Alley Burger has actually been on my radar for a while. It seems that all the best restaurants are downtown but I don’t like to go down there very often, with the headache of parking and traffic. But the threat of identity theft allowed us to finally try this one out. When Alex filed his taxes, since he’s a first time filer, he had to show up in person at the IRS building downtown to prove his identity. I get that they are trying to protect people, but couldn’t we do this with 2023 technology like Zoom or something? Oh well, it all worked out fine. It was a very interesting experience as after we walked into the IRS building, what only could be considered an unstable human being, walked in right behind us, nearest to Chloe, holding a 10 inch knife. He asked the security guard that I was talking with if he could bring in the knife. Clearly, he could not, and so luckily he turned around an left with the knife and no incident. I think Alex and Chloe were a little spooked by the conversation between the security as they watched out the window and stated how he was going to stab someone with that knife. I’m a fan of Dateline and all but hopefully we don’t see an episode coming up around this fellow.

We got to Alley Burger super early. The IRS appointment was at 3:30 and I wasn’t sure how long it would take so we had a reservation for 4:30 but got there at 4pm. There was only 5 other people in there at the time, so definitely didn’t need the reservation but we were covered if needed. We were seated in a booth right away and had our drink order taken. We had a chance to look at the appetizers and decided to get the fried pickles, because, you know, why not?

We had time to look at the menu while we snacked on the pickles. Alex was the first to decide on his, so we’ll start with him. I really thought he might go for the gusto on the burger and get the “Do not Disturb” which has a fried egg on it. However, he surprised me a little and went with the Greek Burger. Each burger comes with fries which the kids couldn’t stop talking about. They were so “unique” that the kids had to know why. We asked our server and she said they they are covered in Truffle oil and parsley. They were very tasty!!

Chloe was having a bit of a time deciding. I looked at the menu before we went as I knew that she’s not really a burger kind of girl. But I saw a couple of options on there that she would like. She decided on one of the options I thought she might choose, and to be honest, I was really really nervous. The picture of it showed that it was a rather dark fry on it. When it came out, it looked just like the picture and was a bit dark. Obviously, the fear is that it is really dry inside with that dark exterior. However, I was completely WRONG! While it was dark, it was very moist on the inside. Are you wondering what she decided on? She went with the “Columbus Crab Cakes”. Chloe LOVED them. She said that Alley Burger is a 5 star out of 5! It was an instant qualifier for “Rewind”. I don’t think I’ve mentioned “Rewind” before so I’ll explain that at the end. Check out this fantastic crab cake!

There’s so many good options on the menu, I was having the most difficulty deciding. Our server was so excited about one burger that she explained it to us and said she had a picture of it on her phone. She didn’t have her phone with her so she told us she’d be right back to show us. The kids took this time to solidify their choice as I was still undecided. She came back and showed us the burger and wow did it look great. But did I really want that? Oh yeah I did!! She showed us the BBQ Bacon burger. There were plenty of other tasty options but when you get a recommendation like that, you have to go with it. I was glad that I did, as the burger was delicious. Alex and I swapped a bite and he agreed that mine was better than his. I’d like to try other burgers, but this was a good one!

For those that have stuck around and read the entire thing, you will now learn about “Rewind”. Sometime last year, Alex, Chloe, and I were discussing the fact that we’re going to so many great restaurants, that we really do want to visit them again. I think the majority of our blog posts state that we would want to go back. So we decided that once a month that we would go back to a place where with did Dining with Dad. The best thing I like about “Rewind” is that it is a surprise for me! One of the things the kids love about Dining with Dad is that each time it’s a surprise, and they felt bad that it’s never a surprise for me. So we decided that they would put their heads together and decide on a Rewind spot and then let me know the day of. Since I have to drive it’s not exactly a surprise, but now that Alex has his license it CAN be a surprise going forward! And while Dining with Dad is “exclusive”, in that it will only be the three of us, we’ve decided that guests can accompany us to Rewind. So if one of these places has you itching to try, reach out and maybe we can all go on a Rewind!!