Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 24, 1993 TAG: 9308240657
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL CSOLLANY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
College life is all about a good burger and fries.
And I'm not talking about anything that's precooked, nuked and ready in two minutes.
My search began a few weeks ago for the perfect burger. Big greasy beef, mmmm. . . .
So that no additional factors would sway my judgment, I shed each burger of all that excess stuff it comes with (lettuce, onions, pickles, mayo, baco bits, etc.). I just ate bun, burger and a little ketchup for flavor.
So what did I find?
For a slightly fuddy burger, try College Inn on Main Street in Blacksburg. By fuddy, I mean that the slabs o' beef at College Inn taste a bit like the morsels that Fuddruckers serves - albeit not as large nor expensive.
College Inn has the right atmosphere for eating burgers - air that kind of hangs there - and has great fries to go along. The fries are really potato-ey if that's your style.
The buns at BT's in Radford are thick. The burger there is really tasty, and it looks like somebody used a Ginsu knife to chop up this beef. But I think the selling point of BT's would be their Waftos.
Waftos are French fries which seem to be made in a waffle iron. They're fun to play with - not to mention delicately seasoned to perfection.
At the Scoreboard in Radford, the food was definitely fine. But I got neck strain from trying to watch any of the three televisions behind me.
Although not really into the sports-bar scene, I was delighted to find a large patty on my plate - not too red, and not too charred. I hate it when you ask for medium-rare and it comes back black. But that's another tangent.
Scoreboard also has mmm-mmm-good thick crinkly fries. Texture is half the meal, sometimes.
In my search for the ultimate burger, I left my eating partners behind and headed to Mike's Grill in Blacksburg.
Mike's served up a huge chunk of meat. It had a good meaty flavor, too, and was much bigger than the bun.
The folks down there also deliver a healthy serving of long potato-ey fries. Mike's is good when you have that power-hunger, but be prepared to spend the power bucks, too. Burger, fries, drink, tip can run six or seven bucks.
The best burger, in my humble opinion as a hungry student and not as an expert food critic, came from the Hokie House, also next to the Tech campus.
It oozed!
Not greasy, nor bloody, but the meat was soft and tender and yummy. Bun/burger ratio was OK, and the meal was thoroughly enjoyable even though I didn't get napkins or a straw from the waitress.
The fries were dyn-o-mite. They were spicy, but not to the extent that my face started to sweat.
So the next time you feel the urge to chow down on red meat, check out these college town staples. And enjoy!
by CNB