post #9

 Throughout my life, I've traveled to many places. I've traveled up and down the East coast more times than I can count. I've even left the coast and gone out west a few times. I've also been to a few European countries. Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic all have fantastic food. So do all of the places in the U.S. 

 The one thing I've tried in Maryland that I just cannot get my mind off of is the hamburger from Alonso's which is just down on W Coldspring lane. The restaurant itself is a complete hole in the wall. For my first 3 years at Loyola, I didn't even know Alonso's existed. Sure I had passed it a few times, but I honestly just assumed it was one of the many liquor stores in the area. 

I first went to Alonso's in August of this school year. My roommates and I were all looking for a place to eat dinner. My direct roommate brought up Alonso's on google, and he told the whole room that it had good reviews. Why not give it a shot?

It was a quick walk from Loyola to Alonso's. It only took about ten minutes to hike up the long hilly road that we know as W Coldspring. When I first walked in, I wasn't shocked to see an entire liquor store in the front. After all, I always thought it was just a liquor store. What shocked me was that there was a full bar and restaurant in the back. What was even more shocking was that the place was at full capacity as soon as we walked in.

 We were seated quickly, and I took in the atmosphere around us. Alonso's was dark and terribly lit. I was shocked to see that people brought kids there. It seemed more like the type of place where a lonely old drunk would go to drink his sorrows away. 

 The menu was incredibly long and diverse (which is never really a good sign for a restaurant). There were probably about twenty five or thirty different burgers on the menu. All had comical names and different toppings which ranged from normal to bizarre. 

I ordered a burger that boasted the title "The Hangover". It was just a 16 oz patty with a fried egg, jalapeños, onion straws, and hot sauce on top. Surprisingly, I've actually heard of burgers with the same title before. Usually hipster cafe's have a burger called "The Hangover" that's just a burger with avocado on it. This was a totally unique experience. Certainly nothing like what I had previously has at a hipster cafe. 

The burger was massive. It was so large that it practically fell apart in my hands. It was the single greasiest piece of food that I've ever laid eyes on. The smell was absolutely divine. Something about it was different from other hamburgers. I later found out that the smell was from the fact that it was actually cooked in butter  instead of vegetable oils like most other restaurants use. 

The texture of the hangover burger was the best kind of texture. It was the perfect medium rare. It was juicy, but not too juicy. It was just moist enough for me to know that the ground beef used to make the hamburger was as fresh as can be. 

In the end, the dining experience was shitty. The restaurant was gross, and the people who frequent the bar look fairly sketchy. But it still was the best hamburger I have ever had in my entire life. I live in fear that one day, I'll have to move out of Maryland. At that point, I'll have to find a new burger that I consider to be the best I've ever had.