The burger: To my everlasting regret, I have been stupidly unaware of the existence of the Shantytown Bar & Grill. That is, until Burger Friday reader Kim Whalen of Lakeville recommended it. Thanks, Kim.
"It's Bloomington's little secret," said co-owner Peter Taykalo. "It's such a small place that, if you drive by and blink, you'll miss it."
No kidding. The location, on a sleepy street a few blocks south of I-494, pretty much defines unlikely, straddling the boundary between a characterless industrial area and a quiet residential neighborhood.
Nothing about the modest building's exterior indicates that it's the purveyor of a classic – the argument could be made for standard-setting – dive bar burger, sold at a barely-more-than-Five Guys price.
(Along with no-frills burgers and cheeseburgers, the kitchen pulls together a half-dozen more elaborate versions. The No. 1 seller? The "Shanty," which piles on Cheddar and Swiss cheeses, guacamole and applewood-smoked bacon.)
The third-pound, free-form patties ("It's angus, always fresh, never frozen," said Taykalo) are seared on a well-worn flattop grill until the beef skirts past a no-nonsense medium, allowing tasty bits of sizzled char to form on the outer edges.
The bun – a soft-yet-sturdy specimen that's baked at the nearby Denny's 5th Avenue Bakery – gets brushed in butter before getting a dark, crispy toast on the grill. Cheese? It's salty, gooey American, although Cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella and pepper Jack are available. The sole garnish is a standard-issue pickle spear.
That's it, just the three basic, well-handled burger food groups: beef, cheese and buttered-up bun. No pretense, no complications. Exactly what a dive bar burger should be.
