Most of my burger reviews — with one exception — have been chain burgers. That makes sense, since everyone can use them. But sometimes it’s fun to check out a local place. That’s what I did last week when I had occasion to re-visit Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage, just off Harvard Square in Cambridge. I say re-visit because they used to take me there when I was a kid, but the last time I ate there I was 8 years old.
It’s been popular with all sorts of people since it opened in 1960.
As you can see, it’s an old-school burger joint.
It’s not quite the same as when I was a kid. They use brioche buns, which were pretty much unheard of back in those days, and which I’m not crazy about. (I think buns should be a background item, a supporting actor.) And the burgers, like everywhere, have gotten bigger and thicker. I don’t have any python ancestry, but I did — barely — manage to get my mouth around this one.
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