Synopsis
If you want good food and great service but don't want to wait in a long line, Broiler Express is the place for you.
Review
I was amazed to see that this place has finally opened. Who would have known? It's been an empty building for so long that I wouldn't believe it was open except for the fact that someone I trusted ate there.
Although open, it's still very vacant inside. There were four other customers in there which, from what I've been told, was actually quite busy for this location. Since no one else was in line, I stood up to the register and placed my order. The Butch Cassidy burger is one of their most popular ones and once I heard it included swiss cheese I decided to go for it.
I'm not one for a western burger. I like the idea of an onion ring on a burger; I'm not such a fan of barbecue sauce on a burger. In spite of that bias, though, I did enjoy this one. The processed swiss cheese is something I rather enjoy and the onion ring fit nicely. On some western burgers the onion ring can get in the way, sometimes it's so large that it pretty much is the burger and not an accessory to it. But on the Butch Cassidy burger, it belongs.
The onion rings in general were excellent. These onion rings are more onion than they are batter. Deep fried to a golden brown, they have surprisingly little grease. The container had little if any grease left on it after they were eaten. Of course, my hands had some; you can't expect to eat onion rings without any grease, but they are close to the least greasy ones I've had. The fry sauce was pretty good as well. I look forward to ordering them the next time I come.
Perhaps its because there isn't a lot of customers, but the service was very good as well. On the way out the door the person who took my order asked me how I liked my burger, and the person bringing it out offered to get me fry sauce and / or ketchup from the condiment bar that I overlooked on the way over. This is some of the best service I've had at a fast food place. Because of the service and the good food, I'm looking forward to my next visit.
Cost and Big John Rating
$5.76 = Large Butch Cassidy Burger Combo includes Butch Cassidy Burger, Onion Rings, and a Large Drink.
Service = 9
Ambiance = 8
Quality = 8
Taste = 8
Price Rating = 8.3
Big John Rating = 8.6
Notable URLs
Review
State Street Grill is definitely bigger than it looks. Not only was I surprised upon entering to see it bigger than I expected it to be, but I also found that the menu was bigger than expected as well. I've driven past here several times and wanted to stop by but for whatever reason didn't make it until now. I'm glad I stopped.
Although I've always wanted to come, it wasn't until some friends of mine dropped by and really enjoyed it that I decided to give it a try. According to them, this place makes the best onion rings they've had (and they know onion rings). With a review such as that, I couldn't wait another week to stop by.
I arrived after the dinner traffic and ended up having the entire place to myself (which was nice). They have two flat screen TVs on the corners near the entrance for their guests to watch while dining (and I was able to choose what I wanted to watch). The whole setup has a 50's car shop ambiance but clearly was designed to be a grill. I really like their theme; it is a small place (which I think is fitting for a grill), but it feels (to some degree) like you've gone back in time to when things were a bit smaller and more personable. I really like the design; it suits the place well.
For my order I went with the Boston which is their version of a pastrami burger. I also ordered their onion rings and topped it off with a brownie a la mode. You can order different kinds of cheeses on it; I went with the swiss cheese. As soon as I placed my order, the grill fired up and the burger was cooking. These burgers are made fresh so it took a little bit to make it, but it was worth the wait. The pastrami on the burger seems thicker than normal and really has some good seasoning on it. The bun looks rather scary (I thought it was doughy when it first came out) but it was well cooked, very soft and went well with the sandwich. I don't mind a greasy sandwich (I know some do) and this sandwich is very greasy but I think it really enhanced the flavor.
The onion rings were really good. Fair warning -- they are more batter than onion and greasy as well, but I enjoyed them. Even though they were greasy they weren't soggy which is something I really appreciated (I'm not a fan of soggy fries or onion rings). The fry sauce has extra flavors in it and goes well with the onion ring.
As for the brownie a al mode, I thought it was excellent. The brownie itself isn't something that I would like just by itself but it combines very well with the ice cream and chocolate syrup. They put the brownie in the microwave before adding on the ice cream and syrup so when it was served the soft ice cream melted over the brownie and tasted really good. I prefer my ice cream soft and just starting to melt -- I think that kind has the best flavor. And their ice cream is served soft.
In general I really liked this place. Some of the lunch crew has eaten here as well and enjoyed it, too. Can't wait to try it again!
Cost and Big John Rating
$9.48 = Boston Buger Combo (including fries and drink) + 0.50 for the onion rings instead of fries
$2.47 = Brownie A la mode (with combo meal; $3.47 without)
Ambiance = 9
Quality = 9
Service = 9
Taste = 9
Price Rating = 9.0
Big John Rating = 9.0
Notable URLs
Although open, it's still very vacant inside. There were four other customers in there which, from what I've been told, was actually quite busy for this location. Since no one else was in line, I stood up to the register and placed my order. The Butch Cassidy burger is one of their most popular ones and once I heard it included swiss cheese I decided to go for it.
The onion rings in general were excellent. These onion rings are more onion than they are batter. Deep fried to a golden brown, they have surprisingly little grease. The container had little if any grease left on it after they were eaten. Of course, my hands had some; you can't expect to eat onion rings without any grease, but they are close to the least greasy ones I've had. The fry sauce was pretty good as well. I look forward to ordering them the next time I come.
