Tasty Cleveland

Link: http://www.therailburger.com/

On a recent trip to Summit Mall, I spotted “The Rail”.  I had time to peek at the menu and saw that it was a hamburger joint featuring Ohio Raised Beef.  I flagged this as a place to try on my next trip to the mall.

When I arrived on an early Saturday afternoon, I faced a 15 minute wait.  I had time to soak up details of the décor.  The Rail presents itself as a bit of a sports bar with two small televisions on the back bar and two larger ones opposite those above a wall of booths.  The bar was framed across the top by a metal rail hung from the ceiling and a number of meat hooks strategically placed along it for decoration.  Once seated, I really couldn’t see any of the televisions.  That’s ok.  I wasn’t concerned about Marquette and Villanova.

The day’s special was a Turkey Burger that I wanted not.  I asked of my server which hamburgers were most popular.  She replied with the Local Yokel and The Tourist.  The Local Yokel is topped with a fried organic egg.  Since I wasn’t into that today, I opted to try The Tourist.   It’s about a half-pounder topped with avocado, spinach, red pepper mayonnaise and red onion.  I also ordered a side of onion rings and a chocolate milkshake.

The meal was served in a paper lined basket.  The burger arrived ready to be eaten; fully dressed and wearing its crown.  The onion rings were piled in and a dill pickle spear rounded out the presentation.  The shake was served in a cold glass tumbler with a straw as big as a sewer pipe.  It was finished with about ½ inch of whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate syrup and topped with a cherry.

The bun was fresh and soft.  It crushed a bit under my hand when I pulled the burger up from the basket.  Ordered medium rare, the thick, hand shaped burger had a sufficient amount of pink that was juicy.  The first bite captured everything that the burger had to offer.  The beef was mild as was the avocado, red pepper mayo, spinach and red onion.  The little bit of red onion casually added flavor.  To kick it up, I added a smear of the red onion jam.  This woke the burger with a pleasing bit of tang.  With or without the jam, you won’t get indigestion with this one.

The milkshake was smooth and creamy.  It sported a good chocolate flavor.  The sewer pipe straw insured that I got a good mouthful with every draw.  I thought the onion rings were average.  They were plentiful and arrived hot and crispy.  Next time, I think I’ll try the house made chips.

I usually order burgers that jump with flavor.  But in this instance, I wanted to see what so many have found attractive to make The Tourist one of the top picks.  I enjoyed it for the quality it represents and the pleasing, albeit mild taste.  When I’m in again, I’ll have to go back to my love of bold flavors and order the “Bon Fire”.  If The Tourist is representative of the taste and quality of the other burgers, I know I won't be disappointed.  Eat up!