-order hamburgers that are simple, fresh and delicious. Run by a mother-daughter duo, get there early or after the lunch hour if you have any hope of getting out in under 45 minutes – but like the best things in life it is actually worth the wait.
Not to be outdone by Montgomery’s homegrown hamburger establishments, Five Guys Burgers and Fries is pretty much The New Maniac Tough Guy In Town when it comes to the American Burger Scene. Founded in Alexandria, VA in the late 90s, it has become one of the most profitable and fastest growing burger chains in the country. We try to stay local and off the beaten path here at Made, but there’s no denying Five Guys puts out a consistent, killer product, quickly and cheaply. An anchor in the Starbucks’ shopping center on Zelda, along with Chicken Salad Chick and Ted The Wine Guy, Five Guys (and the neighboring Starbucks) represent mass-market product that gets the stamp of approval.
Most of the above places will cost you $10 or less for lunch, and don’t serve booze. While I’m often skeptical of the “Gourmet Burger” trend at high end restaurants or steakhouses, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention The Railyard Brewery downtown and The Chophouse at Vintage Year’s offerings.
The Railyard refurbished the old Montgomery Brewpub space and features locally brewed beers and numerous takes on burgers. From beef to pork to lamb, the beers and the burgers compliment each other nicely (see photo above).
The Chophouse burger is another level altogether. It’s a classic steakhouse, you can get a martini, and they’ll crack an egg on top for you to boot. Plus if you want to cut down on the massive amount of calories brought in to the equation by fries, you can get a salad.
If you have a favorite place not mentioned here, let us know and we’ll put it on the ever growing list of places Off The Beaten Path.