I admit it. I like burgers once in a while, juicy, beefy and with various accouterments. I used to eat them fairly regularly at a place in Chicago down the street from where I lived, with a beer or two. In Winston Salem, i have discovered a few placed with burgers that are, to be honest, quite quite quite good.
The first place is called Cin Cin Burger Bar. I have been there on my own and with a friend. I have sat in a booth and at the bar. And, I have had burgers that they "designed" as well as ones where I just picked what I wanted on the burger (no reader of this blog will find my choices surprising" bleu cheese and bacon when I picked for myself). The ambience is fairly decent - though its a bit large and the menu veers toward a kind of 1890s feel, and maybe a tiny tad of a self indulgent feel. In my view, for example, booze filled milk shakes are just . . . . a very bad idea. (And no, I have not had one. They just truly put me off. Almost as much as one of their specialty burgers which includes peanut butter on the burger. That just seems wrong.) Having said that a few things I can say that are very positive, beyond the excellent parking (which in Winston-Salem matters a lot to me) are these: (a) they serve a good cocktail; and (b) the burgers are juicy, cooked nicely, and come with a nice bun that does not crumble. I like the onion rings a lot - which come with a kind of odd dip which is near addictive. I can also attest to the pirogies (which I tried more recently) and a chicago-greek-town-like oompa with the flaming saganaki. The service is usually terrific - though once in a while it is a little too in my face for comfort.
There is a bit of a chain feel to it, though I have no idea if it is a chain - I can, though, say I have enjoyed it each and every time I have been there. (Ok, I just checked the about section of their website and yes, this is one of several restaurants in the triad region. IT even turns out they own another place I like in town: Yamas. Small world.
Hops is another place where I have had a good burger - with the same friend. They have a place in Winston-Salem as well as Greensboro. We sat at the bar, and each had a burger and beer. Again, well cooked, blue (or is it bleu) cheese and bacon, and in this case fries. Very good fries if I say so myself.
Locations:
Cin Cin
1425 West 1st street, Winston Salem
Hops Burger Bar
901 Reynolda Road, Winston Salem
