Review: Jellystone Burger at the Mill Tavern

It is one of my great hopes in life to at some point live near or above a friendly little local watering hole with cold beer and solid cheeseburger not unlike the McLaren's of How I Met Your Mother Fame.  That dream of mine may or may not be realized someday due to other more frivolous life plans taking priority like "finding a nice house in a good neighborhood" or "getting married".  Psssh details details details.  Until that day comes I've just decided to check out bars in neighborhoods that would be good candidates.  The Mill Tavern in Westfield is just such a place.

Located in a strip mall in a sleepy northern suburb of the Circle City the Mill Tavern is nothing if not unassuming.  If I didn't have a friend who lived nearby I probably wouldn't even know it existed.  But when you walk inside from the parking lot it is immediately noticeable that you are in more than just another bar.  The Mill Tavern is warm, inviting, and friendly.  It's the kind of place that you can tell your more sophisticated friends that you're going there in order to "build social capital in your community" instead of merely knocking a few back until you forget your snobby friends' names in the first place.  In any case a few weeks back I decided to build some of my own social capital and join a friend on a birthday outing. 

After having a couple Bud Lights (If you're out there I accept free samples Anheuser Busch people!) I decided that the opportunity to have food from a place I've never been before was too good to pass up.  The menu definitely has some bar standards on it, but my eye was immediately drawn to their specialty burgers, specifically the burger called The Jellystone.  The concept of the Jellystone burger is a simple one.  Take a standard cheeseburger and add a schmear of black raspberry jelly underneath the melted cheese.  All at once a burger that is both simple and completely ridiculous.  I had to try it.  After all according to the menu it is Kristin's fave...whoever the heck that is. 

When it arrived at my table I noticed that it was barely discernible from a standard cheeseburger.  I even thought at first that they forgot the integral jell component, but once I bit in I recognized it was there immediately.  The taste was unusual, but definitely not unpleasant.  The sweet black raspberry jelly was actually a nice compliment to the beef.  However, this burger wasn't without it's problems.  First and foremost this might have been one of the hardest to eat burger's I've ever had.  The jelly was warm and was running out everywhere from under the cheese.  I had to actually dive in with a knife and fork to keep the sticky sweet jelly from running all over my hands and dripping on my clothes.  Secondly, in the flavor department this burger was lacking something.  The menu states that you can "try it with jalapenos" but I don't believe it really needed a spicy element.  I believe it needed and extra salty element like bacon, and I would replace the mild American cheese with something with more pop like a cheddar or Swiss.  Some pickles might have been a nice addition also...though then you're starting to get into the territory of gross pregnant lady cravings.  One other thing of note: The Mill Tavern charges extra to get fries with your burger.  They were good fries, and I understand why restaurants do the "upcharge" thing but it still bothers me a bit.  I mean burgers and fries just go together.  Just include the fries.

Taste 7/10 Good starting concept, the burger was cooked nicely, and the fries were tasty.  This burger could be modified and made better.  I like the Mill Tavern overall, and if I lived closer I'd be a more frequent customer.

Value 6/10 The burger was 7 dollars before the fries were added, but I have to say the size/magnitude of the burger didn't really feel like a 7 dollar burger.  The beer prices were average for a Fri/Saturday night.  This isn't a college bar where you can get plastered for 10 bucks.  This is a nice community place with normal prices and good friendly service to keep you coming back.