Have you Hurd... Son of Thurman... Not Far from the Original...

It was a long hard slog, but I just about worked through all my birthday specials.  OK.. So maybe it wasn't really all that hard or long... Maybe it was more of a pleasurable saunter throw the section of the Yellow Pages entitled "My Favorite Restaurants."  A tough life, but someone has to lead it, right?  -sly grin-  One lingering coupon for Quaker Steak and Lube.  On the fence about hitting All-You-Can-Eat wing night before it expires.  The wings are still  good and the beer is still ice cold, but breaking even on AYCE feels more like a chore these days than a treat.  Perhaps I will visit another day later in the week and avoid the pressure of trying to eat more than half my age in wings.  Not sure what they are feeding the chickens these days, but I do recall a time when I could exceed my age in wings at The Lube.  Those days are long gone for me.  Hopefully, my readership doesn't think any less of me for it.

Even though I was done with my coupons, I still hadn't experienced my 'birthday meal' yet.  My wife told me I could pick whatever location I wanted.  Had to think for a good long time.  Finally settled on Son of Thurman in Delaware.  Phoned some friends to round out the group and set an early meal time on Sunday to avoid the crowds.  Fortunately, we found on street parking a little more than a block away from the restaurant.  Spring started on Friday, but the weather was feeling like winter hadn't quite let go yet.  We arrived at the front door at 11:30 am to mixed messages.  The hours of operation posted on the door indicated we needed to wait a half hour for opening, but the neon OPEN sign was lit.  As we stood on the street, jaws agape and wondering what to do... The hostess opened the door and informed us they were in fact already open and they just needed to update their hours on the sign.  She ushered us immediately to a table.  

Should have brought a good
knife.  I could've paid for our
dinner with a little bit of
peeled wall covering.   

Who would've thought there was so much
pent up desire to deface US Legal Tender.
Son of Thurman has tapped into a
local groundswell.  Upping the ante on those
souvenir penny presses for sure.

The dining room is considerably larger than the original Thurman Cafe, but has much the same feel.  I am sure that was intentional.  The menu felt very familiar too.  As we both recalled how ridiculously huge the burgers were, we skipped breakfast and didn't plan to have supper either.  The interior was papered with dollar bills that had been personalized by either patrons or employees and laminated over with scotch tape.  Good thing the Secretary of the Treasury never comes here for lunch.  The amount of defaced currency in the place might cause him to launch some sort of Federal investigation.  It would be a shame to put the brakes on this burgeoning culinary enterprise over a few signed George Washington's.  -smile-  

Did I mention that the onion
rings were breaded instead of
battered.  BIG PLUS with
the Dining Scout.

A plethora of pretzel bites with
plenty of honey mustard sauce
for dipping.  BIG PLUS with
young and old alike.

The waitress quickly introduced herself and took our drink orders and we also ordered an appetizer while we waited on the rest of our party to arrive.  The dining room had yet to fill up, but gauging by the number of staff buzzing about a crowd was definitely expected.  Rather than try to rattle off the list of rotating seasonal beers on tap, the waitress showed me the handwritten list.  Only one hard cider and it was Angry Orchard with hops.  The hops made it sound too much like beer and I opted for a bottle of McKenzie's Black Cherry hard cider instead.  EXCELLENT!  The basket of fries and onion rings arrived at the same time as my hard cider.  Both were perfectly crisp and golden brown.  The fries also had a light coating of season salt.  Impressive for being thick fresh cut fries.  Not sure what they do to get them so crisp.  Our friends filtered in and joined us and added some pretzel bites to the mix.  Salty and slightly crispy on the outside... Soft and chewy on the inside... and with a sweet honey mustard sauce.  A hit with the adults and their young daughter.  Chops to the kitchen crew on the starters.

The namesake burger.
Picture taken before I even
thought about taking the first
bite.  

The Son of a Bacon Burger.
I am not sure which is more
impressive, the burger or the
quantity of bacon.  

We moved quickly to the main event.  As big as the burgers are, it felt like were featured in a title bout.  Twelve ounces of ground beef covered with any manner of toppings.  I opted for the original Thurman Burger topped with ham, sauteed onions, mushrooms, provolone, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayonnaise.  I skipped the bun, but did enjoy the chips - a nice crunchy kettle-style potato chip.  Not house-made, but still good.  The burger was cooked perfectly, but the large number of toppings all stacked on top of each other needed some help.  I don't think the ham ever touched the grill.  I think that would have made a world of difference in the cheese layer - which was just melted enough to be somewhat rubbery.  Not quite the ooey gooey goodness I love on a burger.  And this burger deserves no less.  Maybe I threw off the concoction by skipping the bun.  A hot grilled bun might have helped melt the cheese too. Either way, a moderate disappointment for me.  My wife thoroughly enjoyed the Son of a Bacon burger she ordered.  She brought half of it home, due to the sheer size of it.  I am betting that is a fairly common occurrence.  

Yes, even pepperoni pizza.
Isn't that what they call a
win, win, win?  Or
something like that.

Our friends split the ticket and tried both a burger and a pepperoni pizza.  I sneaked a slice of the pepperoni pizza - solely for the benefit of my readership, of course.  It was delicious.  It was a crispy thin crust with a respectable sauce, solid blend of cheeses, and plenty of pepperoni baked to a nice light brown.  Yum!  Almost good enough to make me skip the burger next time.  -wink-   The burgers are a mixed bag as far as sides, so you have to pay attention to the waitress when she asks if you are OK with your side.  She pointed out to us what side came with each burger we ordered.  If you weren't listening, you might be surprised to find chips on your plate instead of fries or vice-versa.  I am sure you have already figured out none of us had room for dessert.  The waitress brought us some carry out boxes and the bill promptly.  I am not sure if she could tell we were first-time customers for this location, but she took great care of us from start to finish.  

Getting an early start was a good call, as the dining room was full by the time we departed.  Another good meal with good friends.  A recurring theme with the Dining Scout and Shade Tree Chef.  I just needed them to help roll me out the door to the car.  -groan-  Look forward to coming back again soon.  Maybe next time we'll split a burger.  And we'll see about dessert. -big smile-

Your Dining Scout and Shade Tree Chef,
Michael Hurd, aka Big Mike


Son of Thurman, 5 N Sandusky Street
Delaware, OH  43015
http://sonofthurman.com/