Stella’s Lounge - Grand Rapids, MI
Hamburgers, the American food culture staple. No matter what American based restaurant I go to, on the menu is some sort of meat between 2 buns. Pun intended. According to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 2014 the U.S consumed 25.5 billion pounds of beef. That’s a s&%@ ton of meat for JUST the United States. A half-pound of that beef goes to Stella’s for their infamous stuffed burgers.
Stella’s Lounge has a very particular atmosphere. There is this dark, grungy vibe when you first walk in yet it displays a vast canvas of creativity on the walls. For those of you who didn’t know Stella’s Lounge isn’t just a restaurant it is also a fierce whiskey bar. Can I call a whiskey bar fierce? Oh who the hell cares (Peter Griffin voice), it’s awesome! Did I mention they have a bomb dot com arcade area full of retro games! By the way I am the empress at Street Fighter, just saying. I’m always up for a challenge.
I’ve had many entertaining, some mindless nights at Stella’s but never took the opportunity to indulge in the delicious eats they have to offer. There are tons of food options on their menu but I went straight for the Stella Blue a.k.a “the best burger in America” according to GQ magazine back in 2012.
Of course I had to order my burger medium. I usually say medium rare just to be on the safe side, I mean who gets a burger well done now days? That’s like walking around with your pants around your ankles, it’s absurd.
I hear you always get a side of chronic fries with your stuffed burger. I ended up doing the total opposite and got the onion rings instead. Don’t get me wrong the chronic fries are phenomenal. The chronic fries are dusted with a dehydrated Frank’s Red Hot seasoning. It was magical on my taste buds.
When the Stella Blue burger arrived it caught my attention quickly. It looked beastly, it took me a few seconds to figure out how I was going to attack the burger. I could see the blue cheese oozing out of the burger onto my plate, I was excited. I picked it up and just went for it. As I took my first bite I got a taste of the bun, lettuce, tomato, onion ring, bacon, blue cheese and beef. Then I realized, the Stella Blue is a little bland, there wasn’t much flavor to the burger. I was highly disappointed, this was suppose to be the “best burger in America” and I was let down. I realized that most of the blue cheese that was “stuffed” in the burger was hanging out on my plate. The quality of meat was overall very good but a little over cooked for my liking. Lastly, I would say the Stella blue was another standard fare in my eyes but the chronic fries and their abundant collection of whiskeys are definitely worth the trip to Stella’s Lounge.
It was a good experience to try something that was disclosed as the best burger in America. In my opinion I would have to disagree with GQ magazine but what does a matter of opinion from myself value. If you’re ever out in the Grand Rapids downtown community I suggest you stop by this dark urban inspired lounge and give it a go. Those chronic fries are worth it. Trust me.
