Today marks the first day of our Tour of Burgers. As we were both free for lunch, we headed to Short's Burger and Shine, a new restaurant in town that serves only burgers (please note that sadly this has
taken the place of the former Baldy's). And as you know, you're really no one in downtown Iowa City unless you have a really big awning.They have really redone the inside of the place, it looks really nice, very dark, but nice. They've moved the service area to the back of the shop so the front area is really opened up.
We arrived just before the noon rush and got our orders in as quickly as possible. Bryan went with a make your own combo - cheeseburger with bacon. I decided on the Eldorado - burger with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, pepper jack cheese and all the normal toppings. I have to admit I was a little bit surprised that a place that specializes in burgers didn't even ask us how we wanted them cooked, but it was lunch rush and people were starting to pack the joint.
Although it's hard to read from the menu picture, Short's also offers five different com
bos of black bean burgers. One of their other big boasts is "hand cut fries" and buns specially made for them by a local bakery - the Bread Garden.
We received our food in a reasonable amount of time. Our food was relatively tasty. You could tell the buns were super fresh, but they were also bigger than the hamburger, and part of getting the whole thing right is having the proper meat to bread ratio going on. The hand cut fries were also fresh, but a little bit on the soggy side...maybe they should have stayed in the fryer just a wee bit longer.
Overall we thought this new place was worth trying again...maybe next time the fries won't be quite so soggy and with so many different options maybe we'll find a better experience there next time.
