Bare Bones Best Burger

When I was in college at UT Knoxville, one of my favorite places to go for lunch was Miller’s Department Store. I know it sounds crazy, but I could use my parents’ Miller’s card to charge lunch and they had the best hamburger I had ever eaten. That burger was the perfect blend of juicy and salty and fresh and hot. I was devastated when my dad got his Miller’s bill and we had a chat about the appropriate use of parental credit. I have thought of that burger often over the years.

We are Costco people. As much as I love Costco (and I really do love Costco) the meats we have bought there the last few times have been disappointing. I guess there is a reason you get Fred Flintstone-sized ribeyes for a very reasonable price.

My friend Katharine suggested we try Bare Bones Butchers on 51st Avenue. Her husband, David, is a wonderful cook. His ribs are a thing of beauty. While I think it is mostly David’s skill, he insists the meat from Bare Bones is just that good.

Katharine also raved about the lunch counter. So Evans and I decided to buy a tenderloin for Easter and have lunch at their counter Saturday. It is a great looking shop with a meat counter as soon as you walk in the door. To the right are refrigerated “to go” items including Pork Bone Broth, Braised Greens, and Chili. There was a nice selection in the meat case and the knowledgable and helpful butcher quickly helped Evans choose a tenderloin. (We have a deal. I buy cars. He buys meat.) He then trimmed and tied it and wrapped it in butcher paper. (I have no idea what the tying part is but that seemed to please Evans and he is going to cook it, so great.)

To the left of the meat counter, they serve lunch at a few small tables and a counter that will seat eight. Only five of the seats were taken, so we chose to eat at the counter. The entrees were written on cardboard and tacked on the wall. They change daily and Saturday there were four; a Cheeseburger, a Ham and Cheese, a Pastrami Melt, and a Cubano. They also offer Beef Fat Fried Potatoes and some other things but I never got past the Beef Fat Fried Potatoes.

Evans ordered the Pastrami Melt and I ordered the Cheeseburger. The man next to us had a Cubano and it looked great. Very quickly, our lunch was served. I took a bite of my burger and for the first time in thirty-eight-years I was back at the Miller’s lunch counter eating the best burger I had ever had. It literally brought tears to my eyes. While I cry at everything, I believe this is the first time I cried at a cheeseburger. I also had the Beef Fat Fried Potatoes which were extremely good, but I realized after a couple of bites that there was no way to eat the burger and the potatoes so the burger won out. Halfway through lunch, I told Evans to forget about dinner. I knew I would be too full to eat again, but nothing was going to stop me from eating every bite of that cheeseburger.

Evans says we have a new favorite place. We are the least hip people we know and never try new restaurants but we plan to be regulars at Bare Bones. I can’t imagine I will ever have anything but the burger, although everything else looked great. Katharine and David were right. It is a hidden gem. Oh, and the tenderloin more than lived up to its promise.