We hadn’t planed on a part two restaurant review, but things change. A week after our first review of Burs Restaurant in Lakewood (6151 Steilacoom Blvd SW, Lakewood, WA 98499), we returned for the same meal and a second review.
Just weeks ago Burs reopened. Like many restaurants in the time of COVID they were closed because of social distancing and an attempt to keep as many Washingtonians alive as possible. The opening was announced in The Suburban Times with a photo and one sentence. There were seven comments however. Our initial review garnered 29 comments.
This time we arrived a good fifteen minutes earlier. The Sunday morning family and church members began coming in a little after ten. The bussers (the help who removes dirty dishes and reset tables) were friendly and the waitresses once again flitted from table to table with menus, glasses of water and cups of coffee for the dining guests.
Peg ordered a BLT again, this time with rye bread instead of sourdough. Peg gave me her pickle slices, which were strong and I loved them. They were quite stringent. Her hash browns were much darker than the week before, but were tasty both times. The bacon was excellent.
I had the biscuits and gravy with sausage gravy . . . well done hash browns. The week before I was unhappy with my hash browns. If you’ve read my reviews before, you’ll already know that I like dark brown, crispy hash browns. Server Kylene suggested in a comment that I should ask for deep-fried hash browns. I didn’t realize that was an option. This time I asked for the deep fried version. When my plate of SOS was delivered I could see dark brown curls of potatoes sticking out. My stomach began to smile in anticipation. Even with a fork full of potatoes and gravy the crunch was all present and accounted for. They were excellent. As a first time visitor to a restaurant for breakfast, I order the biscuits and gravy. The second time I usually ask for buttered toast instead of biscuits because I don’t like the texture of most restaurant biscuits. As a second time visitor to Burs I stayed with the biscuits, which says a lot for Burs.
We were well pleased with breakfast. Kylene sat down with us briefly. On our first trip to Burs she amazed us with the speed that she showed delivering food, drinks, and tabs. She still has it. Being a server is often a thankless job. Restaurants never know how many people will show up at any given time. Constant adjustments to regulations makes the dining guessing game a little more difficult than it has been in the past.
Our breakfast was enjoyable. Peg brought half a BLT home for an afternoon snack. We’ll have to return for dinner some time. The menu looks inviting for an evening meal as well.
Burs Restaurant – bursrestaurant.com
Thank you Don for the great review that means a lot. Hope you to see you both again soon.
Kylene,
Thanks for the great service and the suggestion to ask for deep fried hash browns. They were delicious.
Thanks for sharing.
Don
Never to much cared to go back to this restaurant after finding out the bartender drunk out of my drink. I had a meal and drink with my mom there in the afternoon and really enjoyed my drink, so I went back later with my brother for drinks. I told the bartender what I wanted because I had it earlier and really enjoyed it,the bartender said to me “O yeah I remember your drink earlier today, it looked so good I had to stick a straw in it a take a sip myself”… I was highly disturbed and disgusted. And never cared to go back after that.
As a bartender many decades ago, it was (and obviously still is) common practice to taste test a drink by sticking a straw in a drink, cover the end of the straw with your finger, pull the straw out and place the non-finger end of the straw in your mouth. Remove the finger from the other end and the liquid falls into the mouth.
I’d be as horrified as you if the bartender just put a straw in the drink and his lips to the straw and took a sip, but I’d be shocked if that’s how he actually took “a sip”.
Tabatha,
Quite often things like this happen . . . more than you would think. Years ago Peg and I had a favorite restaurant . . . and $$$$ dinning place. We liked it because we could see the chef preparing the food. We ordered lobster, which was always served with lemon cut into points so it looked like a crown. Then it was dipped into paprika giving the crown a golden red-ish look. Our chef got too much paprika and it floated onto the plate a bit too much. The chef picked up the plate was blowing the paprika off, He looked up into the face of my wife and me. The chef said, “Let me guess. This is your order. We nodded and he started over. Recently we were dining at a nice restaurant and I ordered a Shirley Temple with lots of cherries, which I usually do no matter where we go. After we left the restaurant Peg mentioned she saw the server reaching into a gallon jar of cherries to fill my order. It happens . . . and servers move around. This is why we suggest you always be nice to the servers and the cooks . . . and never send back food . . . just to make sure. I love this quotation from Anthony Bordain, “I’ve long believed that good food, good eating, is all about risk. Whether we’re talking about unpasteurized Stilton, raw oysters or working for organized crime ‘associates,’ food, for me, has always been an adventure”
Thanks for sharing.
Don
Ben,
Thanks for the first-hand experience. Your description was the first thing I though of. That’s how I mix the red syrup in Shirley Temples I order.
Don
I used to go there ALL THE TIME as a kid! Even had a birthday party there once! Theyve always been a great place! They changed cooks years ago so ive been hesitant but im glad theyre still amazing
Alicia,
Thanks for the comments. I love history and favorite places to go. Home style dining is always welcome. Most cooks can duplicate meals . . . well, the successful ones, anyway.
Thanks for sharing.
Don
Hooray!!!
Jaynie,
Thanks for the hooray! The hash browns were deep fried, and actually only a little darker than Peg’s hash browns that accompanied her BLT. I ate all of mine and most of her’s. The waitress, Kylene, was super nice and we had a nice time dining. We may go back for dinner sometime . . . but not soon. It would have been nice if you and Charles could have joined us.
Thanks for sharing our joy.
Don
Hello Don, if you do go back for a dinner, I would suggest the Liver & Onions. My Mom and I love them but my 2 siblings do not. So we’ll go up maybe every other month for a treat.
Jim,
Wow, I haven’t had liver and onions is quite some time, but I would be more apt to go for friend chicken livers with bacon . . . now we’re talkin’
Thanks for sharing. I like downhome type of meals as well as classy offerings done well.
Don