Lunchbox Laboratory has burger-making down to a science
Science has been working overtime these past few years bringing us quantum advances in computing, medicine, transportation and much more. Now, in an unassuming Seattle storefront, a great advance has been made in the last frontier of scientic achievment — creating a hamburger that sates your craving for heavy food for at least a month or so.
Lunchbox Laboratory is a tiny restaurant with just a few tables inside and outside, and that's about all that's tiny about it. Everything here is large scale: The collection of vintage lunchboxes lining the walls and counter is the biggest you've seen, the soft-drink menu boasts a dozen pure cane-sugar-sweetend options, and the burgers easily feed two people.
If ever you've dared to imagine beef, pork or even prime rib burgers garnished with maple bacon, pepperocinis and sweet chili mayonnaise, your quest ends here.
Don't let the menu intimidate you. The Lab is run by free-thinkers, not corporate drones, and the hand-written board changes daily as ingredients come in and out of season and the mood of the kitchen changes.
You can depend on a choice of patties (including buffalo, lamb, and a falafel-quinoa patty for vegetarians), a choice of cheeses (including New York white cheddar, smoked gouda and gruyère), a veritable ocean of sauces (brown-sugar mustard, red-hot ketchup and a balsamic Hoisin, among many), a respectable stack of garnishes (try the chunky Italian onions) and a freshly-baked bun from a local bakery. The way you combine these ingredients isn't a science; it's an art.
There's much more to enjoy at the Lab — their sweet potato fries, their almost impossibly rich mac and cheese, and their perfect milkshakes (try the Chocolate-Cherry Cordial, or the Boston Creme).
And there's something to be said for a burger joint that offers you a choice of salt for your fries — everything from bacon-onion to smoked tea salt. You say "thank you," and you say "see you next month."
Posted on Mar 27, 2011 by Geoff Carter
