There’s nothing less appetizing when you want a burger than walking into a restaurant and seeing a gang of skinheads. But when I was a kid, that’s exactly what happened when I walked into Ram’s Horn (a Detroit-area restaurant chain) after baseball practice. That was really my only memory of that restaurant. But after that particular Ram’s Horn location closed, the Grill opened up in its place, and when I visited it with my sister last week I was pleased to find it was skinhead-free*. I was also pleased to see a patty melt on the menu, because that’s what I had a hankering for.
Burger Ordered: The Patty Melt
The Taste: My sister warned me that the beef patties at the Grill were always over-seasoned in her experience, but I risked it anyway. The patty on this melt was indeed heavily seasoned. Not only that, the bread was heavily buttered (and toasted) and the cheese flaunted its flavor, as if to say it wasn’t going to be muted by the rest of the ingredients. But regardless of the powerful sensations coming from each element of the burger, it all worked. It was a heavy, greasy, tasty situation that was perfectly suited to its suburban Detroit, off-the-radar greasy spoon habitat.
The Experience: I wasn’t expecting much out of my meal at the Grill, but damn if I wasn’t pleasantly surprised by the sleeper Patty Melt they serve there.
The Grill is located at 2235 Orchard Lake Road in Sylvan Lake, Michigan.
*In fairness to Ram’s Horn, I only ever saw skinheads there once, and then just didn’t go back for 25 years. For all I know they could have been skinhead-free that entire time.
Sign up for Burger Weekly email updates!
