Two Bells Review

Seeking a great burger is not and easy quest.  My latest sojourn took me to a place in Belltown, a Seattle neighborhood.  This is a tavern, and we spent a few hours sampling the beer, local micro brews sourced from the area.  Very, very good pilsner this Elysian.  Floral at the start, with a balanced bitterness that is capped with a rich head.

First, the shortcomings.  No Fries.  Chips, potato salad or soup.  My mental eyebrows arch in skepticism.  I wanted soup, but it was served with peanuts, so one of my dining companions shuffled his potato salad to me.  It was good.

Now the burger.  The bun is toasted french baguette.  It is perfectly toasted, but is actually tough, not toasty- how can this be?  That is the effect I get when I microwave bread.  Surely not... I ordered a bleu burger, against my better judgement. Normally bleu cheese overwhelms everything.  I has assurances...that proved to be well founded.  The cheese is mixed with mayo I think, so it is a perfect tangy compliment.  To a patty that is thick and round, reminding me of a squashed meatball.  Cooking was perfect on all three burgers, a sign of talent.  The round shape on an oblong bun is OK, because the bread toasting is so well done.  But the thick, chunky size burger is not my favorite.  It accentuates meat flavor, at the expense of crispy exterior domination.  But the meat at Two Bells is properly proportioned lean to fat, properly seasoned and properly cooked, so it is right to make it a feature.  Another significant flavor is black pepper, a perfect burger seasoning.

A nice burger, able to overcome the overly tough bread to be a winner on balance.  I would go here again, for beer and burger, but not the Best in the World.