There is no doubt about one point: Park Burger has enough fans to keep the place busy. Ever since it opened last spring, the small corner restaurant with the great big griddle has been full.
But unlike the rest of the neighborhood, it’s taken me a while to come around to appreciating it.
I have always appreciated the concept, certainly. This corner of the Platt Park neighborhood has for many years been a lonely strip, consistently outshined by the glitzy, glossy Old South Pearl Street district just a couple of blocks to the north. It needed a place like this.
And I’ve appreciated the neighborly attitude Park Burger has oozed since opening. It’s family-friendly in all the right ways (not “family- friendly” as in “sticky with kid residue,” more like “family-friendly” as in “parents can have a glass of wine and a measure of sanity even while keeping the kids happy with fries and shakes”). Often, driving by on cool days, I’ll see dogs parked on the patio outside the windows, engaged in communal lounging as their owners gobble burgers inside. (On warm days, the patio is busy with people.)
But it took a few months before I was served a Park Burger that I actually wanted to finish.
Chalk it up to bad luck, or to sloppy cooking: My first two or three visits to Park Burger, starting shortly after the place opened, were unmemorable at best. Unseasoned, dry burgers, soggy buns, cold fries.
But over my past three visits, the trend has been constant: up. Steadily so. Juicy burgers made with cut- above ingredients, fresh buns, and hot, salty fries. I can now recommend the place.
If you are, like I am, a purist when it comes to burgers (not a bunch of junk all over the top), you’ll find the Park Burger (lettuce, tomato and so forth) a worthwhile meal. Order it medium-rare.
If you must, load up your burger with a prefab combination of toppings (the Croque Burger comes with ham and a fried egg, the El Chilango burger with jalapeños, cheddar and guacamole). You’ll find the extra ingredients of good quality and well-chosen.
Fries (classic or sweet-potato) are well-prepared, hot and salty and nicely textured, but perhaps too plentiful for their own good.
Allow me to explain: Fries are only worth eating when they are hot. If you have too many fries, there’s no way you’ll finish them before they go cold. If you have cold fries in front of you, you’re bound to eat a couple, and they will taste bad, and you will think Park Burger serves bad fries. Which they don’t. Park Burger serves very good fries. But only if you eat them hot. Your move: Eat your fries, not all of them, and eat them at the top of your meal.
Extra points are due to Park Burger for expanding the menu into breakfast sandwiches on the weekends. Eggs and bacon hog the griddle from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday and Sunday. And although $4.50 is about the most I’ll pay for such a sandwich (bacon, egg and cheese on a potato bun), Park Burger’s a.m. offerings are worth it.
Service at Park Burger is generally well-managed and efficient. However, when it’s really busy, temper your expectations; you’ll wait longer than you want to. Happily, there are beer and wine to tide you over, and even when things don’t move as quickly as they could, the staff maintains a good attitude.
Many of the patrons are folks from close by who’ve walked here, and it’s this neighborhood participation in the place that is its secret ingredient. You don’t come here for elevated, life-changing fare; you come for a good burger and good feelings. On both of these counts, Park Burger succeeds.
Emphatically.
What do you think of Park Burger? Visit denverpost.com/restaurants, and let us know.
PARK BURGER
Burgers 1890 S. Pearl St., 720-242-9951, parkburger .com
** (Very Good)
Atmosphere: Bright, friendly burger counter with open griddle and spacious patio
Service: Better at lunch
Wine: Smart, small, burger friendly list
Plates: Burgers $6 and up; breakfast sandwiches $4 and up
Hours: Monday-Friday 11 a.m.- 10 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m.-9 p.m.
Details: Street parking. Wheelchair accessible. Great for families.
Six visits
Our star system: **** : Exceptional *** : Great ** : Very Good * : Good
