Thanks to Taste & See Cincinnati for the photo. I'm guessing that's Taste on the right and See on the left.
First off, Stuffed on Vine offers burgers that are a little different. They're stuffed, you see. This means that the burgers are formed around what would normally be the toppings, leaving the burger awfully tall and moist. We'll get to all that, though. I just thought I should warn you in advance in case you had a jaw issue.
Burger
- At some point I have to find a camera that can focus at less than two feet of focal range. Seriously...
The Girl got to her stuffed burger before I did. I was taking crappy photos. When she did bite in, she suggested that I try the burger patty itself before diving right into the giant bites of the main dish. I'm happy I took her advice. The meat is nicely spiced with peppers - both red and black - mixed into the meat. It left a wonderfully spicy taste and complimented the richness of the cheese stuffing very well. The necessity of the huge, stuffed burgers might lead to the outside's lack of dark, crispiness, but this is a burger that starts with some high quality meat, adds to it with a bit of kick, and then envelops the fillings. Burger - 8
Toppings
- If we were truly going with Toppings, then the score would be pretty abysmal because all either of us got on our burger was a pretty pedestrian piece of lettuce. Inside the burger however told a very different story. I've mentioned the stuffed nature of the burgers, and it's impressive how much they are able to fit inside the burger without it losing its structural integrity.
In my Big Lene was found sauteed onions, mushrooms, green peppers (both very fresh), a couple of hot peppers (and ther were definitely hot), and three types of cheese. With that much cheese melted and gooey inside the burger, I fully expected a lapful of hot lava after the first bite, but I didn't get that. At the owner's recommendation, I gave the burger a minute for the filling to firm up before biting in, and I was thankful for the pause. The cheeses were nicely incorporated, surrounding the sauteed fillings and producing a very moist burger. The sheer amount of cheese in my burger was too much for me, however, and I would order the burger with fewer cheeses next time.
The Girl went for the Philly Cheese stuffed burger and appreciated the fresh banana peppers and the slightly lesser amount of cheese inside her burger. She asked if she could get the burger without the onions and was happy to hear that all burgers were stuffed to order so customization was possible in any way.
The stuffed burger is an interesting concept on one well worth trying. I think I would go for a lower cheese one next time. The Big Lene (pronounced lean) was a bit too much for me. Toppings - 8
Fries
- Battered fries...battered fries?! C'mon, folks, what's wrong with simple, high quality cut up potatoes with a bit of salt? Why would you have to mix up a batter to dip each fry in before frying them? It just doesn't make any sense to me. The Girl, in particular, doesn't care for battered fries. Me, I prefer non-battered but can handle the battered just fine.
The fries had a light batter and were served piping hot, fresh from the fryer. The batter didn't have much if any spice. If you're going to batter the fries, I vote for dipping 'em in something with a little kick.
The fries were good but not great. Fries - 6
Thanks to Urban Spoon for the menu images.
Cost- Tough to gauge here. They don't offer a bacon cheeseburger, so comparison may be a bit off. The Big Lene was $8 and came with fries. A more typical, non-stuffed cheeseburger still offers a 1/2 pound patty for $6 and comes with fries at that price. The Diet Coke was $1.40 and came in a 24-ounce bottle. No free refills here. I'll split the difference between the burgers and go for $7 + $1.40 = $8.40. That's just barely into the seven-point category. Cost - 7
Ambiance
- Stuffed on Vine has an absolute minimum of pretension. The steam table serving up Sunday dinner (a rotating menu - fried chicken [spicy or regular], garlic mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, cabbage, greens, macaroni & cheese, baked beans on this Sunday) is the original steam table from decades ago. The tile is simple black and white. The walls were plastered by the owners themselves. The men's restroom is a toilet with barely enough room to sit or stand. The drinks come in cans or bottles.
We spent most of our meal alone with Stuffed with the owner. We arrived around 3 on the Sunday afternoon, so it was admittedly between meals and at a bit of an odd time. In talking with the owner, we found that she had gotten numerous offers to move her restaurant to tonier locales - East Walnut Hill, Hyde Park, further into the Gateway Quarter (the gentrified part of Over the Rhine) - but has refused because she grew up two blocks from where Stuffed now sits. She offers a Sunday dinner because she knows that too many kids in the neighborhood don't get a good Sunday meal, living on burgers and hot dogs, microwaved food all the time. She knows she could raise her prices and get more money in a different locale but wants to keep her prices at a point where the neighborhood folks can walk in and get good, hot food that they can afford.
Stuffed feels like it's been present forever, sitting high in Over the Rhine (the 1700-block of Vine Street, a good four or five blocks north of Liberty, almost to Findley Playground where Vine finishes its descent from Clifton.) This is all admirable. Ambiance - 8
- The social positive feelings about Stuffed (giving back to the neighborhood) is awesome. It's something that white people clearly like. +2
- The food is made to order, and the stuffed burgers take a solid twenty to thirty minutes to cook. On an easy Sunday afternoon, I don't mind visiting. This time frame, however, knocks it out for a quick lunch. -1
- At 3:30 Sunday afternoon, two teenagers were shot in Over the Rhine. An 18-year-old died after being shot in the stomach and head and a 12-year-old was shot in the foot by an assault rifle. This took place about a block from where we were eating. We heard the gunshots. We saw the 12 year old being carried down the street after being shot. We watched police tape being wrapped around the telephone pole not twenty feet from where we were finishing our burgers.
Charlene, the owner of Stuffed on Vine, said that she is worried about the neighborhood, about her daughter who lives with her and her husband above the Main Street bar district, for her mother (The Girl remembers grandmother) who lives above Stuffed. The day before we visited, Charlene had served lunch to Emanual Scott who was shot dead less than eight hours later.
Stuffed is in a neighborhood that, as one of the other customers on Sunday said, "takes one step forward and two steps back."
I don't necessarily know how to include this in the ratings. I certainly know some people who wouldn't go to Stuffed because of where it is. I know we didn't feel any worry about planning our visit there, but I'll admit to some trepidation after what happened while we were there. I wish Charlene the absolute best in her business, but she has a huge hurdle to overcome (the location) and a decision to make (to stay and help the neighborhood or move and help her business).
- Terry's Turf Club - 45
- Cafe de Wheels - 44
- Senate - 43
- Stuffed on Vine - 38
- Five Guys Burgers and Fries - 36
- Roxy's - 36
- VanZandt - 34
- Gabby's - 34
- Oakley Pub & Grill - 34
- Quatman's - 32 / 34.5
- Troy's - 32
- Wildflower Cafe - 31.25 (scaled from 26/40)
- The Pub at Rookwood Mews - 28
- Smashburger - 28
- Habits Cafe - 28
- Graffiti Burger - 27
- Arthur's - 26
- Sammy's - 25
- Gordo's - 20
No comments:
Post a Comment