Dinner Out @ Terry's Turf Club

Plain and simple, Terry's is:

Terry's Turf Club on Urbanspoon

It gets the most reviews, and I think it deserves it.  The atmosphere, the food, the whole package.  So, without belaboring the well known, I'll try to add a bit to the landscape on Terry's.  After waiting for our most recent burgers last week, when they arrived I wrote, in the throes of passion: "I love everything about a Terrys burger, I'd marry it.  Sarah loves it too, so we're comfortable with polygamy."

The Food: Terry's makes the best burgers in Cincinnati.  As I noted on the Gordo's post, you can make different categories of burgers by splitting the ones that put stuff in their burger and the ones that don't.  But, no matter how you score, this is the best.  Juicy, but not too juicy (although, I must say, there was a period of a few months several months back that we now call the Dark Ages when you consistently ended up with a soggy bottom bun).  They shake on some kind of seasoning and it is good.  They don't skimp on the toppings, but you can still (barely) get your mouth around it.  A great, light buttery bun.  The burgers come out in rounds, so it can take a while to get your food.  When you hear the sizzle a round is on, when there is silence, get ready!  There are all kinds of options and toppings, but I'm settling in to bacon, american cheese, lettuce, pickles, grilled onions and peppers, and mayo. See the menu in the slideshow below for more on the fancy options.

The french fries are just ok, kinda floppy, but unskinned potatoes and not bad.  Plus, one order serves two at $3.50, so you can't complain much.  Plus, did I mention, a great burger makes it all ok!  The burgers come with chips if you don't get fries.

The Ingredients: They've got some fancy stuff, but nothing seasonal or local to my knowledge.  They've got some local beers, so maybe next they'll have some local meat and potatoes!

The Story, Setting, & Service: The hip, hot, new Terry's story - as in, happened this afternoon - is that Guy Fieri (in the photo on the left, with Tony, the Terry's manager - hat tip to ohladyofavalon on Twitter who I now can't find, sorry) of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives/Food Network fame was in the house today.  Twitter was aflutter.  I'm a bit disappointed, because we almost nabbed an exclusive!  See, we were there on Friday, and the word was out a bit.  I (just sorta) bribed the server for the official date and time of the visit (see the pic in the slideshow below), but no one knew for sure when it would be so I got a window.  On the way home from work today I asked Sarah to do a little googling, and sure enough we missed it.  I'm glad that Terry's is getting the pub, but I share Via Vite's Twitter sentiment to Guy: "Don't air the Terry's Turf Club segment. Its hard enough to get a table w/o the morons drooling everywhere."

UPDATE: A great post about being in Terry's for the shoot.  Thanks to wine me, dine me.
It's true, it can be hard to get a table.  But the service is solid and everybody is friendly.  You pretty much have to assume you're going to wait an hour when you go.  Thankfully, they've got a great bar and lots of peanuts to keep you occupied.  Weekend nights the place gets even smaller because they have music, usually a jazz group that rocks it.  The place gets really loud even with no music, then add the jukebox or the band and it is at a fever pitch.

Dusty Baker is known to frequent late nite after games, and I think I've seen a Cincinnati celebrity every other time I've been in.   Some people come 3 times a week - I know at least a couple people that talk about Terry's all the time.

And finally, for a new Amateur Foodies signature move, the tidbit of information that you probably didn't know about Terry's Turf Club:  Terry, the owner, was named Mr. Cincinnati in '68 and holds records in fly fishing, including for a double grand slam where he caught 2 tarpin, permit, and bonefish in one day!

Go early, prepare to wait, then enjoy!