Daily Archives: January 8, 2013

The BCS Championship game has us in town almost a week, so there was time to run down some burgers int he off hours!   There were plenty to try, the local favorite Gilbert’s 17th Street Grill, Jack’s Hamburgers, Five Guys, Cheeburger Cheeburger, and many more of the usual suspects.  A new chain that is getting a lot of buzz was also around, Smashburger.

 

 

My first stop was the highly rated, (by locals) Gilbert’s 17th Street Grill.  This is a family owned burger place that claims they make abetter burger because of using natural gas for their grill!  It’s a flame guys and you know my stand on burgers cooked over flame.  Not a fan!  Truthfully for a burger grilled over a fire it was not too bad, seasoned well, and cooked good and medium, so it was juicy.  They are also generous thick patties, but that flame broiled taste, I just couldn’t get past it.  So Gilbert’s burger gets a 3.5 pickles score, which isn’t good enough to break into our top 25 list.   The next place I checked out was Jack’s Burgers.  This is a conventional flat top grill burger and was actually very good.  The burgers was little on the thin side but well seasoned and well prepared, Jack’s got a 4.0  which is a very good score, pushing it’s way toward the top twenty five! I didn’t check out Five Guys, I’ve had plenty and they are always a solid 4.2 or better!  I also skipped on Cheeburger, Cheeburger, one of my favorite chains years ago, but wildly inconsistent in recent visit!  The new kid ont he block is Smash burger (lead image at the top!)  I actually first heard of Smashburger a couple of weeks ago from Mike Moats the great close-up shooter.  He wanted to know if I had tried one and I told him I had not but would on the first opportunity.  Well, once again I have something to thank Mike for!!!  The burger at Smashburger was fantastic, a solid 4.5, placing it well up in the pack of great American burgers!  So it was a lot better week for Alabama fans and cheeseburger lovers than Notre Dame fans!

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

I’ve even quiet trying……..  My friends think I have the most fascinating job in the world, and no matter how much I try to explain to them what it is “really” like they just refuse to believe me, so I’ve quiet trying.  Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes being a tech rep is really cool!  Shuttle launches, Air Races, and Air Shows are all a lot of fun!   Political Conventions, golf tournaments and football games, not so much.  The reason is the credentialing process.  At the good events you get to be a part of the action, but at many big national events like the Masters, or the BCS Championship, or the Super Bowl, you never get to see the field!  Don’t get me wrong, our job is to support the people that are actually working for a living, and for me, having once shot NFL a lot, I’m not all that disappointed. I’d rather be watching the big game on the big screen HD at home, but my friends just don’t believe me!

 

 

So I’ve taken the liberty of showing you what our work area is like at the BCS.  Do we get to watch the game, you bet, see below!!

 

Now, before you get the wrong idea, I work with great people like Jose’ Ramos and Francis Yeh at  this event, and the photographers, for the most part really appreciate our being here, and hey I can get close to the TV and see the game!!!  It’s just that my best football buddy, Sherelene, and my refrigerator are so far away!

 

But hey God has blessed me in so many ways, who’s complaining!  Hey was that a first down???!! Who has the ball???

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim