Beach Burgers (Camdenton, MO)

108 Cecil St (Ste B), Camdenton, MO 65020, T: 573-346-9955

I was in Camdenton for a wedding, and had several hours to kill between the ceremony and the dinner... Having had an early 'brunch' and a long wedding ceremony, I was starving. Good thing I came to Beach Burgers, a small hole in the wall with great ambitions. The owners got their inspiration for In & Out Burger while in California, and hope to make Beach Burger a franchise (a second restaurant will open in Springfield, MO soon).

Like other burger places these days, in part inspired by the tv program Man v. Food, Beach Burgers has a challenge: eat The Big Kahuna and get your pic on the wall (two Big Kahunas, bigger pic; three, a framed pic). Somewhat by accident I got into this challenge, ordering The Big Kahuna to ease my hunger: it includes four juicy and tasty beef patties (grilled and crispy around), fried (or raw) onion, a bit of lettuce and tomato, secret sauce (kind of mayo-1000 Island), on a big soft bun. As a side you get either fries (thin and crispy) or coleslaw. It costs ca. $10 (forgot). I finished The Big Kahuna within 10 minutes; it was so fresh and tasty! Consequently, Grondhopper is now on the wall of Beach Burgers!

VERDICT: 91/100

Beach Burgers provides great burgers; fresh, juicy, tasty, and plentysome. Next time I will go for a smaller burger and have some of the other food too. Let's hope this will become a franchise!

Runway Grill (Seattle, WA)

Gate D6, South Satellite, Seattle-Tacoma Airport

Runway Grill is a fast food place at the South Satellite section of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. As there is virtually no choice in this part of the airport, I have eaten here a couple of times. It is not extremely overpriced, for an airport.

This time around we had a burger and a chicken sandwich. Both look really crappy, and also tasted it. At other times I had the chicken tenders (reasonable), the hot dog and the fries (both were fairly tasteless). They also have fish sandwiches and salads; I doubt they taste better.

VERDICT: 49/100

Places like the Runway Grill can only survive at places like airports without much competition. They provide very poor quality at reasonably high prices; they are quick though!

Fired Up Bar-B-Que (Camdenton, MO)

770 E Hwy 54 Suite B, Camdenton, MO 65020, T: 573-873-2700

Fired Up Bar-B-Que is a new BBQ place in Camdenton, Missouri. While situated at a small strip mall outside of the center, it had decent business for a Saturday noon. It has the looks of a franchise, but as far as I know this is the only place (so far). It's menu is very extensive; although, when I was there they didn't have various items (e.g. brisket).

As it was noon, and I had something small before, I only had room for one sandwich. I made it a Sloppy Q, which came with one side for $6.79. The Sloppy Q is a combination of their meats with bbq sauce; at least, that was what they told me. It tasted very much like Fat Matt's chopped pork sandwich (which is a huge compliment). It wasn't as tangy, more sweet (the onions?), but it was very tasty. The cole slaw was less impressive; too creamy, too little taste, but the little piece of cornbread made me want to buy a whole loaf (for the record, I didn't!).

VERDICT: 87/100

Fired Up Bar-B-Que provides surprisingly good BBQ in a very unsurprising setting. Go for the Sloppy Q and make sure you get an extra piece of cornbread!

Sweet Iron (Seattle, WA)

1200 3rd Ave, Ste 110 (between Seneca St & University St), Seattle, WA 98101

Sweet Iron serves (real) Liege waffles and coffee in downtown Seattle. While this sounds like a limited menu, they actually serve ca. 10 different kind of waffles, both sweet and savory. Prices range from ca $4 to $6.

I went here with two others for lunch and we sampled most of their waffles. I had the banana brulee waffle ($3.99), which was sweet and tasty, and the bacon waffle ($4.99), which could have profited from strong maple syrup. My friends raved about the Brie and Basil Waffle ($4.99), while they also had the (seasonal) Elvis Waffle (peanut butter and banana).

VERDICT: 83/100

This is a nice little shop in downtown Seattle, which serves reasonably authentic Liege waffles in original sweet and savory options (and combinations).