fried egg – Fare..Eat..Ales

Day two was an early drive into Tennessee. My goal was simple…drive 8 hours to make a reservation at Husk, GQ’s sixth ranked restaurant in the US. Of course there would be a stop or two along the way but at the time I didn’t realize I had the assistance of a change in time zone to grant me an extra hour to complete this daunting task.

Part of the plan was to conveniently arrive in Cincinnati around lunch, allowing me to pop into Terry’s Turf Club. Terry’s is one of these places that has been elevated to elite status in the world of edible Americana. It has been featured on numerous shows and articles including a visit from Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

The exterior could easily be mistaken for an Ohio garage sale. Worn collectibles grace the entire length of the joint. Inside, there’s enough neon to put the Vegas strip to shame. We were greeted by Jim, a friendly maître d’ who informed us we were the first guests of the day and guided us to our seats. He was wearing the first of many Bluetooth earpieces I saw during my travels, an artifact that is near extinct north of the border but is alive and well in the USA.

Terry's Turf Club- Outside — Terry’s Turf Club- Outside

Terry’s is a burger place. You choose a patty (ranging from lump crab to filet mignon), choose your cheese, decide if you want onions and/or banana peppers and finish with optional toppings for an additional cost. The waitress highly recommended the red wine, wild mushroom and truffle sauce since it was not only her favorite, it was Guy’s choice on the show. I decided to infuse a little irony and add a fried egg (Guy’s nemesis) to the mix. In the end, it was a $13 burger served with potato chips (fries were another $2.25).

I also ordered a TTC deviled egg with shrimp ($3.25) and some pepper paw poppers ($4) to start. The first is a half egg topped with a mango-jalapeno marinated shrimp and filled with a mix of yolk, bearnaise, ghetto mustard and crème fraiche. It was delicious. The filling was thick and hearty. The tanginess was nicely offset by the sweetness and subtle heat of the shrimp. The poppers were an interesting spin on traditional bar food. They are not fried and stuffed with their four cheese mix instead of the traditional cream cheese. They were tasty. The peppers were a natural blend of sweet and spice. The filling had a punch but it was a bit gritty.

Devilled Egg $3.25 — TTC Devilled Egg with Shrimp $3.25

While waiting for the burgers, Jim came by and engaged in a very interesting discussion about the restaurant and a past trip to London, Ontario. He and all the staff were extremely friendly and really created a cool vibe, especially when mixed with the copious numbers of neon lights and other symbols of Americana. For example, in an effort to be clean, neat and polite Canadians, we were eating peanuts and nicely stacking the shells on the table. One staff member came by, shook his head in a friendly way and threw them on the floor.

Terry's Turf Club- Inside — Terry’s Turf Club- Inside

The burgers arrived in decent time. Eight ounces of meat sat between a nicely grilled bun and sat on a paper Dixie plate. The potato chips were nothing more than decoration. Along with the burger came a large serrated knife for the sole purpose of slicing the monstrosity in half to make eating it somewhat possible. As the burger, the meat was a bit stringy, the sauce was a bit salty and the egg was a bit overdone. Collectively, it was a good burger but not a great burger.

Terry's Burgers ($8.50-$13) — Terry’s Burgers ($8.50-$13)

My Take

Terry’s is a must see if you are in search of what I call “Edible Americana”. The decor is over the top, overflowing with neon, tin and advertisements of yesteryear. The service is superb and sincere. The food is more than acceptable (I really enjoyed the deviled egg) but not among the pinnacle of recreating America’s most beloved foods, the burger. The prices are reasonable unless you can’t fight the temptation to add numerous condiments to the half pound of meat which fills the well-toasted bun. In the end, Terry’s is worth a stop if you’re looking for cheesiness as part of American road trip. If you’re looking for cheese slapped on the best burger on the planet, however, you may be disappointed.

Food– 3.5 Guyz

Service– 5 Guyz

Vibe– 5 Guyz

Total: 13.5/15

Spin-offs can be a dangerous thing. Just asked the legendary Jackee who couldn’t even find success in a pilot on the heels of the late 80s comedy 227. Richard Grieco may agree, given his to attempt to leap from 21 Jump Street to Booker and falling flat on his face. Electric Mud BBQ is a newish eatery cut from the cloth of the highly successful Grand Electric. The theme seems to be an attempt to capture the vibe of its Parkdale brother through its own twist on loud music (in this cases old school blues), trendy snack foods and of course a cash only policy.

The decor is as unique as Grand Electric’s and although not as big or elaborate (which isn’t saying much), there is an open kitchen and seating at both the bar and tables of different shapes and sizes.

Most importantly, the menu is a spin on soul food, with offerings which include fried chicken, slaw, ribs and shrimp ‘n grits. It was in line with the Otis Redding spinning on the turntable as I grabbed a seat at the bar. Like Grand Electric, there is a mix of current and cool cocktails and well as 4 regional microbrews on tap. I opted for pints of a good IPA.

Must

I’ve often said you can’t go wrong with a fried egg on everything, which lead me to order the crispy pig ear salad. The egg was perfect and sat atop a delicate matrix of delicious pork cracking. The seasoning was reminiscent of the spicy squid at Grand Electric. It’s a unique, mind-blowing flavour that keeps me up at night as I lay flipping through channels and watching reruns of Baywatch Nights.

Fried chicken has often been called a simple dish that’s complicated to perfect. The need for a well seasoned, cripsy coating which protects the juicy integrity of the chicken it houses involves culinary wizardry, a magic much more impressive that the minds that thought that a Ducks of Hazzard spinoff starring Enos would be a good idea. The chicken (2 legs and 2 thighs for $8.50) hit the mark (unlike Enos’ aim) on every level. It was crispy and juicy and seasoned wonderfully. It was served with reserve Tabasco sauce and a side of honey laden with Malden salt although the chicken really didn’t need either. Even the pickled vegetables were a nice touch.

The slaw was fresh and acidic and complemented the chicken well. It was a decent serving for $3.50 and would go well with any of the rich dishes on the menu. Let’s call it the Frasier of food; it made Cheers better but also fared nicely on its own.

Maybe

There is an inherent danger in putting pie in a mason jar, much like an attempt to make Joey Tribbiani the main character in a sitcom. Electric’s banana cream pie ($5) wasn’t a pie; it was more a parfait with layers and loose graham crumbs on the bottom as opposed to a defined crust. It was a nice few bites but like Joey, was sweet and a bit confused.

Mundane

With Grand Electric’s pozole (aka dope soup) on my mind, I ordered the crack bread fully expecting the same mind-altering experience. Instead, I was left feeling like I did when Howard Hesseman left “Head of the Class” and was replaced by Billy MacGregor…hopeless anticipation. Even with the elixir of pork drippings and butter as a spread, finishing it would have been like trying to endure a season of “Billy”. Instead of three’s company, in this case the trio of hardish buns reminded me of more three’s a crowd.

My Take

The emergence of Grand Electric last year brought “Happy Days” to hipsters and foodies searching for cheapish, snack foods in the midst of a good vibe. For the same reason, Electric Mud BBQ is emerging as a successful spinoff, highlighting soul food as opposed to nouveau Mexican. Unique cocktails, good draught, great food and old school blues will leave people feeling a vibe more like Mork and Mindy and less like Joanie loves Chachi.*

*It makes me wonder if, in fact, if Arnold’s Diner had a couple of spinoffs, would they be called Pork and Mindy and Joanie loves Sriracha?

Tag: fried egg

Tearing it up at Terry’s Turf Club

Review:Toronto:Parkdale:Electric Mud BBQ