Walking into Al’s Burger Shack, hailed the best burger in Chapel Hill and one of the top five best burgers of all time, one is faced with an incredibly difficult decision: what burger to get.
Whether it’s your first time or you go every week, your favorite burger says a lot about you.
Wonder what you should order based on your favorite childhood meal? Want to know what your order says about the kind of kid you were (hopefully not the nose-picker)? Read on.
Bobo Chili Cheeseburger
Photo by Sara Tane
Favorite childhood meal: Sloppy Joe’s
As a kid you scoffed at the idea of coloring in between the lines, loathed cleaning your room, and were often chased by your mom trying to wipe food off your face. Your love for sloppy Joe’s probably started at summer camp, one of the few places in life where messyness is celebrated. Your motto is, “More is better,” and that definitely applies to your taste for over the top food.
The good news is that even though you’ve grown up and are (hopefully?) a little more organized, you can bring out the messy little kid in you with a Bobo burger. The next time you’re in Al’s, order one and let that beef on beef masterpiece soak out the sides and get all over your face.
Classic
Photo by Sara Tane
Favorite childhood meal: Mac ‘n Cheese
You were a picky eater as a kid, spitting out anything foreign and arguing that you could survive on a diet of Eggo waffles and Kraft mac ‘n cheese. Your parents might have found your palette painful, but really you just appreciated good, simple food.
You live by the motto, “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” which is probably why you rarely stray from your usual order at Al’s: the Classic. Don’t listen to the haters who call you unadventurous, because who would ever turn down a bite with American, lettuce, tomato, onion, and some kick ass Al sauce?
Kenny J
Photo by Sara Tane
Favorite childhood meal: Summer BBQs
There was no better feeling than barefoot summer nights, with smoke curling up out the grill and more popsicle ending up on your face than in your stomach. You were a BBQ kid, waiting all winter for someone to turn on the grill while you spend hours chasing fireflies. You can still smell a bar-b-que from blocks away and you dread the day you have to put on your winter coat.
While you can’t run barefoot through grass all year long, you can get through this winter with the help of the Kenny J. With bacon, grilled onions, Cheerwine BBQ sauce, and spicy pimento cheese, this burger brings you back to the best part of summer. Enjoy it at one of Al’s outdoor picnic table with friends, and hey, maybe you can call it a BBQ. I’m not opposed.
Paco
Photo by Sara Tane
Favorite childhood meal: Tacos
Hard shell, ground beef, with some sour cream and salsa. This is how you liked your Friday nights. Add some friends and an action movie and you were in business.
Today your Mexican food tastes have expanded to include once-disgusting avocados and some extra heat. At Al’s your childhood love for overstuffed tacos that never stood up straight comes out when you order the Paco. With fresh guac atop a perfectly pink burger and jalapeños tucked underneath, every night is taco night.
Sean’s Bacon Cheddarburger
Photo by Sara Tane
Favorite childhood meal: BLT
The BLT was your holy trinity. You probably only had it because of the bacon, but mom allowed it because lettuce and tomatoes are veggies, so it’s a well-rounded meal, right? You were the uber junk food kid, sacrificing important nutrients for all the good things in life and spitting your veggies into your napkin when your parents weren’t looking.
Today you feel bogged down by society telling you what and what not to eat and think people who avoid carbs, fried food, and butter just aren’t living. The good news is your favorite childhood food grew up into one heck of a burger. At Al’s you have Sean to thank for his Bacon Cheddarburger, which, with a crucial smear of mayo, feeds your soul more than drunk eats at Sup Dogs.
Mookie
Photo by Sara Tane
Favorite childhood meal: the weirdest thing in the fridge
You were the kid who went over to your best friend’s house, found hot dogs, mashed potatoes, and pickles in the fridge, and ate them together as your own weird masterpiece. You were never afraid to try new food, accepted every dare, and were outrageous and innovative in both food and personality.
Today you’re still a bad ass when it comes to food, and you’ve found home in the Mookie. Topped with culinary wonders you’ve never heard of like bacon-onion jam and roasted garlic aioli with bacon and blue marble cheese, this burger was made for you. Challenge accepted.
Goosey
Photo by Sara Tane
Favorite childhood meal: frozen Reese’s
Yes, frozen Reese’s are a meal when you eat enough of them after launching yourself onto the couch for a marathon of Drake & Josh. You had a sweet tooth and understood that the one thing in life better than the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is that combo frozen. Homework could wait, TV and multiple trips to the freezer called your name when you got off the bus.
Luckily, you can now step it up with the even more enlightened Goosey. A scoop of Maple View Farm’s local chocolate ice cream sandwiched between two peanut butter cookies is a must for all the PB lovers out there.
#SpoonTip: Ask to get your Goosey when your burger is delivered (because of course you’re getting a burger too) so that it can soften up while you eat.