Shouldn't you have a notebook?

Disclaimer: The bike I'm planning on using this summer is not yet able to be ridden, so for the first few posts I'm actually the Burger Walker. Sorry.

I quickly realized after my first post how very little I know what I'm doing with this blog. I have no real plan besides eating. First of all, I found out that this week is actually RVA Burger Week! Meaning 27 restaurants in the area have burgers available for $5! Seems like something I should have known about. Luckily, I found out on Wednesday, so I still have 4 more days to eat burgers for cheap!

Cory and I decided to kick off our burger week and the blog with dinner at Popkin Tavern. It's right across the street from our apartment and it was raining so we decided not to go to far. Popkin was offering their Bacon Burger for Burger week, which according to the RVA Burger Week Website is "house-made 50/50 bacon-and-beef burger, caramelized onions, aged cheddar, local artisinal bun, more bacon." Sounded like a good place to start. I'm like everyone else in the world and like bacon. Here I am taking my second bite of the Bacon Burger.

We probably took about 10 pictures trying to figure out what was the best way to take a picture of someone eating a burger. I'm not sure we're there yet. Taking a picture of the burger itself was much easier.

Here's where my plan falls apart. Cory asked me as I was eating what the plan was. "Shouldn't you have a notebook?" he said. Whoops! He's probably right. If I was a professional, or cared about anything other than eating delicious burger, I probably would have had a notebook. Oh well. Here's what I have to say about this burger. It was delicious (I'm realizing I'm going to have to start finding some synonyms for that word). If you like lots of bacon, this is the burger for you. It was juicy and the bun was soft. It had mixed greens instead of iceberg lettuce, which I appreciate not only for its nutritional value but also because then you don't get that giant lettuce rib in the middle of your burger. It just makes it hard to eat. The only bad thing I'll say about the burger is this. You know how when you cook bacon and then your house smells like it for the whole day, maybe two. And after awhile you just want it to go away? That's how my mouth tasted until I brushed my teeth before bed. Now I realized this was happening about two-thirds of the way through my burger and still finished it, so clearly it didn't bother me that much.  Cory, however, did not finish his.

If you know anything about Cory, you'll know this is not a surprise. I think in my 8 years of knowing Cory, I've seen him finish maybe 3 meals. He only eats until he's not hungry anymore. Whatever.


The last thing I want to say before I go meet my friend Tricia for another burger is actually a confession. I had to pause halfway through writing this post because I'm watching Flipping Out with Jeff Lewis on Bravo and he just had to put down his cat and I couldn't help but cry with them.

And so it begins...wait just kidding...

Let me start by explaining what I'll be doing here. First off, I'm a teacher. The only reason that is relevant to this blog is that I have the summer off! It is a blessing and a curse. My husband, Cory, and I only have one car, so while it's wonderful having so much free time, I'm limited in what I can do and where I can go. I found out my first summer off, that without some sort of goal or plan for the summer, I get anxious and spent most of my time laying in a heap on the couch, showering 30 minutes before Cory gets home so that my hair had time to dry and he would think I was productive...

Last summer was filled with looking for teaching jobs in Richmond, packing and looking for apartments when I had the car. Background: We used to live in Northern VA.  A couple of weeks ago, Cory and I were at dinner at a restaurant near our apartment, Saison, eating amazing hamburgers and talking about the upcoming summer. I was telling him that our friend Tiffany had offered to lend me her bike for the summer while her and her boyfriend (and my friend too!), Matt, were road tripping across the country. I told Cory that I planned to spend my summer riding Tiffany's bike around Richmond to explore the city, and, as I took a giant bite of my delicious hamburger, I decided that all I wanted to eat was burgers. Duh. Cory suggested I put the two plans together and ride my bike around Richmond, and try burgers from all different places in the city. Burger Biker Blog was born. Also, I love alliteration, so it was meant to be.

I decided last week, my first official week of summer, that I should start my burger adventure at the place where it all began, even though I wouldn't be riding my bike there as it's only a parking lot distance away from us. So on Cory's day off, we walked to Saison for burgers. I don't know if this is a bad sign for this blog, but after we'd ordered drinks and fancy cheese fries for an appetizer, we ordered our burgers only to find out that they were out. WHAT? I didn't think that even happened. Side note: Cory and I seem to have this problem a lot. In college, we went to KFC on two separate occasions only to find out that they were out of chicken. That's right - Kentucky Fried Chicken was out of chicken. So really, we shouldn't have been surprised.

Anyway, because of that and a wonderful wedding we went to this weekend, I've yet to go anywhere else to try a burger. This blog is off to a great start...