The Hat

August 6, 2009 – Day 218

Seven of us from the office went to “The Hat” for lunch today. “The Hat” was once “The Silk Hat”. The Silk Hat was my favourite hole-in-the-wall place to get a burger. In my opinion, they made the tastiest burger in the entire city. I loved the place and the burgers so much that I even scrapbooked a page or two of the old Silk Hat! This was my first visit to the restaurant since it changed hands several months ago and I had grand expectations of ordering my usual delicious cheeseburger that compared with none other the city has to offer. I’m not a picky eater so even a reasonable facsimile would have my taste buds dancing.

I ordered The Special, basically a cheeseburger deluxe with all the fixings. When it arrived, I thought I was in for a special treat – it looked delicious! And it was huge; this is a picture of the burger after being assembled but before being squished down! I couldn’t even manage it squished down though; I had to remove the hamburger patty from the bun and cut it in half. Even then it was a large burger.

Unfortunately however, I was disappointed with the meal. The fries were hot, fresh and crunchy but much too salty and the gravy, which was an additional $1 ½ (as they price items on the menu) for a very small bowl, was thick and pasty – not at all tasty. The hamburger had an “off” taste. I thought it was because I’m not used to eating banana peppers on my burger so I picked them off. It still wasn’t quite “right” but I ate it because I was famished and not going to waste $14 ¾. Once I finished my bun, I tasted a piece of the remaining half of my hamburger patty. It was then that I realized it was the meat itself that tasted “off”. Not “off” as in spoiled but one of the girls at the table thought they may have used sage in it. Whatever it was, I didn’t care for it and couldn’t eat the remainder of the meat. The soggy yellow coleslaw wasn’t worthy of more than the cautious first taste.

It was an adventure though and I’m glad I went along. Now I know what I’ve been missing. What I’ve really been missing is The Silk Hat! And I don’t think I’ll be going back to The Hat.