Fifth Stop: Bull Feeney's, Fore Street

I'll admit, we consigned to going to Bull Feeney's with the notion that it was "just a bar" that would have no culinary redemption...and were proven wrong to the fullest extent. Here are a couple of quotes that sum up the night.

"Getting a good lamb burger is hard enough to find. Getting a good lamb burger, perfectly cooked with goat cheese is damn near impossible. Not so tonight."

"Who knew lamb would work so perfectly in a burger--a triumph."

"Good service, burger was cooked to perfection...Fan-frickin-tastic."

"I would eat it again. And probably will."

So, as you gather, there's a lamb burger option. The only other option is the regular beef burger, and they're very simple--served with just lettuce, tomato, onion (and a choice of cheese). I have to admit, I sometimes get a bit panicky when there's nothing else topping it...just those basics don't allow much for a bad burger to hide under. However, this burger was so good that I would have eaten it alone with just a fork. The meat itself, both the beef and lamb, was seasoned perfectly, not eclectically, just perfectly.

The meat was also cooked exactly the way we wanted it, for 8/9 of us. Now, to address this point while we're on it, it occurred to us that we ARE asking quite a bit of any kitchen to all order burgers and expect them to come out at the same time being perfectly cooked to our individual specifications, and I started feeling a bit of guilt about this...until we realized that a GOOD kitchen can do this. Bull Feeney's proved that they are one of these good kitchens.

The service was totally up to par with any 'good service' expectation-nothing fancy, just fast and reliable and correct when the bill came. The atmosphere is great, bar-ish downstairs, but classy-ish upstairs, and lots of room for us to have a relaxing experience.

There are, always, some downsides, one which should be mentioned. Namely, the price of the burger (which is either $8.50 or $9.50) does not encompass fries (or cheese, if I'm remembering right...). This makes for a sort of expensive meal, when you compare to other places. The fries were a little stingy, considering they're an additional $1.95, but you can have regular or sweet potato fries, which is cool, and the honey mustard is great, as well as the curry mayo dipping sauce.

All in all, Bull Feeney's, I owe you an apology. I'll never underestimate your ability to fill our stomachs with a delicious meal along with some great beers. (Some really good ones, which, I forgot to mention, were on special for $3. A fact that does nothing to hurt that overall score.)

Scores out of 100

Taste: 80

Atmosphere: 89

Overall Experience: 82