Using an expression she no doubt picked up from my "Praise the Lord!"-ing mother, my toddler, Ruby, responded with great joy when I told her we were eating cheeseburgers for dinner, sharing my feelings about the revival of a certain bright yellow burger shack at 2600 East Union in the Central District. Months ago, after receiving a polite, typewritten letter recommending that I try Sam's Super Burger for the best damn hamburger this city has to offer, I headed over to Sam's, only to find it closed. Forever.
Many long months later, Cothron L. Dickey and Cynthia Hobbs bought the Sam's space, revamped the kitchen, and repainted with the same eye-catching buoyancy, staying true to the Sam's Super Burger mission. A big fan of the small specialty kitchen, I found no chutney relishes, mayonnaise referred to as aioli, fried cheese sticks, or other such nonsense here. While CC's does provide a "fishwich," and chicken and garden burger options, please note that these items fall under the menu heading of "Other Things"--those I am not concerned with.
My eye fell immediately to the pleasant-sounding challenge of CC's Every Thang Burger ($6.25). True to its title, my fresh, juicy burger (delightfully not overcooked but not bleeding, either) was somehow topped with cheese, tomato, lettuce, pickles, grilled onions, thick bacon, and, yes, HOT LINKS. Ruby gobbled up the piping-hot homemade fries ($1.99), cut thick and still bearing a resemblance to their forebear, the potato.
For good measure, I tasted the regular cheeseburger ($4.25) and the more restrained bacon cheeseburger ($5) off other people's Styrofoam clam shells, and found them equally large, fresh-tasting, and dee-licious. And CC's adds that extra ingredient you ain't gonna find at the golden arches (what Ruby refers to as Old Macdonald's Farm): the warmth and hospitality of the proprietors. While we chatted at one of the two folding card tables, Ms. Dickey came over and wiped down Ruby's ketchupy face, sneaking a few fries to another little girl waiting for a cab with her cranky mother, and generally made everyone feel comfortable and at home, something I have never felt among the plastic plants at Wendy's. Praise be.
CC's Gourmet Burgers
2600 E Union St, 324-2119. Mon-Sat 11 am-8 pm; closed Sunday.
