Poole’s Tavern
http://poolestavern.com
157 East Main Street
Northville, MI 48167
THE CONQUEST
Michigan rules. Beautiful summers, lush fruits, great Craft Beer, wonderful universities, legacy sports teams, industrial historical importance, wonderful lakes and so much more. It also has two things I really, really love; 1. some of the best Hamburgers in the world & 2. My Mom. That’s not to say I don’t love the rest of my family or friends there, I do, but this post is not about them.
When we were kids, going out to eat Hamburgers was a treat. My Mom loves Burgers, especially sliders and it’s her appreciation for them that helped to fashion mine. When I go back to “The D” to visit for the holidays every year, we have a tradition of going out for a holiday Burger. Thankfully since Michigan and more specifically the Detroit area, has no shortage of tasty Burgability, our list of “to eats” has no end. From Burgers you’ve heard of to Burgers I’ve been eating since I was an ankle bitin Burger lover, each year we log another onto the Burger Conquest:
Northville, MI, located about 30 miles West of Detroit, owes its roots to settles from New York who moved there after a land patent was granted in 1823. A man by the name of J.F. Davis was the first official resident of the town and helped establish it’s first businesses: tailor, shoe shop, two blacksmiths & a tavern. While it’s all been replaced by fancy cute little shops in the downtown area, one thing remains, an old school tavern where the local “settlers” can pop in for a a drink a chat and of course, a Hamburger. Poole’s isn’t THAT tavern, but it’s one of the longest standing businesses in the city. Established in the early 1900s as the Thomas Tavern, it’s carried many names from many owners, but the point is, it’s always been there making it a center point for the small suburb. Run by the Poole family, the tavern has been under their supervision since 1997 and if there is one thing they take pride in, it’s their Hamburger.
THE BURGER
Go to the Poole’s Tavern website and in the about section included with the history of the place is a mention about the Beef they serve. Not only is proudly displayed on their website but it’s all over their printed menus as well, all the Beef at Poole’s is Certified Angus Beef ® brand. The Burger, a half-pounder, comes with Lettuce, Onion, Tomato, a Dill Pickle Spear & Potato Chips. For an additional charge you can add Bacon, Mushrooms and your choice of Cheeses. For me, it was a Burger medium-rare with Grilled Onions, Lettuce and American Cheese.
The Burger is a standard pub-style Burger as it should be when inside the walls of a “tavern.” The Patty is char-grilled and served on a grilled White Bun with Sesame Seeds. Upon first inspection, I had to discard the Lettuce. It was fresh, no question, but it just stalks with very little Leaf. I should know better, Burgers don’t “need” anything on them that’s green, or red, for that matter. The Patty was a little drier than I prefer as well as a little more chewy than I am looking for. It’s likely that whomever is forming the Patties is handling them too much. This causes the ground Beef to become too tightly packed not allowing for softer, juicier bites. That’s not a comment on the Beef itself, just on the process. Also, while I am being a nit-picky Burger snob, the Bun was over grilled giving the overall Burger a burnt taste. Overall a decent Burger and cool location, but maybe we caught them on a bad day.
7 out of 10 Ounces
-Rev
THE BURGER COUNTQUEST
589 Burgers
December 30, 2012 – 12:53 pm
The Rev Meter for Social Community
“The Rev Meter” is a social community meter for assessing how optimized a bar or restaurant is with social networking. By taking what I consider to be the 10 most important social networks and creating a point system, I can accurately asses how well your business is using social networking as a tool. My goal here is to educate and assist great business to better effectively use these tools.
Poole’s Tavern scores a 4 on The Rev Meter.
SCORING:
4 points or less You’ve missed the 5 basics and are less than optimized
5 points You’ve covered the basics, which is better than most but far from optimized.
6 to 9 points You’re doing better than most and on your way to becoming a well respected social community whiz.
10 points Congrats on a perfect score!
