Corey's Catsup and Mustard

I liked this glass. It held my water.

On The Road....Manchester, CT aka Burger Apathy, Part 2
I was driving through CT on my way back home and it was a sucky rainy day. I thought to myself, "Self, this sucks. What better than a cheeseburger or two to make things better?" I debated, do I go with the classic, tried and true Louis Lunch? Or do I try something new to give y'all a new review? I honestly wasn't feeling too adventurous to do both so I just opted for something new. My search for "Best Burger Hartford" quickly yielded some names that I've recognized and I settled on Corey's Catsup and Mustard in Manchester, CT.

Their burger list is pretty extensive and my decision was not going to be easy. After much deliberation my stomach and eyes were in agreement that Auntie Annie's Laurie's was the burger for me.This particular burger features: Auntie Laurie's House-Made Blue Moon Mustard, horseradish cheddar, pretzel bun, bacon, lettuce, tomato. How good does that sound?? I was literally salivating while I waited for this creation to arrive.

The burger, (at left) with bacon, cheddar, and all that other good stuff was presented nicely. The bun, was so inviting with it's golden brown glow. Seriously, look at it. Stare at it. How good does that bun look? Now gaze at that mountain of accoutrements on top of the burger, I vote yum yums.

Looks can be deceiving, don't judge a book by its cover, etc. etc. All those cliches exist because they are true. Now how can the masterpiece at left go awry? Well, let's start with flavor. The burger was ordered rare and served medium-well (honestly anything beyond the reddish-pink is well done in my brain) and as we've learned, I have two bugaboos when ordering a burger. Let's recap.

1. I'm not going to tell you how I want it cooked. You're going to ask me.
2. If you ask me how I want it cooked, deliver. It's not hard. If this is your first burger ever then maybe you get a hall pass but I am not coming to eat your first burger ever. Am I?

Just above my thumb is a scant amount of mustard...see it?

So the waitress asks me how I want it cooked and I say, "rare" with all the thickness of my BK accent. I'm assuming it was not lost in translation. Seriously though, allow me a moment to praise my waitress. Was it Corey or Kori (I didn't get the proper spelling but she was nice, friendly, attentive, and very helpful. She earned a very generous tip even though (SPOILER ALERT!!!) I was VERY disappointed with this burger.

There was nothing redeemable about this burger. The burger itself was so overdone and there was almost no mustard to speak of. I needed something to moisten this beast and debated dunking it into my water. I refrained and kept chewing and chewing until I hit mustard! EUEREKA! It was like 1849 all over again though the mustard rush was very short lived. It was gone in a flash and I was back to my dry, overdone burger. That bacon...oh bacon. I love you so much and I hate seeing you treated so cruelly. I apologize that you had to be torched to a wooden texture and I apologize that I had to eat you like that. I promise to never do it again.

My review - 1/5 - Overcooked. Dry burger, beyond crispy and flavorless bacon, enough lettuce for a side salad, and barely enough mustard to cover the tip of my finger.

Their Site - http://www.catsupandmustard.com/


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