Bonus Burger: Thurman Cafe – German Village

I recently broke away from John and Jerry to spend time with two wonderful Chileans who are visiting Columbus from Santiago. I took my dear friends Carlitos and Carlos Browne to Thurman’s in German Village. I had a Thurman burger for the first time this past spring, but I don’t remember the experience all that well because I was two days deep into a breakup and was wallowing in my sorrow. This time, I was quite excited to really try the Thurman burger, which is truly the talk of the town.

When we arrived at Thurman’s we had to wait in this cramped room with about 50 people. The waiting area looked larger than the actual “dining room”. I put that in quotes because the dining room is just a few tables and booths that surround the bar. We waited for well over an hour before our name was called. In fact, the whole Thurman experience for us was this ridiculous waiting game. Once we were seated we waited an eternity for our waiter. Then, we waited a long time for our burgers. Then, we waited forever for our check (our waiter literally disappeared) so we had to ask the bartender for it. All in all, we arrived at Thurman’s at 1 p.m. and left at 4:30 p.m. I can understand a meal lasting that long if you are enjoying exquisite French fare, but for a burger, come on! As we were walking out the door Carlos said, “I don’t think that I have ever waited this much.”

So, was the burger worth the wait? Here’s our assessment:

The Patty: Our waiter told us that the meat for the Thurman patties ships in fresh everyday, even on Sundays. The patty alone was tasty, but it did not appear to be grilled over a flame (that is, there was no grill flavor present, just seasoning flavor). Best guess for the seasoning: Worcestershire sauce. Talk of the patty sparked a discussion of the quality of Argentinean meat. As such, these Chileans have a high bar set for them in terms of beef quality. Collectively, we thought the burger meat on this patty was “good, but not great.” Score: 3.5

The Toppings: I ordered the Thurman Burger, which had way too much going on. The burger itself relies on a disproportionate amount of toppings for flavor. There was ham and cheese smothered all over my burger. There were so many toppings that I hardly knew what I was eating as they all mushed together. My friend Jorge who joined us later in the waiting game ordered a burger that came with a ½ pound of cheese. Thurman’s toppings are overwhelming and truly distract from the flavor of the meat. Score: 2.25

The Bun: The bun was good. It held up relatively well to the mound of toppings. Carlos’ bun was actually two pieces of grilled Texas Toast. Score: 3

Overall Burger Experience: Sorry all you Columbusites who are fans of Thurman’s, but this burger just didn’t do it for us. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything special and certainly not worth the wait. Jorge said, “I liked it, but I have had better.” Carlos said, “I liked it, but it’s not in my upper rank.” I was relatively unsatisfied with Thurman’s. Given all the hype, it was an anti-climatic experience for sure. The aftermath of the Thurman burger was what sealed the deal for me about ever coming back to the place. About two hours after eating the Thurman burger, lets just say that I Thurman-ated. This involved some unpleasant time, bringing my total score way down. Overall Score: 2