Up First: Half Moon Restaurant & Saloon Kennett Square, PA
I have been immersed in a life altering Hamburger obsession for the better part of two months. It has consumed my daily life and added to my waistline. A few weeks ago I was watching The Travel Channel and they had a Burger special. Yummy! It featured a Restaurant in my backyard, The Half Moon Restaurant and Saloon in Kennett Square, PA. On the program they were touting their unique Hamburgers made from such animals as Elk, Buffalo, Antelope, Kangaroo and many more. This intrigued me as I happened to be thinking of nothing else but tasty Burgers. A few days later I drove the exhausting five miles to Kennett Square and had a chance to try out this now famous, local restaurant.
Upon entering The Half Moon I was struck by the incredibly pungent smell of Bleach and Animal Fat. The downstairs is dark and reminds me of the Hemingway story, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. Except that this was not so clean and not so well lit. Hmmm... that is perhaps my most incoherent sentence yet. But no matter. I was happy to notice a stairway leading upstairs to a rooftop dining area. Bingo! It is a lovely, shaded escape, high above Kennett Square. A place I thought I'd come back to even if the Burgers were crap.
We started with the Melted Gorgonzola-Jack Fries with BBQ Sauce. The Fries were cooked well, with very little moisture left in them. The skins were left on and were nice and crispy. The Gorgonzola and Jack Cheeses must have been poured on with a dump truck, because it was overflowing with Cheesy goodness. The Fries were very nice. The Burgers came up quickly after we finished the Fries. My Antelope Burger looked a wee bit small to me and the Bun looked like I could break a tooth on it. Far from the Brioche buns I have come to love with Burgers.
It was not the appearance that was the stunning factor in this meal, it was the poor quality of the Burger which, even as I sit here I can't believe. The Antelope itself was actually very tasty and with some effort would have made a delicious Burger. However, this thing I was eating was not tasty in the slightest. It was rough, tasteless and begged for seasoning, less time on the grill and butter basting prior to serving. I noticed on the menu that there were several additions one could order if they chose to do so. They included: various Cheeses, Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, Avocado Salsa and Bacon. Wait, I have to pay extra to make my Burger taste good? As my wife would say, "One was not amused." And to add insult to injury, the Burger was accompanied by a limp Pickle Slice and Potato Chips. Which, oddly enough were actually pretty tasty and seemed to be handmade. But I expected more of a $10 Burger.
I left wishing I hadn't eaten at all. And that's not a feeling I enjoy. So, I decided to spend some time in the Passport Foodie Kitchen and make my World Famous, ok, Not So World Famous, but still delicious, Gourmet Burger. I posted the recipe a while ago here.
All I can say, and I will try to say this without sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, is GOOD LORD, this is what a Burger should taste like. I made Fries cooked in Peanut Oil and they didn't even need to be double, or triple cooked. The Burger was juicy, flavorful and intensely, erotically, delicious. The Fries were equally good and could stand up by themselves if one wanted them as a meal. I hope that my Burger obsession is over for a while, because this is not a light meal. But, it is an immensely mouthwatering meal that deserves to be made by any and all Foodies.
Upon entering The Half Moon I was struck by the incredibly pungent smell of Bleach and Animal Fat. The downstairs is dark and reminds me of the Hemingway story, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. Except that this was not so clean and not so well lit. Hmmm... that is perhaps my most incoherent sentence yet. But no matter. I was happy to notice a stairway leading upstairs to a rooftop dining area. Bingo! It is a lovely, shaded escape, high above Kennett Square. A place I thought I'd come back to even if the Burgers were crap.
We started with the Melted Gorgonzola-Jack Fries with BBQ Sauce. The Fries were cooked well, with very little moisture left in them. The skins were left on and were nice and crispy. The Gorgonzola and Jack Cheeses must have been poured on with a dump truck, because it was overflowing with Cheesy goodness. The Fries were very nice. The Burgers came up quickly after we finished the Fries. My Antelope Burger looked a wee bit small to me and the Bun looked like I could break a tooth on it. Far from the Brioche buns I have come to love with Burgers.
It was not the appearance that was the stunning factor in this meal, it was the poor quality of the Burger which, even as I sit here I can't believe. The Antelope itself was actually very tasty and with some effort would have made a delicious Burger. However, this thing I was eating was not tasty in the slightest. It was rough, tasteless and begged for seasoning, less time on the grill and butter basting prior to serving. I noticed on the menu that there were several additions one could order if they chose to do so. They included: various Cheeses, Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, Avocado Salsa and Bacon. Wait, I have to pay extra to make my Burger taste good? As my wife would say, "One was not amused." And to add insult to injury, the Burger was accompanied by a limp Pickle Slice and Potato Chips. Which, oddly enough were actually pretty tasty and seemed to be handmade. But I expected more of a $10 Burger.
I left wishing I hadn't eaten at all. And that's not a feeling I enjoy. So, I decided to spend some time in the Passport Foodie Kitchen and make my World Famous, ok, Not So World Famous, but still delicious, Gourmet Burger. I posted the recipe a while ago here.
All I can say, and I will try to say this without sounding like I'm tooting my own horn, is GOOD LORD, this is what a Burger should taste like. I made Fries cooked in Peanut Oil and they didn't even need to be double, or triple cooked. The Burger was juicy, flavorful and intensely, erotically, delicious. The Fries were equally good and could stand up by themselves if one wanted them as a meal. I hope that my Burger obsession is over for a while, because this is not a light meal. But, it is an immensely mouthwatering meal that deserves to be made by any and all Foodies.
Next Up: Passport Foodie's Gourmet Burger For People Who Know
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