Lonnieburger Baskets: Sidetracks

Though it may appear that the quest for the perfect burger has stalled, the quest marches on.

Yes, it's pretty clear to me that Terry's has the best burgers in town with Senate and Cafe de Wheels in close second and third, respectively. There is always, however, the hope that we'll find another spectacular burger in the Cincy area.

Source: AnnArbor.com

And there's the hope that when we go on vacation we can find a great burger out in the non-Queen City part of the world. To that end we dropped into Sidetrack Bar and Grill in Ypsilanti, MI back in January. Considering that GQ named the Sidetrack burger one of the twenty burgers you must eat before you die (Sidetrack camein at #19), hopes were high. Should they have been? Let's look at the numbers...

Here's what GQ had to say...

19. Our Famous Burger,

Sidetrack Bar and Grill - Ypsilanti, MI
Here is one of my core culinary credos: The closer you come to a college campus, the worse burgers get. Sidetrack Bar and Grill—named for its location next to an old railroad siding—is an exception. This modern-looking pub, around since 1850, doesn’t seem concerned with pleasing undiscerning Eastern Michigan University freshmen. “We don’t get much of a young crowd,” my waitress said. The meat, a secret blend, tastes like chuck. The sesame-seed bun is small, soft, and grilled. I recommend a visit to the automobile museum across the street, although they won’t let you play drive-in and eat your burger in a vintage car.

Burger

• Man, I didn't get any particularly impressive 'secret blend' of spices here. The burger was a burger. There's a little pepper in there I can see, but I didn't taste much of anything outside simple, decent quality burger meat. The patty was a little on the shiny side but not unreasonably so. Burger - 6 

Toppings

•  For winter, that's not a bad tomato slice. The lettuce is lettuce. The bacon was well done but not as crisp as I would like it. The bacon was flavorful. The cheddar was amply applied with a large slice melted all across the patty and even onto the bun. The toppings are solid but unspectacular, something that's pretty much what I can say across the board about this burger. Toppings - 6 

Fries

• Fries are offered either plain or with cajun spices, garlic, or salt and pepper (each for an extra fifty cents). They also have sweet potato fries for an extra back. The Girl chose the regular fries, and I went for the garlic option. If you're not gonna splurge on vacation, when are you gonna splurge? My fries came out without any garlic, however, so I can't speak to the spice options. Both my fries and The Girl's fries came out hot and well cooked. They could have been crisper, but they weren't greasy or limp by any means. Fries - 6 

Ambiance

• This is easily the best part of Sidetracks. The main bar feels authentically old, and the whole place has gorgeous woodwork, a fireplace that was roaring fire when we were there, a beautiful huge mirror behind the old bar, and nice windows showing the snow-covered streets of Ypsilanti. The ceiling is old tin, and the place feels right. We ate at an off time, around 2-3pm, so Sidetracks wasn't crowded, but it still felt like home. Ambiance - 8

Cost

• A burger is just $9.25 with fries and bacon. I added cheese (50 cents) fries spice (50 cents but not actually served). The diet coke was $2.25. That's...um...$12.50. Not good...Cost - 3 

Other Schtuff

• When I ordered a Diet Coke, they brought me an extra carafe of Diet Coke. That's very cool. +1
• Seriously, love the woodwork all around. +1
• Um...that's about all I've got.

To the totaling...totalization...adding crap up...

+1 +1 +3 +8 +6 +6 +6...That's like a zillion...Or 31...One of the best burgers in the country, one of the burgers you have to eat before you die only got 31 points?

Kinda disappointing...

• Terry's Turf Club - 45
• Cafe de Wheels - 44
• Senate - 43 
• City View Tavern - 40 (scaled from 32/40)
• 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 
• By Golly's - 32
• Wildflower Cafe - 31.25 (scaled from 26/40) 
• Sidetracks - 31
• Virgil's Cafe - 28
• The Pub at Rookwood Mews - 28
• Smashburger - 28
• Habits Cafe - 28
• Graffiti Burger - 27
• Arthur's - 26
• Sammy's - 25 
• Gordo's - 20

Even though there are only 18 better burgers in the nation according to GQ, we have fourteen better burgers in Cincinnati.

I'm thinking GQ lied.