Our Wintry Burger Trip
Plan♦B Burger Bar
10/29/2011 Simsbury CT
Abstract
Plan B brought us a great atmosphere, genuinely nice and fun wait staff and comfort food that delivered on taste. We all agreed this would be a return destination for us in the future. Hopefully next time the weather will be nicer.
Plan B
Plan B is a burger bar, a small chain located in CT. The B refers not just to Burgers, but to Bourbon, Beer and Beef. They have a pledge that all their beef is :
This location was neat. It was a converted train station with a rock cellar. We ate in the basement, it was cozy and decorated for Halloween a little which was a plus. Our waitress Marcy was flawless, she kept it personal and fun and by the end of our meal we had exchanged out info with her. The rest of the staff while not as awesome, were pretty great too.
Our Trip
Tara and Stephan were out in Windsor for work last week, and happened upon this place. Being thoroughly impressed by what they had when I made the trip out there for the weekend, they insisted we return there during our stay.
I had planned for this little vacation with the knowledge that the area we were in was due for about 3 - 6 inches of snow starting around 5pm and going till the early mornings. Half to a full inch an our is nothing to scoff at but in New England we know and can handle our snow. I brought extra socks, boots and thermals to keep me warm. I had hats/gloves a snow scrapper and even a snow shovel in my trunk. We were going to be out the night of the snow but it wasn't a surprise storm per se and with plows and some salting there is no reason to be worried about the highways which made up 95% of our travels.
After breakfast at local favorite of ours it had begun raining as expected, we ran some errands and by the time we got back we had the start of a wintry mix on our hands. As we hung out playing games an odd glance out the window told us the snow was early and it was coming down pretty steadily. We decided to move up our "lunch" a little and headed out around 230pm. What should have been a 10 minute drive turned into about 30 minutes or more as the roads were untouched at the point and the terrain very hilly.
We made it to Plan B intact although frosty, and trudged through the snow laden parking lot. After a great meal we were ready to wrap up and head out when the place lost power. We hung out for a bit and chatted and when we were finally ready to move on we made out pretty well with that manager settling our bill at a fraction of what it should have been. On the advice of the assistant manger who is a volunteer firefight and EMT we took a different route home through powerless intersection, downed trees and unpaved road. It turned out to be quite the adventure, and our trials with the weather that day had just begun, but alas that is story for another Blog altogether. ;)
Our Food
Appetizer
We ordered a Baked Brie for an appetizer with a maple glaze and candied pecans. It was really well cooked both on the outside and the inside. I am sure I ate the lions share of it. It came with apples and a sliced baked french bread that was golden brown, crispy on the edges and mysteriously still chewy in the center. Sadly I did not get a photo of it.
Burger
They have a plethora of burger choices [Menu] but I wasn't 100% satisfied with any one option. They had no problem basically customizing a burger for me. I ended up with a Squeeler Patty (half beef / half pork) with Smoked Gouda for cheese and their Chipolte BBQ sauce on a regular bun. It was great. The meat does not come out as pink as other burgers since the pork is included but it was equally moist as a med-rare burger and had a consistency between meatloaf and a typical patty.
I got sweet potato fries on the side. Normally I wouldn't take a whole ¶ for a side, but these are probably the best consistency, and crunchiness in a sweet potato fry I have ever encountered. The fries were cut shoe string which is a good trick for a Sweet Potato fry since the require more cooking then regular fries but tend to burn on the outside if you go for too long. Problem with most places that do this is you end up with an oily fry. These seemed to strike a balance that was exquisite in the world of sweet potato fries.
Dessert
For dessert I had what they call a Log Cabin. Its a Pumpkin Banana Bread roll with a sweet cream filling and a caramel drizzle. It had nuts ground in the bread and a few walnuts in the cream, which I'm not a fan of but were avoidable. It was sweet but not obnoxious, and the parts all went well together. The Pumpkin flavor could have been stronger but otherwise it was a delicious end to my meal.
Drinks
I started my meal off with a Trippel Ale they had on tap. I am not even sure it lasted till we had the Brie. For my 2nd Beer I went with a bottled beer, the Weyerbacher's Beligan Ale, which definitely went well with the Brie.
After I ordered a flight of Bourbon. I did a poor job keeping notes on which ones I had though. I drank most of it with my burger and the rest I finished after wards. I had 3 Fingers of Bourbon altogether. To go with my dessert I ordered a sweeter beer. I was impressed with the Weyerbacher Ale from earlier so I ordered their Blithering Idiot, a high alcohol Barley Wine style ale.
This "Beer" was very sweet but still hoppy. It went really well with my desert but I'm pretty sure I didn't even finish it. I had alot to drink during this meal and plenty to eat and my stomach was done after the first 8oz pour.
Summary
This was a knock out home run for us. Going to a burger bar you aren't looking for the fine dining experience of a 400$ a plate restaurant, you are looking for comfort food that tastes great and you're looking to sit and talk with your friends over food. Plan B gave us exceptional comfort food with just the right amount of grease and salt, they gave us cozy seat, and fun service. We drank and joked and had a great time and that what this level of dining should be, all while delivering us food a notch above anyone else.
