Now Serving: Lighthouse Tavern

My mission to find the best burger in Baltimore continues this week. I found my self in Canton, one of, if not, my favorite neighborhood. I'd driven past The Lighthouse Tavern countless times, and never once been inside. It had a great location, just a block from the water, right across the street from the dog park, and far enough from Canton Square where parking isn't a challenge. You can always see a friendly message written on the chalkboard outside. Just feels inviting.

It's a Sunday afternoon when I stroll in through the side entrance. With the Ravens on a bye, only a handful of locals are inside, and they all seemed to know each other. All the games are on their TV's. It's pretty dark inside, but oddly, it's cozy.

I take a look over the menu, which boasts "Our burgers are getting a reputation as the Best in Baltimore!" Good, because I'm looking for the best. I don't want to waste my time with an average burger, or even a pretty good burger. I'm glad this laminated paper is letting me know what I'm getting into. They offer a burger of the week that's not on the menu, this one is a very punny "That's Nacho Burger". Perhaps Bob Belcher helped pick the name.

Bob Belcher, Master of Burger Puns

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The one I settled for sounded like a beast. "Billy's Monster Grilled Cheese Burger" is their Angus beef burger, served between two Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. I'm not sure what Billy was thinking, but I'm not sure I can get that anywhere else.

The Burger comes out as intimidating as it sounds. It looks glorious. The bartender even says "It's picture worthy". He knows and understands foodies like myself drool for stuff like this.

Now getting my mouth around this was no easy task. Take 4 slices of white bread from your pantry Try to put your mouth around that. Now, add a thick beef patty. I don't have the jaw capacity of a Conehead, but I valiantly tried. It took a few bites to get into the meaty center, but when I did, I was a little disappointed.

Call me a burger snob (I guess it's a fitting shoe for anyone who starts a blog specifically for burgers), but a burger is intended to be cooked medium well, with a good balance of pink and natural juices, and I'll always request my burger cooked to this temp. This particular burger was overcooked. I suppose it's better than undercooked and raw, which I've had from a chain I won't name (or even link here). At least it was warm all the way through. But it was just dry. The half a loaf of bread that came with it didn't help. The lack of toppings (and lack of room for toppings at the that). didn't help either. And as much as I love the grilled cheese concept, it just became very messy, with crumbs sticking to the butter from the bun on my fingers. It just felt like too much. I'd maybe suggest using just one sandwich, and stuffing it inside. But if it were done that way, we wouldn't get this awesome looking cutaway.

All in all, I really wanted to like this, just my own personal taste (and maybe me being a burger snob) didn't permit it. Maybe a different burger would have suited me better. I do appreciate the fact that they're willing to try new things. Feel free to check it out yourself, though.

Remember, new posts weekly, ideally Monday or Tuesday. Follow on Instagram @baltimoreburgerblog for even more burgerlicious pictures.