Saturdays remain “cheat” days in our household. My chance to set aside my normal low-calorie high-protein diet and strap on the feed bag for whatever I want on my plate. Today, it was a burger.
Not just any burger though, we took the opportunity to try another local establishment that’s new to our family, Black Cow Burger Bar in Turners Ma.
Having never been before, and riding high on the value of a giftcard, we pretty much went all out. Our family of four each ordered our own burgers, then decimated their sides and appetizer menu by picking up the following: Fried Macaroni and Cheese, Fried Pickles, Chicken Tenders, Cajun Fries, Sweet potato Fries, Pastrami toast, and Rueben Egg rolls… It was alot of food. We also each snagged a milkshake to wash it down (except the GF) and mine was even a boozy adult affair.
For a burger I opted for the “Ghosted Maple” burger, sans onions: Angus burger with ghost maple aioli, breaded cheese curds, bacon & caramelized onion.
Bearing in mind this is still in the midst of the CoVID 19 pandemic, we were forced to takeout this feast and eat it in the comfort of our own home, rather than experience the restaurant itself. This seemed to phase the flavor of their burger very little.. It was simply fantastic. The subtle spiciness balanced with the sweetness of the maple, the crispiness of the fried cheese curds (proving the uselessness of the absent onions).. All mouthwateringly good.
My favorite burger on earth has long been the “Westhampton Burger” from Local Burger in Keene, NH. Yes, I know they started out in Northampton, Keene does it better, fight me. However this Black Cow burger, which had to survive a car trip in polystyrene and was thus enjoyed at a less than optimal temperature and texture still managed to give the westhampton a fight for the crown. Had I the opportunity to have eaten this onsite at the Black Cow establishment… The burger monarchy may while have been usurped this day.
Now, all that taste comes with a price tag. Literally, a $15 price tag. It’s worth noting that the westhampton burger blows Black cow away in this regard, coming in at a comparatively cheap $8.49… And it still stands as my personal best burger award winner.
As far as the appetizers and sides are concerned…
My pick of the liter is the Rueben Eggrolls, hands down. Shamefully these appear to be a limited time offering on the menu. However, that’s not to say their perennial snacks are nothing to shake a stick at either. The cajun fries and sweet potato fries both make a perfect compliment to shove down your gullet with a burger (I’d lean Cajun myself, but admittedly their sweet potato fries are the best I’ve ever had). The pastrami toast is an interesting execution.. One which sadly gets blown away by the Ruben Eggroll, which hits many of the same notes but harder. The chicken tenders, while good, suffered the most from their trip home.. Not entirely soggy but no longer crisp enough for me to be objective in their assessment.
Finally, the fried macaroni and cheese… It was serviceable. What I mean by that is it was great, one of the best macaroni and cheese “bites” I’ve had in this form, but my scale on those has long been broken by the stellar mac and cheese bites from Local Burger.. They are perfect and despite my best efforts I just can’t appreciate fried Mac and Cheese from anywhere else the same way anymore. The GF did get this fried Mac in disk form on her burger and for what it’s worth she was a really big fan of it (but also agreed Local Burger’s are objectively better).
What I absolutely can appreciate is the downright AMAZING barbecue sauce this place has come up with. If they are getting this off the shelf somewhere I need to know what shelf, but I highly doubt that’s the case. They opt for a more tangy/savory version of the condiment compared to the saccharine sauces that are so pervasive these days. It is a welcome departure from this new BBQ “norm”. This sauce was bundled with the mac and cheese bites as well as the chicken tenders and boosted both of those, otherwise relatively low notes, well above baseline.
And OMG the shake.. I can’t believe I got this far and haven’t mentioned the shake! I picked the Peanut Butter Bourbon shake and it was hands-down the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. Whoever is mixing these things knows their shit. The bourbon flavors come through heavy at first sip and somehow, without a hint of alcohol, fade perfectly into the peanut butter background that caresses your palate on the way down. That alcohol, well hidden as it is, is certainly still present though. Granted, I’m not the biggest drinker and my consumption has only tapered off further on my diet, but this shake did hit me and the feeling stuck around. I’m including a picture from their facebook page of what COULD be this shake, based on the description, because my own pictures of a to-go cup wouldn’t do this masterpiece justice:
Overall our family’s impression of Black Cow is very positive. It’s pricey, but that added cost actually seems to be accounted for in the taste. It directly competes with a long-standing favorite restaurant of mine and held it’s own despite it’s CoVID handicap.. 9/10, I’m reserving the 10 for after we can try their grub onsite.