Chandrathan's Terry's Turf Club Experience

'tHan's Burger Rankings

1. Gordo's
2. Zola's
3. Terry's Turf Club
4. Five Guys
5. Bard's
   

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Chandra and I went out with the intention of joining pops party.  Unfortunately, we are not very good navigators and the GPS on my phone refused to work.  After an hour plus of circling around Pops's neighborhood, trying to get people standing in the middle of the road to move, not seeing any parking for less than $20, Cameron screaming in the backseat, and plenty of sniping at each other we decided to give up and go get dinner.

The original intention was to go to P.F. Chang's, but I said "Hey, we'd be really close to Gordo's, why don't we go there?"  As much as I've talked up the place, it didn't take much convincing so we headed up there.  Chan was of course unimpressed by the neighborhood, but we got to Gordo's without much trouble.  Sadly, when we got to Gordo's we saw a sign on the door saying it would be closed Monday for Labor Day.  That's kinda understandable, but the sign also informed up that it was closed on SUNDAY.  Despite the homeless looking guys across the street being sure there were people in there, the door was locked and we had to come up with another plan.

I got back in the car and informed Chan of the bad news.  At this point, we'd been in the car for over two hours, and Cameron was getting very antsy.  I texted back and forth with BK and he suggested I give Terry's a shot.  I wasn't sure we'd be able to get in after my time there last Wednesday, but we were kinda close so I figured why not give it a shot.

We then drove the five or so miles and made our way to Terry's.  To my surprise, I was able to park very close to the restaurant.  TTC has no parking and you just have to find a place on the street.  When we attempted to go there Wednesday, we had to park about five miles away from the restaurant, but last night it was just a short walk.  We got to the door, and there were a few people outside, but the greeter informed us it would only be about a ten minute wait.  I was relieved by this, and we took a seat outside the door waiting out turn.  There was a cat there that looked like it hadn't moved since we saw it on Wednesday.  It provided great entertainment for Cameron though, and it maid the wait pretty bearable.

After not too long, the greeter came and got us and said that he had a table for us.  This table was a high top (which I like) and it seated six.  Unfortunately, there were already 3 people sitting on one end of the table.  With a tad bit of reservation we sat down and started eating the complimentary peanuts. 

TTC is apparently known for having good food and a decent beer selection, but they are also known for having high prices.  As I was looking over the drink menu, most of the bottles were $5 plus, but they did offer a draft beer for only $4.  I inquired as to what they had on draft and was told Sam Adams Oktoberfest.  This was good news to me, as I've been wanting to try it so Chan and I both ordered one.  The beer itself was good, but it came in a glass no larger than 12 oz, and mine was about 1/2 head. 

After the travel, and drinking half a beer, it was time for me to go to the restroom.  I asked the waitress to direct me to the restroom and she asked "Do you want the one with the door, or the one without?"  I didn't fully understand her question, but I chose the bathroom with a door.  Of course it was locked, so I was left with only one alternative.  I wound up going through a door that was actually a beaded curtain.  Fortunately, we were seated by the curtain so Chan was able to keep guard on the door for me.

Now to the main reason we were there, the burgers!  I ordered a hamburger with swiss cheese, grilled onions, pickles, mayonnaise, bacon, ketchup, and mustard.  Chan ordered  hamburger with swiss cheese, grilled onions, and grilled peppers.  She added that she would like her burger medium, and I then asked for mine that way as well.  The waitress barely acknowledged it but said ok.  I noticed she did not write down that we wanted them medium, and that was a bad sign.

After about 15 or so minutes, our burgers arrived, and we were greeted by a trememdous looking bun.  I took the bun off to add my ketchup and mustard and saw some tasty grilled onions.  Unfortunately, I also saw a sloppy looking hamburger patty that was in three pieces.  I tried to push them together to keep them from falling off the bun.  I bit in to the burger and was saddened to find that it was cooked somewhere between "well-done" and "charcoal".  I was immediately hit with a feeling of sadness.  After all the great reviews fellow rr's had give TTC, I was sure that the hamburger patty was going to be the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten.  Instead, it had an odd flavor that wasn't all that pleasing. 

Aside from the burger itself, the toppings were great, and the bun was the best I've had.  The swiss cheese was some of the best I've ever had, the pickles were dill, the bacon was chewy, and the onions were tremendous.  We also split an order of fries.  They were, well, not great.  I would describe them as a poor attempt at copying Penn Station's fries. 

Judging just by the flavor of the meat, I would put TTC way down on the list.  Gordo's, Zola's, and Bard's all had better patty's and Five Guys wasn pretty close.  When you take the whole burger into consideration, it is probably third on my personal list.  It was definitely overall better than Bard's, and was probably slightly better than Five Guys.  Zola's was a step up, and then Gordo's is just in a league of it's own! 

If you decide to go, Cameron suggests the Water and peanuts, and yes that beaded curtain in the background is the "restroom"!

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