Tavern on the Hill

Burger #XX: Tavern on the Hill – Black and Bleu Burger – $8.50

Borrowed this from Urbanspoon.

This is my last and final burger of 2011!!! Hurray it’s done, finally!  It’s time to move onto bigger and better things, oh and healthier things.  This 40 burgers quest from the Cincinnati top 40 list has taken me ALL over the city to places I never thought I’d go and others no one has heard of.  It’s been a hell of an experience, and I enjoyed sharing it with new and old friends.  This last burger experience was spent with one of the first friends I made here in Cincy years ago through rugby and a new one, my roommate in Mt. Adams.  We went to Tavern on the Hill for burger #40 of 40 on the day before my 30^th birthday, Friday, December 30^th.  It isn’t ranked on the list because it was taking the place of another burger place on the list that closed.  I personally ranked Tavern as #22 It’s main downfall was the terrible service we had, because the burger and fries is definitely better than 22.  The server was new and while my roommate clearly asked for a beer and the guy acknowledged it, he never did get it until he complained 10 minutes later.  This should not keep you from coming up to my neighborhood to try Tavern, especially

Tavern has a menu full of pub food and pizza and burgers.  I personally like their pizza, it’s just not the best.  They make their main pizza sales during half price happy hours and on Friday and Saturday nights up until 3am or so.  On a Wednesday night when they have 5$ burger/grilled chicken and fries…awesome garlic/Cajun/sweet potato fries with a spicy mayo!  It gets full during sports games since they have the most tv’s in Mt. Adams.  It’s right across the street from Longworth’s and Pavilion, and Alive One so they get a diverse, young crowd. 

Black and Bleu Burger with garlic fries. 

The burger list is isn’t too long.  There is the Tavern burger, which is just plain, a black and blue, and a spicy burger.  You can get a regular bun or a ciabatta roll, as well as a large choice of fries (garlic, Cajun, sweet potato).  I went with the Black and Blue burger for 8.50$ which comes with fries.  It is about a half pound of charred on the outside meat.  It had great flavor and greasiness, but was cooked through in the middle.  I chose to get a ciabatta roll, which was a great idea since they toast the bun (takes 30 seconds people!).  The sauce was home made and pretty damn good.  I really did enjoy this burger a lot, and I have gone back for the 5$ day already.  The garlic fries are my favorite, which are thick cut, crispy fries with fresh, kick you in the mouth garlic and herbs all over them.  You don’t even need ketchup.  I’ve also tried the Cajun and sweet potato which are great too, putting Tavern as having some of my favorite fries in the city. 

Well, this is the end of an awesome year long quest and the start to an entirely different one.  Tavern on the hill made it to my #22 due to the service.  I’ve gone back and I suggest you do too.  Get out, make a list and explore your world, you never know what you’ll find.  This quest has changed my life for the better and I’m glad at least one person may have gotten a kick out of it.  My soon to be remade “food” blog has just hit 4000 pageviews as of yesterday, so someone must be paying attention!