A New Burger Joint in Akron - The Rail

Finally, a good burger joint in my own backyard!  The Rail opened up at Summit Mall about a month ago by Chef Mike Mariola of South Market Bistro and The City Square Steakhouse, both in Wooster.  He strives to keep everything local and sustainable, so of course, I had to try it.  I got my two burger partners in crime, Cindy and Denise and we went for it this week!

It's a cool looking place.  Nifty chandeliers above, weird upside down cows all over the place.  Fun and interesting.  Kind of industrial looking.

But let's get to the food!   Prices are about what you'd expect from a gourmet burger joint these days, starting at $6.50 for a plain burger and going up from there.  You can build your own burger from an eclectic list of toppings (from caramelized onions to tobacco onions, from Avocado Spread to Truffle Butter to Sunflower-Basil Pesto) or you can chose from the nine specialty burger options. Being as I'm very much loving this trend of a fried egg on a burger (see past blog Flippin Over to Flip Side - I also had a Lola Burger at B-Spot, but didn't blog about that since it was my third time there) when I saw the Local Yokel (Swiss Cheese, Ohio Thick Cut Bacon, Fried Organic Egg) I was in!  I also ordered a side of their house made chips.  Check this out!

That my friends is a thing of burger beauty.  All three of us ordered the Local Yokel.  Cindy opted for the onion rings, which if my stomach could take it, I would have too.  I did get to try one (or two, maybe three) and they were yummy deliciousness.  Crispy batter, perfectly cooked onion. 

The burger was pretty great, cooked absolutely perfectly to my requested medium.  The beef, as stated on the website,  comes from Cleveland’s Blue Ribbon Meats who custom grinds a blend of high-quality, source-verified Ohio beef specifically for The Rail.   And it shows!  The cheese was gooey (and I'm usually not a Swiss lover), the bacon was the perfect thickness and doesn't get lost in the burger.  What did however get lost was the egg.  It was cooked completely.  For me the best part of an egg on your burger is that drippy yolk running all over the place and making a mess with it's runny goodness.  So that part of it was a little disappointing.  But it would by no means stop me from going back.  Now that I know they cook them through I would just request they didn't next time.  Oh and lets not forget the chips!   Crispy, browned beautifully and quite tasty.  And a bargain at $2.50 for a perfectly reasonably sized side.

Something I did find a little, I don't know.... off putting maybe?   Was the prices on the shakes.  Started at $4.50 for the standards (vanilla, chocolate or strawberry), they go up from there.  I was quite intrigued by the Nutella Crunch shake, but at $6.50 it was just too much to spend on a shake.

I guess in the big scheme if you treat it as a dessert, it's not that outrageous, but at the time, sitting there thinking I'd like a burger and a shake, it seemed pretty outrageous.  So alas, I didn't have the pleasure of the Nutella Crunch shake.  I have been daydreaming about it ever since though!  Ahhh Nutella.  Quite possibly the world's most perfect food.  But I digress...

Yes, I will go back to The Rail.   Yes, I thought it was pretty fab.   And yes, for the most part, I thought the prices were reasonable.  Thanks for coming to Akron Chef Mariola!