Country Burger is a good burger joint, run by a young, creative, hard-working crew. The store is pretty clean (which, as you know, is a big deal for this old kitchen manager) and the food is well-prepared. Hot stuff is hot, lettuce, onion and tomato are cold and crisp, the bread is not stale.
They have a few decent beers on tap, and PBR and Coors too, for the rest of you who want what leaves your body to more closely resemble what went in, in color and flavor.
The usual punches that family joints pull are pulled here; their cash cow is the massive tourist/vacationer crowd that hits Lake Goodwin and Lake Ki when the temperature exceeds 60 degrees. That means nothing is too flavorful, and the chili fries are as spicy as...eh, my similes tend to offend, so let's just say the chili cheese fries are more of a meaty Velveeta poutine, really. Everything on the regular menu is mostly safe and approachable, except for the ever-changing specials board. A three-star joint that could be four, with some minor changes.
So why one star? Simple: an employee keeps a dog tied up outside in the yard, by the outside tables. This dog seems very lonely and sad on his short (maybe four-foot) rope, with no comfort, toys or shelter. He deserves better. He needs a bath, for starters. He needs something to do besides bark at customers. He wants a happier, cleaner, gentler place to be.
To the dog owner: He's been a good dog, waiting for you all day in the dirt with nothing soft to lay on, no escape from rain or sun and maybe three positions he can put his body in without strangling himself. The one time you came out to tell him to be quiet, I was stupefied...he actually wagged his tail to see you! God that's sad.
Your treatment of that poor old beast ruined my meal, my entire experience there. You could have served me aged filet with foi gras and mushrooms, fiddle heads with morels, fresh peas and thyme in a light wine and caper sauce, and potatoes Anna, with cardamom ice with almond twuile for desert... and I would have given you the same damned one star review.
Fix that, please. It's not on him; it's on you.
I leave you this curse, Burger Bonehead, whoever you are: if you blame or punish your dog for this in any way, nothing you do for the remainder of your so-called life will ever, ever, ever succeed. Ever. You will die unfulfilled and neglected, like your pet. If this angers you, congratulations: you ARE cursed. But, if this instead motivates you to take better care of gentle, innocent souls like your pooch that depend on you for their every happiness, then no worries: no curse. Have fun with that.
Recommended? Maybe...as soon as they quit bringing their pets to work and neglecting them publicly. read more