Glory Days Grill - Bleu Cheese & Grilled Onion Burger (4 stars)

1305 W. 7th St.
Frederick, MD 21702-4102
Phone:  (301) 696-1112
Website:  http://www.glorydaysgrill.com/

Several locations in the Virginias, Maryland, and Florida

Time of Visit:  June 22, 2015 at 11:50 am

My Order:  Bleu Cheese & Grilled Onion Burger

                     Onion Rings
                     Iced Tea

I decided to go here on my first day back to work after my cruise.  It was Classic Burger Monday and close to work, so I stopped in for a burger.

Burger Rating = 4.0 (****)

Presentation, Overall Rating 4

The food came out on a regular, diner style plate with the burger open.  Alongside it on the plate were the onion rings and pickle spear.  It was a nice, well-presented meal, a 4.

Meat, Overall Rating 4

The burger was cooked all the way through with no pink.  The special seasoning they used worked really well and a good crust was developed during the cooking.  It was somewhat compacted in texture and a bit dry, but had a really good flavor, so I’m going to give the meat a 4.

Bun, Overall Rating 4

The bun was a nicely-sized, Kaiser-style roll, which was well toasted for a good flavor and texture. I’m giving this one a 4.

Toppings, Overall Rating 3.8

Bleu Cheese Crumbles:  The cheese had good texture and tasted really good.  Bleu cheese doesn’t melt well over the burger, but this was nicely softened.  They did manage to distribute the cheese across the burger fairly evenly, but still not as much closer to the edge.  Still, for this type of cheese it was really well done, a 4.
Grilled Onions:  These were cooked well, but could have used a bit more caramelization to be really good.  The pieces also tended to fall out of the burger.  I’ll give them a 3.
Lettuce:  This was a rare example of providing enough lettuce to make a difference on the burger.  It was good, crisp green leaf lettuce and the leaf was big enough that it provided multiple layers.  This meant the lettuce provided a good crunchy texture to the burger, a really nice addition, a good solid 4.
Mustard:  This wasn’t included with the burger, so I asked for some to add on my own.  It was regular yellow mustard, but provided a nice addition to the seasoned patty, a 4.
There was also a tomato slice provided, but I chose to eat it separately, as well as some red onion rings, which I didn’t eat as I already had enough onion in the meal.

Balance/Taste, Overall Rating 4

The burger maintained its integrity all the way to the end and everything seemed well distributed.  The flavors all blended together really well and provided a great taste combination.  My one complaint is that the grilled onions and bleu cheese crumbles tended to fall out of the burger a bit.  Overall, a good solid burger, so I’m giving it a 4.

 

Other Notes:

Location and Access

This place is right in the 7^th Street shopping center and easy to spot.    Although it is in a large parking lot, the area tends to be busy and it can be tricky finding a spot reasonably close at lunch time.

Facilities

This building is in good shape and is set up in the typical sports bar style.  There are a few tables set up outside and you can get your order to go, if you want.  The restroom was easy to find and reasonably clean.

Staff and Service

It took a couple of minutes to get seated, but only because a larger group was right in front of me.  They have full, sit down service and the staff was generally very prompt.  It did take a little while to get my food and the mustard I requested took a little longer than it should.  But, the waitress was very friendly and apologized for the wait on the food, even though I hadn’t said anything.

Sides

Onion Rings:  These were cut a little thicker than I like, but I guess many people prefer them that way.  They had the typical commercial breading, but were cooked really well and were really crispy.  These weren’t one of the standard sides, but were available with a small surcharge.
Pickle:  This was your standard kosher dill pickle spear, nothing outstanding, but a nice addition to the plate.
Iced Tea:  Your run of the mill, unsweetened tea, just something to wash down the meal.
Tomato Slice:  This was actually an additional topping provided for the burger, but I ate it separately.  It was the typical, out of season tomato slice, nothing special, but nice with a sprinkling of salt.

Value

I got this burger with their Classic Burger special, so it was almost half the normal price.  That made my meal only a little over $10 before the tip.  That’s not a bad price, but the normal price seems a little high to me.