Charmars

I found myself in northern Minnesota for work last week and my travels brought me to Alborn, MN.  It's not much of a place other than a railroad junction, but the PM I was there with was positively stoked to be at this site around lunchtime.  He said that there was a place just down the road from our site that had the GREATEST burgers.  OK, fine by me, because I wasn't looking forward to driving all the way up to the Range Cities for a brief Subway stop.  I learned that this guy does not stretch the truth when describing the Char Mar burger - it easily was one of the better burgers I've had.

The bar is a Northwoods style one-story off of Swan Lake Road.  There's a busy rail line to the east and several ore trains rumbled through while I was sitting at the bar.  There was one bartender present when we stopped in a bit after 1 PM, both soggy from the rain.  There were a few other locals sitting at tables or at the bar but for the the most part the place was empty.  Normally I would have ordered a beer to go with my burger but I was on work time, so I made do with water.  The burgers take a while to cook up, but the bartender was attentive enough to refill my glass a few times.  I ordered a burger with pepperjack cheese and onions.  It was absolutely huge.  The bartender actually dissuaded me from getting fries, saying that it probably wouldn't want them once I saw the size of the burger.  He was exactly right.  The patty was thick and well-seasoned, cooked to well-done but not dry or overcooked.  The bun was buttered and lightly toasted and held up well.  Everything about the burger was top-knotch.  I don't know if I'll be back anytime soon, but if I did find myself in the vicinity of Alborn and had a desire for a delicious burger I'd know exactly where to go.