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| - Sometimes you have to be careful with whom you eat lunch. We were thinking about burgers, and I suggested the best burger joint I'm aware of in Phoenix, The Grind. But nobody wanted to spend $15 on a burger. The driver of the car made an executive decision to go to Boston's, but it was too late - the car was already moving!
So, we arrive at Boston's. I've already had their pizza, and it was uninspiring. After you've had pizza in New York and Chicago, and even local joints like Pizzeria Bianco, and you have places like Spinato's in your rotation, an uninspiring pizza is not really even worth eating for lunch.
I started with the Mountain Dew to drink. It was awful. Coworker across the table said the Arnold Palmer wasn't very good, either. Bad drinks - strike one.
I went with the jalapeno and onion straws burger, cooked medium. But wait, they cook everything medium-well, according to the server!
Out comes my burger and fries. I discovered that our waitress wasn't being entirely truthful about the burger temperature; they don't cook burgers medium well, but hockey puck. These burgers are what you get when you accidentally leave it on the grill for two hours too long. I suspect the restaurant staff, before opening, completes such preparatory tasks as hooking up the hoses on the soda fountain, wiping down the tables, setting up the chairs, and putting the burgers on the grill. I wasn't too worried about spilling my drink because I had a nice, absorbent meat patty to soak up the moisture. I could go on and on about those burgers...
And you have to love freezer fries. Tastes just like home, at least if you're a bachelor like myself, and cooking consists of pulling something out of the freezer and heating it up.
One of my coworkers smartly pointed out that it's nice not having to worry about getting your hands wet holding your burger. I pointed out that it's kind of nice not having to worry about your taste buds getting too excited. Another nice, positive spin I put on the meal was that it would make the boring drudgery of the work day seem that much more exciting by comparison.
And finally, I lobbed my most viciously backhanded compliment on the place - the pièce de résistance, if you will - by pointing out how nice it is that we saved a whole $3 by not going to The Grind.
I will admit, it is nice to have dining experience like this every now and then. It keeps things in perspective. Because how else will you be able to truly appreciate a good, or even an average, meal?
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