Hunter House

I can't tell you how many times in the past 3+ years that Scottie and I have driven by the Hunter House Hamburger joint in downtown Birmingham, but we can finally say that we have now dined there.  Established in 1952, Hunter's serves old-fashioned hamburgers with sauteed onions grilled with the burger itself.

While it does stick out like a sore thumb among restaurants like Zazio's, Phoenicia, Forté, Mitchell's Fish Market, Streetside, and Peabody's, Hunter's bring us all back down to reality or at least those of us under the age of 40.  Scottie and I didn't quite entertain the full dining experience here as we only took out two double cheeseburgers and regular fries.  The burgers come "topped with grilled onions, ketchup, mustard & dill pickles," but I opted to have mine without the mustard & dill pickles. And this is what they bagged up for us:

At first the burgers appeared a little soggy, but it was most likely due to the steam from within the bag because these burgers weren't exactly greasy as one might have thought.  But we saw beyond the wetness of the burgers, digging into our tasty "his" and "hers" while watching the NCAA games.  Beyond appearances, the juices from the burger mixed with the sauteed onions melting in our mouths.  I wouldn't necessarily say these burgers are better than the ones we've had over at The Red Coat Tavern (which I realize that I must have forgot to review in this blog!), but I would say this is a must-try for anyone that has been living in Birmingham looking for a quick and satisfying bite to eat.