Burger c/o Village Whiskey

While I was in Maryland, A.S. texted me and wished me a happy birthday. She suggested, also, that we get together upon my return for celebratory burgers at Village Whiskey. That's the kind of plan you agree to with absolutely no reservations; which is fitting since Village Whiskey doesn't take reservations. We both started with our preferred jar of pickled wonder. For me, that is their pickled cherry tomatoes, which are still so sweet but with a little kick of vinegar and spices they become something entirely new. And they go great with the toasted slices of crusty bread, olive tapenade and whipped ricotta (?) that accompany them. A.S. went with the pickled green beans and shallots, which were also so totally a cut above. I had a very long internal debate about what to eat for my main meal. Part of me was tempted to branch out, to try the chicken sandwich or pulled pork. Perhaps order the fries with cheese and a salad. But eventually I came to terms with the fact that I wanted the burger and then had another round of deep introspection to determine exactly what the toppings for said burger would be. Cheddar and bacon? Caramelized onions and blue cheese? Truffled mushrooms and chevre? Oh yes, it was the mushrooms and chevre that did it.
I asked for my burger medium rare and it came out just as I liked. Oh me. Oh my. A tasty treat indeed. A.S. and I both cut our burgers in half, as they are incredibly unwieldy things. The bread generally is up to the task of soaking up the juices of the burger, the shrooms and the special sauce...but they can only do so much before everything's sliding around a little bit. This is a hands-on burger. Or, alternatively, this is a burger that could in some ways benefit from being consumed with a knife and fork. I ended up doing both - eating the first half all handsy, then being a little deconstructionist with my approach to the second half. At some point during our meal two dudes sat down at the table next to us and they seemed like they were somehow famous or something. Not famous. If they were famous I would have known who they were. Semi-famous. Philly hip hop promoters or some such thing. A.S. had the angle to really look at their faces, but she didn't recognize them. A mystery.
We each had two cocktails. My first was the Ginger Rogers (not pictured) and to round out the meal I had the Ward 8 - or I thought that was what it was - rye, orange and lemon with a touch of grenadine. I liked it very much.
It was good to catch up with A.S. and to enjoy a fine burger meal on a weekday. We went early enough that we had a good table and no wait, which really is the key to making the most of VW and is harder to do past 5:30 pretty much any day of the week. Huzzah!