Do not order “The Titanic” while on a date.
Boathouse Restaurant’s massive burger oozes opulent juices. Other tempting ingredients tower above the patty, defying every effort to bite into the sandwich without reaching for napkins — plural — immediately after.
“It’s a little messy,” agreed Boathouse owner Cathy Farley.
The most important reason you should avoid this burger if trying to impress a dining partner has nothing to do with the sloppy results. No, The Titanic is so alluring you may forget that person is sitting across from you. Once you manage that first bite, nothing else exists but you and the burger.
The mesmerizing sandwich begins with a sturdy roll, grilled with butter for a warm, comforting burnish. This adds depth to the glistening half pound of ground beef, husky in flavor with a bittersweet char. The already beautiful combination finds favor in a bed of grilled onions — sweet, but with a complementary bite.
And the experience builds from there.
Kitchen staff at the Boathouse top the burger with even more beef, a stack of house smoked tri tip. It’s a stroke of genius. Thin slices tug on the acrid streak charred into the patty while doubling up on the rich savor of red meat. But the tri tip also shows a will of its own.
The cushy texture and slow cooked warmth of the meat captures imagination, diverting your attention from the burger’s swarthy backyard appeal to more refined spaces. A tangy, hearty sauce teases from the corners, rolling from the sweet, bellowing laugh of molasses to the sharp spine of vinegar, without overwhelming other flavors.
It’s a remarkable thing, crafted from garlic, jalapeno, vinegar and that timeworn dark syrup.
“Lots of molasses,” Farley said. “I love molasses.”
The tri tip could — and does, in other menu offerings — take center stage. But here it’s a potential scene stealer that settles into a cameo role. Other ingredients vie for your attention.
Propped on top of the tri tip, beer battered onion rings contribute a rich, malty crunch. This brings you back to the buttery, burnished flavor grilled into the bun.
The Titanic is an adventure, although it could sink your date. But that doesn’t stop Boathouse patrons. Enthusiasm for the messy burger has kept it on the menu for two years.
“It’s our most popular burger,” Farley reported. “It was one of the first we created.”
Keep in mind the ground beef patty would be satisfying on its own. There are few things in the culinary world as simple and compelling as the basic hamburger, well prepared. Yet we feel compelled to pile things on — bacon, egg, mushrooms, veined cheeses or whatever. And the effort tends to pay off.
Farley believes there is a tipping point, where one can step just one ingredient too far. She knows this first hand.
“We used to have a build your own burger bar,” she recalled. “People would go crazy.”
But a thick burger, a mound of tri tip, crispy onion rings, grilled onions — there’s consideration here for each item, an understanding of how flavors work together or fence against each other in a way that excites the palate. The creators seemed to know how a blacked patina might tip the senses one way while a waft of smoke would tap them back the other.
The achievement just requires wads of extra napkins.
The Titanic may be about as far as you can go without resorting to a knife and fork. But you want to go there.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
