The Burger War of Concord Pike (U.S. 202) has claimed a casualty. According to a NJ photographer, Cheeburger Cheeburger on Wilmington-West Chester Pike (U.S. 202), near Glen Mills, Pa., has closed its doors.(I just tried calling the phone number and there's no answer, only "A Welcome to Verizon" message, instructing callers to redial the number. The Glen Mills location is no longer listed on the main website.)
Competition for burger dollars on this heavily traveled thoroughfare in recent years has been crazy especially with Five Guys, Jake's and Charcoal Pit - and hot dogs lovers now have the new Johnnie's Dog House as well as the much beloved Jimmie John's.
I thought the burgers were pretty decent at Cheeburger Cheeburger, but the staff was very, very young. Here's my review from last May for your reading pleasure:
It took only minutes to suddenly feel very, very old at Cheeburger, Cheeburger, a retro '50s-style hamburger joint off U.S. 202 that opened in February [2007].
Waiting for a young hostess to seat us recently, a dining pal made a joke about the eatery's name and a classic "Saturday Night Live" skit.
The teen greeter gave us a blank stare.
"Um, you know, the Greek guys in the Chicago diner? John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray?"
Not even a glimmer of recognition.
(Oh boy. Bail now. If you have to explain the joke, it isn't funny.)
"Cheeburger, cheeburger? No Coke! Pepsi!" Ha, ha.
The silence was deafening.
Obviously born long after Belushi headed to that Great Big Diner in the Sky, the dewy-skinned child shook her head at the fossils standing before her.
"Oh," she finally said, with heart-breaking innocence. "I think my mother may told me something about that."
Ouch. We closed our yaps and felt sorry for the poor misguided youth of today.
The only Belushi they know is the schlub starring in that painfully unfunny sitcom, "According to Jim."
Slumping to the table, we nursed our wounds by overindulging in shakes, root beer floats, egg creams, French fries, onion rings and burgers. Our beloved Belushi, the true Belushi, John Belushi -- google him now, you crazy, mixed-up kids! -- would have been proud.
But, perhaps, we had stumbled on what just may be the double, secret plan of Cheeburger, Cheeburger, a Florida chain that's been around since 1986.
Make everyone feel like old fogies and they'll just eat, eat, eat?
Evil, yet deliciously brilliant. And judging by the number of customers who have had their photographs snapped after chowing down a pounder ($10.39), the chain's 20-ounce monster of a burger, this fiendishly clever scheme seems to be working quite nicely.
We scanned the happy faces of so many people who had pounded pounders -- holy moly! -- and wondered why a customer would willingly consume that much meat in one sitting. Were they drowning their sorrows after trying in vain to explain to the younger-than-springtime staff that there once was this contraption known as a rotary telephone?
Or, maybe, just maybe, it's simply that Cheeburger, Cheeburger's hand-formed, rough-edged, juicy patties are too hard to resist. A few bites into the three-quarter pound Delirious burger ($8.39) and we began to pray: Forgive us O Lord, our daily cholesterol sins. This is a burger that's difficult to stop eating.
Cheeburger, Cheeburger's decor is faux retro. Walls are princessy pink, tables and banquettes are aquamarine. Cut-outs of a hip-swiveling Elvis, a debonair Humphrey Bogart and a cutesy-cute Betty Boop decorate the walls along with other tchotchkes.
As almost everyone in Delaware knows, a real, honest-to-goodness 1950s setting can be found just down the road at the Charcoal Pit. But Cheeburger, Cheeburger, which spears its buns with toothpicks and olives, could easily usurp the Pit's King of Burgers throne.
Toppings include artichoke hearts, chopped garlic, guacamole, pineapple, sun-dried tomatoes and A1 Steak Sauce. You can go as weird and wild as you like.
At 5.5 ounces, the classic burger ($4.99) is a good choice for smaller appetites, though the patty tends to get lost in the roll and among the thick-sliced onions and tomatoes. I'd probably go for the "semi-serious," ($5.89) a 7-ounce patty. Kids meals ($4.99) are made-in-the-shade cool: The burgers and fries arrive at the table in either a paper '64 Mustang or a '57 Chevy.
Non-meat eaters can get the grilled portobello mushroom melt ($7.39), a hefty sandwich served with sautéed onions and Swiss cheese on rye bread. The menu also has "invent your own salads" and grilled chicken breast sandwiches.
But this is a burger joint. Why bother with anything else?
You can't have a burger without fries. Definitely order the "frings" basket ($4.89), a combination of both French fries and onion rings.
The eatery shines with its shakes and malts ($2.99 for a half, $4.39 for a regular) -- there are 72 flavors to chose from, including chocolate banana, Snickers cheesecake and caramel apple. A frosty and very good root beer float ($3.99) arrives in a stainless steel tin.
Maybe we weren't old enough to truly appreciate the merits of a vanilla egg cream ($2.09). To me, it tasted like a watered down vanilla soda.
But the drink that really got us excited was the Shake-A-Soda. Supposedly, our server would shake up the drink at our table. Now this daring act, I had to see. Shaking a soda usually results in a messy, volcanic explosion.
The watermelon soda ($2.09) came to the table in a plastic martini-style shaker and was then -- placed on the table. No explosion, no eruption. Talk about anti-climactic.
"Hold your finger on the lid when you pour. Sometimes, they come off and splash all over the table," our teen server said.
What would Belushi say?
We know, even if she didn't: "No Coke. Pepsi."
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