"The Blue Collar." Yeah, Right.

Have you been to "The Blue Collar" yet?  It's in an old and crummy motel on Biscayne in the 60s, on the west side of the street.  6730, to be exact.

Two people told me to go there.  One of them says it serves the best hamburger...there is.  I'm not a big hamburger eater, but that kind of nudge delivered often enough gets me in the door.

"The Blue Collar" is, well, blue collar, right?  Wrong.  Yes, it's low key.  The "kitchen" is just the cooking area along one wall.  Three cooks, including owner/chef Dan Serfer, mill around and make food.  The servers, who, I must say, are drop dead adorable, mill around with the cooks or at their post at the cash register.  They all seem very fond of each other, and Dan is not at all too busy to ask you how things are going, and how the food is.  And it's a litte noisy.  And cramped.  Yes, it's all that.

But here's the problem with "The Blue Collar."  Actually, there are two problems, if they expect the name to be taken seriously.  A divey kind of place, in the old breakfast restaurant of a skanky motel, should not have the best hamburger...there is.  Nor should they have exceptionally good french fries to go with it (assuming you don't want vegetables, which was your other choice), and magnificent dipping and hamburger sauce.  They shouldn't be allowed to make food that good.  But they do, they are, and it is.  And whether they do or they don't, they should not charge $13 for the hamburger.  I hate being ripped off.  Is this a rip-off?  Yeah, I guess so, sort of.  I don't know.  If the hamburger is the best there is, which it is, then it can't be duplicated, so should they charge as much as they want?  Not if they want to call themselves "The Blue Collar."

Also, if it's really blue collar, shouldn't diners have dessert?  I confess to eating like a horse, and I couldn't have had dessert after my hamburger.  I was too full.  Which was almost a crime, since the desserts sounded amazing, especially if I should assume that anyone who cooks burgers and fries like that probably makes breathtaking desserts, too.  So despite the abusive pricing, I had to go back.  This time, I decided to bring reinforcements.  Not only do they have a $12 veggie burger I needed to understand, but their specials sound hypnotic.  One of my friends told me his wife makes great oxtails, her brother makes them even better, and "The Blue Collar" beats them both.

I'm back.  "Strike while the iron is hot."  "Better the egg today than the chicken tomorrow."  "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."  Here's what happens if you don't order the oxtails special the day you're there.  When you come back, with your posse, they don't have it that day.  So whaddaya gonna do?  Get that "veggie burger" you were thinking about, and order the baby back ribs special and the chicken thighs special.

Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a veggie burger.  First of all, there's no such thing as a $12 veggie burger.  Even fabulous fries don't do that.  Second, it tasted more like a gourmet pate than a "veggie burger."  And third, it looked more like a meatball, except it was presented on one of their magnificent home made buns and garnished with lettuce, tomato, and onion.  (And ask for the spicy dipping sauce.  Put it on everything.)  So I have to say, if there was such a thing as a $12 veggie burger, which of course there isn't, this would be it.  It really was that good.  I've had lots of veggie burgers, and none ever was in this kind of league.  It was tasty, balanced, and exceptionally well-seasoned.  I wouldn't say anyone should order this veggie burger, because no one should pay $12 for a veggie burger, but if you pretend it's a highly adorned pate, then get it.

The baby back ribs were incredible.  If I ever wanted ribs other than in Kansas City, these would be the ribs I would want.  It's not just the ribs, either, though they were barbequed to perfection.  (I'm talking about the actual description, not the trite phrase.)  I don't know who made the sauce-- probably Dan-- but wow.  And this is not the same deal without the potatoes, which were roasted with bacon and who knows what else.  Should this cost $19?  No.  Can you get it anywhere for less?  No.  So you have a problem.

I wouldn't have gotten the chicken thighs special, except the waiter (not one of the two adorable ones from last time) highly recommended it.  And I already knew we weren't getting the oxtails.  We were not sorry.  Where does Dan get this stuff?  How does someone cook like that?  And who invented mashed potatoes that good?  Once again, did Dan need to charge $18 for this?  I'm thinking not.  But there's something about which you can't argue with him.  His food is better than anything.  And I will tell you this.  There were four of us.  We ordered those three dishes.  It was not easy to finish them.  If I hadn't been one of the four, someone would have taken home a good deal of food.  And I haven't even told you about dessert.

"Chocolate cake," "bread pudding," and berry cobbler.  I don't want you to think I'm fawning, or being hyperbolic, but these desserts were perfect.  The ideal dessert should be sweet enough to punctuate a meal, but not too sweet.  That's what we're talking about here.  We've all had chocolate cake.  We've all had good chocolate cake.  I, personally, am a "chocoholic."  I have had few chocolate cakes that good.  We each had some.  The rest is in my refrigerator.  So considering what restaurants charge for desserts, I'm not going to fuss about the $7.  Nor will I complain about the "bread pudding."  This dish is to bread pudding what the veggie burger is to veggie burgers.  Different league.  Different experience.  The cream sauce probably had maple syrup in it, at least that's what it looked like.  I don't know what to say.  Go get an order of "bread pudding."  Berry cobbler is berry cobbler.  All Dan could have done is make this one better than any other one.  BINGO.  If you want to know what I'm talking about, come over.  There's some of each in my refrigerator.

Now round two was not without complaints.  The server was slow and not that attentive, and it was too noisy in the restaurant.  So that knocks "The Blue Collar" down from an A+ to an A.  But the food?  Yikes.


Addendum: I had lunch at a restaurant called Serendipity 3.  I got the veggie burger, with fries and spicy dipping sauce.  NOT...EVEN...CLOSE.  And it was $14.  The veggie burger was inferior to Dan's, the fries were a far cry, and the spicy dipping sauce was not nearly as good.  So I'm very sorry, Dan.  I'm embarrassed to have complained.  You're worth every penny.