O'Connell's Pub

Much has been written about this pub by St. Louis papers, but since most of my Yelp friends aren't from St. Louis, I thought I'd pass along the tip.  

O'Connell's excels by doing simple things very well.  The burgers are homemade patties, they are cooked properly to order, and the only toppings are cheese, lettuce, and a full onion slice.  

If you ask for rare, its cooked perfectly, likewise with medium and so forth.  Order fries and you'll get fresh potato fries that remind me of those at In 'N Out Burger.  

Wash it all down with an O'Connell's Amber lager, which reminds me of the malty goodness of Sam Adam's Boston Lager or Yuengling.  Like I said, simple things are done well at this pub.

O'Connell's excels at simple American pub food.  These days too many places overdue it and instead of making a homemade burger patty, use frozen ones with lots of sauces.  Not here; the patties showcase quality ground beef.

By the way, last night we learned that the house salad is lettuce soaked in dressing with sliced salami and two pickled chili peppers.  Who knew a salad could be so good?

I'm glad to live nearby it so its an easy option for evenings my wife & I aren't in Chicago and we don't want to cook.  My only warning is that on Friday or Saturday night you're probably going to have to wait in line.

I went to O'Connell's for lunch the other day just to try the burger that so many people have said is the best.  I came away very disappointed.

I do not care about the building, the interior, the service, or the stink.  All I was interested in was trying this supposedly great burger.

When it arrived, I was optimistic.  It looked great.  Thick and juicy with just cheese and onions.  Biting in I saw that it was cooked medium, just as I had ordered.  Unfortunately, there was absolutely no taste to the burger.  It was clear that the meat had not been seasoned at all.  No salt and pepper prior to cooking, nothing.

Burgers must be seasoned prior to cooking.  Just a quick dusting of salt and pepper prior to cooking brings out all of the flavor in the meat.  No seasoning means no flavor.

No flavor means no repeat customer.

Three of us went to O'Connell's last night.  Been going there since the 70's.   We ordered three hamburgers, all to be cooked medium rare.   All came out medium well.  Sent one back and after 20 minutes the replacement came out, medium.

Now our server can't be blamed for the poor performance of the cook but he was terrible in his own right.   In every imaginable way.   Had to be asked to bring our salad after waiting 15 minutes.  Never refilled water or asked if we wanted another beer.  Obviously did nothing to move the replacement burger up in the grill order.  Young guy who either needs some really good training or to find another vocation because he sucks at this one.

Not sure why I would want to go back.