OLS #3: Burgerville!

OK, I’m cheating this week, but only sort of. I’d smiled at the billboards ("Last Burgerville for 24,000 miles"), but never thought of actually eating there until I read "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. This isn’t a review of "Fast Food Nation," but if you haven’t read it, it’s no exaggeration to compare it to Sinclair's "Jungle." It’s somewhat dated, now, but still worth the read. Anyway, after the author’s expose on the American food supply, he praises a few restaurants for serving fresh, local, sustainable food and Burgerville in the pacific northwest is one of them. I’ve been a convert ever since I sampled their fresh Oregon strawberry milkshake. And the Walla Walla onion rings. And the local hamburgers. I’m making myself hungry just thinking about it!

Anyway, Monday night, after a very long and stressful day, we were driving back from Portland and decided to stop at a Burgerville for dinner. I had my usual Tillamook cheesburger made with local-as-possible cheese, beef, lettuce, and California tomato (promised to be safe), real french fries, and of course a fresh strawberry milkshake - Oregon strawberries and local ice cream. Yum!

At the end of the meal, Scott and I waited as Munchkin finished the last of my milkshake. Our food wrappings were on the tray, so when a waitress walked by and asked if she could take it for us, I nodded. All of a sudden, Munchkin let out a blood-curdling scream and yelled at about 110 db for her to bring the tray back. (In Munchkin's defense, he'd had a very stressful day.) The waitress returned and asked apologetically, "Did I do something wrong?" I told her that Munchkin had left half of a french fry on the tray. The waitress left, and a minute later returned with wa fresh basket lined with paper and containing three french fries. She must have been a mom.