Plan B is a burger bar, a small chain located in CT. The B refers not just to Burgers, but to Bourbon, Beer and Beef. They have a pledge that all their beef is :
"100% Certified Natural, with NO antibiotics, NO hormones, NO fillers, NO added colors, NO chemicals, from farms that have undergone the strictest natural food certification in existence today, Certified Humane"They keep a large selection of Bottled Beer and a constant rotation of solid craft beers on tap. Their bourbon selection rivals most wine lists and includes some really well priced and solid taste options. Their burgers though take center stage on their menu, including a wide range of meats, cheese and creative accouterments that could challenge your pallet.
This location was neat. It was a converted train station with a rock cellar. We ate in the basement, it was cozy and decorated for Halloween a little which was a plus. Our waitress Marcy was flawless, she kept it personal and fun and by the end of our meal we had exchanged out info with her. The rest of the staff while not as awesome, were pretty great too.
Our Trip
Tara and Stephan were out in Windsor for work last week, and happened upon this place. Being thoroughly impressed by what they had when I made the trip out there for the weekend, they insisted we return there during our stay.
I had planned for this little vacation with the knowledge that the area we were in was due for about 3 - 6 inches of snow starting around 5pm and going till the early mornings. Half to a full inch an our is nothing to scoff at but in New England we know and can handle our snow. I brought extra socks, boots and thermals to keep me warm. I had hats/gloves a snow scrapper and even a snow shovel in my trunk. We were going to be out the night of the snow but it wasn't a surprise storm per se and with plows and some salting there is no reason to be worried about the highways which made up 95% of our travels.
After breakfast at local favorite of ours it had begun raining as expected, we ran some errands and by the time we got back we had the start of a wintry mix on our hands. As we hung out playing games an odd glance out the window told us the snow was early and it was coming down pretty steadily. We decided to move up our "lunch" a little and headed out around 230pm. What should have been a 10 minute drive turned into about 30 minutes or more as the roads were untouched at the point and the terrain very hilly.
We made it to Plan B intact although frosty, and trudged through the snow laden parking lot. After a great meal we were ready to wrap up and head out when the place lost power. We hung out for a bit and chatted and when we were finally ready to move on we made out pretty well with that manager settling our bill at a fraction of what it should have been. On the advice of the assistant manger who is a volunteer firefight and EMT we took a different route home through powerless intersection, downed trees and unpaved road. It turned out to be quite the adventure, and our trials with the weather that day had just begun, but alas that is story for another Blog altogether. ;)
Our Food
Appetizer
We ordered a Baked Brie for an appetizer with a maple glaze and candied pecans. It was really well cooked both on the outside and the inside. I am sure I ate the lions share of it. It came with apples and a sliced baked french bread that was golden brown, crispy on the edges and mysteriously still chewy in the center. Sadly I did not get a photo of it.
Burger
They have a plethora of burger choices [Menu] but I wasn't 100% satisfied with any one option. They had no problem basically customizing a burger for me. I ended up with a Squeeler Patty (half beef / half pork) with Smoked Gouda for cheese and their Chipolte BBQ sauce on a regular bun. It was great. The meat does not come out as pink as other burgers since the pork is included but it was equally moist as a med-rare burger and had a consistency between meatloaf and a typical patty.
I got sweet potato fries on the side. Normally I wouldn't take a whole ¶ for a side, but these are probably the best consistency, and crunchiness in a sweet potato fry I have ever encountered. The fries were cut shoe string which is a good trick for a Sweet Potato fry since the require more cooking then regular fries but tend to burn on the outside if you go for too long. Problem with most places that do this is you end up with an oily fry. These seemed to strike a balance that was exquisite in the world of sweet potato fries.
Dessert
For dessert I had what they call a Log Cabin. Its a Pumpkin Banana Bread roll with a sweet cream filling and a caramel drizzle. It had nuts ground in the bread and a few walnuts in the cream, which I'm not a fan of but were avoidable. It was sweet but not obnoxious, and the parts all went well together. The Pumpkin flavor could have been stronger but otherwise it was a delicious end to my meal.
Drinks
I started my meal off with a Trippel Ale they had on tap. I am not even sure it lasted till we had the Brie. For my 2nd Beer I went with a bottled beer, the Weyerbacher's Beligan Ale, which definitely went well with the Brie.
After I ordered a flight of Bourbon. I did a poor job keeping notes on which ones I had though. I drank most of it with my burger and the rest I finished after wards. I had 3 Fingers of Bourbon altogether. To go with my dessert I ordered a sweeter beer. I was impressed with the Weyerbacher Ale from earlier so I ordered their Blithering Idiot, a high alcohol Barley Wine style ale.
This "Beer" was very sweet but still hoppy. It went really well with my desert but I'm pretty sure I didn't even finish it. I had alot to drink during this meal and plenty to eat and my stomach was done after the first 8oz pour.
Summary
This was a knock out home run for us. Going to a burger bar you aren't looking for the fine dining experience of a 400$ a plate restaurant, you are looking for comfort food that tastes great and you're looking to sit and talk with your friends over food. Plan B gave us exceptional comfort food with just the right amount of grease and salt, they gave us cozy seat, and fun service. We drank and joked and had a great time and that what this level of dining should be, all while delivering us food a notch above anyone else.
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