Foodish: Grease is the Word.

As I'm sure you've discovered by now...there are few things in life as wonderful to my tastebuds as a good hamburger.

Last Tuesday (that would be June 30), I went with my sometimes-vegetarian best friend Amanda to this new restaurant called the Burger and Cheesesteak Factory, on Prince Avenue in Athens. I did my research--Flagpole (the Athens independant paper) was not impressed, neither was a blogger who works at The Grit (a vegetarian restaurant).

But there were positive reviews as well.

I nearly had to get down on my hands and knees and beg Amanda to go--she heard the phrase "deep fried paradise" and nearly had a coronary--but I was fairly determined that I was going to try this place, and make up my own mind.

My first impression, upon walking into the restaurant, was that the decoration was quite minimalist. There were tables, booths, a counter, and a trashcan shaped like a Coke bottle. The place was very empty; it was me and Amanda, the workers, and a couple who probably should not be eating deep fried anything.

Most of the decoration came from customer-supplied remarks, Sharpie-fied on the walls, booths, and floor for all of eternity. We did not partake in that little venture.

So, anyway, you order at the counter. The menu is mouthwatering, with the front side listing 13 burgers, 9 cheesesteaks, and the beginnings of Deep Fried Paradise. Now, most of the deep fried paradise things I would probably never order; like the broccoli with cheese wiz or cheese stuffed jalapenos. The candy bars I'm still dying to try, though. The back menu hosts "more fun stuff," which is a list far more appetizing than deep fried stuff, as well as shakes and a kids menu.

*Side Note: When I return, I want to know what exactly a "scrambled dawg" is. And I want deep fried candy bars.

After much deliberation, stomach growling, and consultation, I ordered the burger topped with portobella mushrooms and Swiss cheese. I also added lettuce, because despite being a meatetarian lettuce is a hamburger staple, and an order of chili cheese fries. And a chocolate shake.

Amanda ordered a cheesesteak (I don't remember which variety...I want to say it was the portobella one as well but that might be a lie) and a rootbeer float, and opted to share the fries.

You'll have to eat there yourself to make up your mind, but my experience at the Factory was wonderful.

My burger arrived on a lightly toasted bun, with a foot long toothpick in it. There was an eensy weensy pickle atop that. You could literally see the shrooms and cheese melting all over the warm, juicy beef patty. And another thing...the burger was HUGE.

(P.S. Sorry for the sideways picture of the burger...it won't let me rotate!)

It is very, very rare that I don't eat all of a hamburger. Especially when said hamburger has cheese and mushrooms (my favorite vegetable) dripping all over it. But this burger was so intense, so massive, that combined with the plate full of fries, I could not eat the entire thing.

The bad reviews said the burgers tasted faintly like hot-dogs, but I did not see that. There was a lot of flavor in the burger: the tang from the cheese, the sauteed taste of the mushrooms, and the crisp lettuce, plus the very beefy taste of the patty itself.

My only qualm was the pepper mayo on the burger. Pepper is not a good flavor to me, so next time I'll know not to get that on it. Also, I do admit that the grease on the burger could be considered excessive. That part kind of reminded me of getting a good taco, where the juice from the meat kind of leaks out over your hands when you take a bite and the shell breaks. But that's kind of an irrelevant remark...so let's move on.

What probably ruined my burgerppetite, pepper mayo or not, was the rather large serving of deep-fried potatos absolutely drenched in chili and cheese.

Oh my word. This was truly a heavenly side dish. I probably would have been good with just the fries and the shake, it was such a big portion.

The fries were wonderfully greasy and mouthwatering. The chili would probably not win any fancy taste test award, but it had a strong flavor and was slightly chunky, just the way chili should be. Now, usually I'm not a big fan of American and Cheddar cheeses unless they're on a good burger, but it worked with the chili's flavor. Kind of a semi-sharp taste on its own, the cheese was mild compared to the chili, and was very complementary.

I would go back just for the fries, even if the restaurant stopped selling everything else.

I ate there, and I'm not afraid to go again. I do have some tips for your first time though:

1) Try the chili cheese fries, unless you're lactose intolerant, in which case you should skip the cheese

2) Get lettuce on your burger. I found that the crisp texture was very good when contrasted against the other, more tender ingredients. Plus, lettuce is healthy, right?

3) Come really...really...really hungry.

Now...you've heard what I've got to say. Go eat there yourself!