Eat'n Park (Pittsburgh - Dormont/W. Liberty)

M's favorite Eat'n Park. LOVES the SuperBurger because of their "sauce supreme." While I fully doubt the sauce master cannot recreate this, "the sauce to sandwich ratio cannot be replicated. It simply is not the sum of its parts. It's near magical." (Note: any of you readers really have no idea how spot-on M is in recreating nearly any sauce. -L) Granted, M is right -- there is no place we've eaten at (and that's a LOT of places) that does the "sauce supreme" on their burger and that alone does make it special. And it's a darn tasty burger!

The other nice thing about Eat'n Park -- and I'm speaking to you who miss the "old" Shoney's -- you'll LOVE Eat'n Park. They have a breakfast bar. And it's good. There's history we won't go into. Keep in mind that this blog's for us to remember places... Ah, memories.

Cost 

$$

Cleanliness
Clean-ish. I'm sure some days are better than others.

Service
I'm sure some days are better than others.

Pluses 

The one-and-only SuperBurger.
Breakfast bar.
Nice diner feeling.

Minuses 

Service and cleanliness are spotty.
Can definitely be on the spendy side.

Overall value

Nostalgia, my friends. If it's just another eatery to you, then you likely can find other places, but there's something about this place for us.

Ray's Hell Burger (Clarendon) [CLOSED]

Burger joint that bustles like a weekend night at the Little Italy pizzeria in Athens, GA (packed).  Robust menu of burger options (wide selection of cheeses and toppings).  We probably should have gone to Ray's Too.  Something to go back for.  We wanted to stick to the original, not the imitator!

To remember:

• "Medium" came out "Medium rare".  "Medium well" was right.
• Oh, and free water ;-)
• CASH ONLY!

Cost
$$ = Casual restaurant price point (think somewhere between Panera and Ruby Tuesday's)

Cleanliness
Clean considering how busy it gets

Service
*** - Average (commendable given the pace)

Pluses 
Big burger!  Flame-broiled!  Cheeses galore!  And bone marrow topping??  Seriously?  A wealth of free toppings too.  Business is good (bad for parking, seating, see below).

Minuses
Parking is TERRIBLE. Finding a table can be a challenge.  Mac-n-cheese: noodles were soggy and one of the SEVEN cheeses was gritty (such promise!).


Overall value
Value-to-price ratio was good for the burger ($8 with cheese).  Fries are good.  Other sides aren't worth the extra cost, though, and can run the tab up quickly.

Definitely the place to go for a great burger.  (NOTE: For those who stumble upon this, yes, we've tried Five Guys.  We like this better.  Deal with it.)