The Most Decadent Burger in America
from 60 Things worth shortening your life for — Esquire.com
Items 44-48. The Five Most Decadent Burgers in the United States of America:
The cheeseburger at Shady Glen Dairy Stores in Manchester, Connecticut.
Four carefully arranged pieces of cheese extending far beyond the border of the patty melt directly on the grill, creating a chewy crust that is as difficult to describe as it is to digest. $4.95.
Oh yeah. I grew up about three miles from Shady Glen and regularly visit my parents who still live there. Having indulged in these unique cheeseburgers on many occasions, I concur. Well worth shortening one’s life for.
Here’s a good review of Shady Glen, with several photos, including some that illustrate the making of the signature cheeseburger.
Shady Glen is a local institution. Except for the prices, nothing has changed in the forty years that I can remember the place. The same dully gleaming stainless steel equipment and ice cream freezers are still being wiped down several times a minute by the industrious, neatly-attired, slightly nerdy employees. The counter staff at Shady Glen have always had that same appearance and attitude; when I was a teenager, working at Shady Glen was reputed to be akin to working tobacco,* a tough, demanding job, only for those with real stamina. I never applied.
But after Friday night high school basketball games, I did frequent it as a customer. You could get a hamburger or an ice cream at a reasonable price, or, for the truly tight-fisted, one could have what we jocularly called the “Mike Lafontaine Special,” i.e. an English muffin and a glass of water, which my friend Mike L. was well-known for ordering - that being the cheapest selection on the menu.
People still crowd into Shady Glen, and as efficiently as ever, the young staff delivers cheeseburgers, French fries, and ice cream (standard flavors all the time, licorice on occasion, and Pumpkin in October) to the appreciative residents of the Manchester area.
*While Shady Glen remains, the tobacco fields of the Connecticut River valley have greatly shrunk. Back in the day, the area produced distinctive shade tobacco, well-suited for the outer layer of cigars.
One Right Handed Whopper, Please
Allah Swirly Cone - “This is my jihad.”
CDR Salamander: BBC on 9/11
God mad at America - Again
Abort Air America