By Golly, There are a lot of burgers out there!

For some reason, that quintessential American food has been on my mind lately, hamburgers. I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday…….. In the past week I’ve been to Fatburger, City View Tavern, Terry’s Turf Club and to a little know Milford destination named By Golly’s. I could do a marathon burger review here providing ratings and a multitude of pictures, but aren’t you just a little tired of reading about the first three in the list?

You aren’t? OK, for you enquiring readers who just can’t get enough burger talk, here’s the nickel tour and hound’s down and dirty summary:

Fatburger – Wendy’s meets Red Robin, without the alcohol. Great burger for a chain, but the atmosphere reminds me of the diners of my youth, without a soul. Sure, it has a little retro going for it, but the vibe still reads Village of the Damned, Redux. I was almost expecting to hear “Thriller” on the jukebox and have the staff break into a zombie dance. So, be warned, get their tasty burger to go and have your getaway driver in place for a fast escape. (and don’t forget your crucifix)

City View Tavern – Now this place has some character. Oddly located on a residential street high on a Mt. Adams hill, it offers some of the finest views in the city to be had, the Celestial aside. I started going there in 1984 and I don’t think they’ve even changed a picture in that time. If tradition works, why change it? Vibe in a nutshell – quirky, welcomes everyone type of place that is Cheers with a view, sans Norm. Oh yea, the burgers. Pretty good, but they will never be great. This is a great bar with a great view, but they don’t even have a cook. The bartender will make a burger between opening beers and pouring shots – not the path to burger greatness, grasshopper.

Terry’s Turf Club – You’ve heard it all before and I’ll repeat here with conviction: best damn burger in Cincinnati, hands down. No detail overlooked. Cool, funky neon atmosphere, great beer selection and attracts people of all ages and from all walks of life. This could almost be my permanent hangout and perch for some prime people watching. Almost? Yea, Terry’s suffers from its fame. Small place, too popular and you can’t really relax and enjoy your food – there is always a crowd of vultures watching you for the chance to snag your table. I like to enjoy my surroundings, eat my food, then leisurely sip a few cold ones and have a few laughs with my companions. Terry’s has, by necessity, migrated from a place to hang out and enjoy, to a place forced to turn over the tables in a heavily orchestrated production. The feeling I get is that Terry misses the old days too. Nothing can suck so much as success.

By Golly’s – Whew, finally, we get to the real meat of this post. (pun intended) To fully understand this place, you need a little history. I was first introduced to By Golly’s in early 2007 by some neighbors. This place was a dark, windowless dungeon of a bar with a huge screen showing way too loud 80’s music videos. (I’ll talk, I’ll talk, I’ll tell you anything you want! Just make that music stop!) The vibe was seedy cocktail lounge complete with lizards. What’s the attraction? The “By Golly Burger” was a very tasty bargain.

Burn Baby Burn

In December 2007, a kitchen fire left By Golly’s down for the count. All of 2008 passed and I wondered if it would ever reappear, despite rumors this Phoenix would once again rise from the ashes. Fast forward to late February / early March 2009 - By Golly’s reopens. After giving them a week to shake out, we arrive on day #8. First thoughts? Where the hell am I? No lounge, no lizards, no obnoxious big hair music videos. There are even windows and light! Wrong place? No, By Golly’s shed it’s former trappings and rose to what it does best – offer good food, but this time with atmosphere. The waitress’s shirts say it best:


It was pretty crowded when we arrived, but a nice table was just waiting for us. After only a couple minutes, the manager stopped by to welcome us, give us advice on tasty appetizers and to let us know that Sierra would be our waitress. We took her up on the Jalapeno bottle caps for an appetizer. Before long Sierra arrived, left a name tag so we could remember her name (nice touch) and promised to be right back with the snacks.











Moments later we were treated to sliced rounds of red and green jalapeno peppers (you know, like a bottle cap) battered, fried and served with a bistro sauce. These guys were spicy, but not too much for the old asbestos mouth hound dog. The better news is that they were a bit too spicy for my group – leaving more for me! All of us ordered the classic By Golly Burger and waffle fries. The standard By Golly burger – two patties, Swiss cheese, sautéed onions and honey mustard. Honey mustard!?!?! Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I’ll take yellow please.


After nursing a pitcher of beer with my friends, the burgers arrive in their full glory. Lightly toasted bun, tender & moist beef patties, and caramelized onions and melted Swiss cheese. I think the hound is going to be woofing this down, after a picture or two of course. Sierra inquires about my picture taking, so I explain I am merely documenting my burger quest that week. One of my friends let’s the “b word” slip (blog) and she seemed more interested.








Would Sierra like to pose to help capture the moment?

No problem. The people are very friendly here!













You know, there is nothing quite like the rumor of someone taking pictures of your food to pull a chef out of the kitchen. (I think Sierra told on me!) It just so happens the executive chef makes his rounds TO MY TABLE to see how we were enjoying our food. We compliment his burgers and the great things they have done to the place. After a little conversation it turns out he was from Texas and used to compete in BBQ competitions. (I knew there was something I liked about this guy!)









Anyway, these really are good burgers. Not Terry’s burgundy wine reduction and mushroom burgers, but an honest, fairly priced and tasty burger in a “festive mood” setting - to steal a portion of their new slogan. I could spend an evening here and have a great time – something that Terry just can’t compete with.

In addition to the burgers, they have pasta and other homey dishes on the menu – no longer the dank lounge with food, but an up tempo place to eat and socialize, where you can also get a drink - almost the opposite of its former orientation. Unless you were able to see the “before an after” yourself, you could not even fathom what a miraculous change has occurred. Cincy Hound likes this place and, By Golly; I’ll be back - but I'll have to bring my own lizards.