Yakkety Yak (Burger)

I was looking for a lunch spot a while back with 2 of my lovely coworkers. We were on our way to a usual place when we came near Waterfront Ale House. We decided to take a chance on a new place.

It was just after three when we arrived, so the place was almost empty. We took a seat next to the popcorn machine (you can help yourself while you wait) and persued the menu, which boasts a lot of wild game, including ostrich, bison, and of course, yak.

There were so many choices on that menu that it took us a while to sort it all out for ourselves. Thankfully, we had a patient server.

By the way, if your are a condiment fiend, you are in the right place. More mustards than you can muster to eat, hot sauces of all levels of caliente, and scads o' ketchup and BBQ sauce (they make their own).

Honestly, the yak burger intrigued me, but the actual word 'yak' almost turned my stomach. I had to think about it for a few minutes, that whole mind over matter war I often fight. I mean, seriously, how often do you get the chance to eat yak. Outside of say, Mongolia? I decided to be brave and ordered the yak burger, and I opted for waffle fries.

I asked our server how the kitchen recommends it be cooked, and she said medium-rare (a touch more rare than I normally get my burgers). I dug deep, powered through, and said go for it!

That is one piiiiiiiiink burger. I took a deep breath before taking a big bite. The meat tasted almost, well, slightly sweet at first. The consistency was a little smoother than ground beef, and frankly, it was tasty. And somehow, I managed not to imagine this guy too much while chewing.

P ordered the Texas dip, which was sliced brisket with a heaping cup o' BBQ sauce, and sweet potato fries. I dipped a fry into the BBQ sauce and it was quite tasty. The fries were great on their own, but the spicy, earthy, not-sicky-sweet sauce was a delicious addition.

J ordered the chicken club and very happy with it. Her only complaint (and a mild one at that) was that the sandwich was so tall it was tough to take a decent bite. It looked sooo good, and for a second I wondered if I should have gotten that. Looking back, though, I'm happy with my choice!

The two things I didn't like from our visit: the waffle fries and one thing our server did. J ordered a glass of wine and thought it tasted 'off.' We both tried a sip and agreed it was not good. She returned it and got another glass--didn't drink another sip of the one she didn't like. When we got the bill, we saw the server left the returned wine on there. Really? I think we all felt that one should not have been on the final count. By the time we were ready to leave, though, it was getting quite hectic there and we just figured we'd tip less. We still left a decent tip, but we would have left a MUCH bigger one if she'd taken the returned glass off the bill. Oh yeah.. and the waffle fries were terrible--dry, nothing to them, and a waste of your time--skip these! Yak burger, yes, waffle fries, no!

All in all, the extra wine wasn't that big a deal--we never felt rushed and we all enjoyed our food. I think we'll hit this place again down the road for sure--if you're in the mood for something different, hit up Waterfront Ale House!