LaClair: A uniquely perfect day, plus burgers

I took the long, lonely drive to Oran for a meal this week, only it wasn’t so lonely with my sister and niece along, and it really isn’t all that long, either. We chatted, caught up and spied Lone Rock, the cool rock with the stunted cedar tree beside the railroad tracks; all things one does on the way to Oran. We thought ourselves incredibly clever when we turned into Church Street and noted the large church there, letting out an understanding, “Aaaah, that’s where the name comes from,” and then laughing at ourselves. It was a good drive.

But we were not there to be comedians, although we certainly thought we were funny. We were there to visit Uniquely Perfect Burgers & More, a new restaurant at 118 Mountain St. This restaurant called itself a drive-in online, and I’m glad I looked, because there was nowhere to sit inside. There was a picnic table out front, and it was a beautiful day, just this side of too hot but not that horrible suffering weighty heat, so we ordered and sat outside to wait.

The meal started with our fountain sodas, deliciously cold and bubbly to balance the sunshine, and a chocolate shake that was so thick we needed spoons to try it. There were no bells and whistles, no cherry or whipped cream, but it was rich and cold and absolutely everything a shake needs to be. What we didn’t try and will next time is the Biz Freeze, which I’m sure is equally thick and rich but is blended instead with your choice of candy and other add-ins,much like that big snow storm offering from that chain ice cream restaurant.

After that, we got the Bar-B-Q Sandwich on Toast, all trussed up in white paper and ready to take on the road. But we weren’t going anywhere yet and unwrapped it slowly. We were all quite hungry, but still cut it carefully into fourths so we could all get a taste. This is the reason that we had arrived early, because my sister had heard that the barbecue was selling out daily, and we wanted to try it. It was VERY reminiscent of a Wib’s barbecue, with thinly sliced smoked pork sandwiched between two pieces of toast, all spread with a fine layer of barbecue sauce. The meat was tender and tasty, and I could see why people loved this sandwich. The taste was very comforting and familiar. Man, I love barbecue.

Then we got everything else, including the mozzarella sticks that I thought I had to have, crinkle cut fries, a pizza quesadilla and a double cheeseburger, wrapped in foil to keep it warm. Everything was shareable, and we all got to try a bit of the feast.

The pizza quesadilla was a flour tortilla, stuffed with pepperoni, sauce and a cheese blend, and folded over on itself. It was toasted to a crisp on the outside, and reminded me of a Hot Pocket, but better. This appealed to the kid in me, the one who only wanted a pizza sub when visiting Subway, and the cheesy mouthfuls made me happy.

The double cheeseburger toppings were inside across from the ordering counter, but since it was primarily my niece’s choice of food, we let her dress it the way she wanted, which was ketchup and nothing else. Still, the burger was grilled fresh right in front of us outside, was delightfully moist and tasted a bit onion-y. It was good, but I would have loved some pickles, a bit of tomato, and lettuce. I would have rather had the company than the vegetables, though, so I suffered a simple burger joyfully.

I had a good time with people I love. I did a lot of talking, and I hope I did a good amount of listening, too. We got to try somewhere new and go on a small road trip, which I always try to see through the lens of an adventurer. We got to try some traditional American favorites and eat in the sunshine.

On the way home, Google Maps inexplicably took us a different way, so we got to see some different roads, which led to more conversation and more laughter. In the grand scheme of things, nothing we did that day was spectacular, immense or grand, but we didn’t care. We made it special, and so it was.

Rebecca LaClair travels to a new place every week to try food from a trendy restaurant or one she hasn’t been to yet.