Wedge + Kobe Burger = 10,000,000,000 Calories

I needed a burger tonight. Here is how the decision of where to get it went down: Fast food? No. The Mint? I don't really want to drive to Belgrade. The Garage? No, I just don't feel like dealing with the on-the-street-ness of it all. Okay, Ale Works it is. Thankfully, Ale Works abandoned the all-too-bread-y-and crusty ciabatta for a proper soft roll (burger to bun-ratio rant forthcoming, can't anyone make a brioche roll in this town? errrggg). Also thankfully, Ale Works is one of the few places around these parts where one can fetch a local "Kobe" (Wagyu, yes? MT is not in Japan...) burger.

The local wagyu tastes great, with full beefy flavor. If you take a deep whiff, it almost, just barely, gives off a bit of iron-y-ness and game-y-ness - in a good way. I order mine rare - and the kitchen provides accordingly. This is one of the few burgers I eat naked. No cheese, no sauce of any kind, no plants, er..vegetables. Just the salt and pepper the broiler dude (or dudette) applies before slapping the patty down on the flat top. $16 is a bit steep for a burger, sure. But a $16 steak would be cheap, no? Thus, I justify the order...

Ale Works fries are good. Not great, mind you. Take away the generous coating of parm and black pepper and they might not be that special. This doesn't stop my from consuming most of them.

Before all that beef, I did have my vegetables: 1/3 of a head of iceberg lettuce covered in about 1 cup of dressing and a few rashers of bacon. The lettuce, cool and crisp; the bacon, warm. It's like the McDLT in spherical form.

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