After my last (and I mean my last) colonoscopy, and because of a delay in the OR assembly line, I hadn’t eaten in over 24 hours. I was still a little groggy when Nancy picked me up and I was starving. She asked what and where I wanted to eat.
When you’re really hungry, for me it’s Riverside.
Some make fatter burgers, some have fancier toppings, some may use pricier cuts of beef, but nobody in town makes a better burger than Riverside. In my series on the Best Burgers in Cville, Riverside ranks at or near the top.
Riverside first opened in 1935 and they’ve been cooking their burgers the same way for all these years.
They are “smash burgers”, a ball of ground chuck pitched on a hot grill, then smashed down and covered with an iron burger press to cook quickly. The meat they use, as I understand, comes from the butchers at Reed’s Supermarket. It is packed with flavor.
Riverside is a blue-collar kind of place. They serve their burgers on small paper plates and it takes at least two dozen of their see-through napkins to do the job, but the service is lightning quick. Barely do you have time to crack an ice cold Pabst than your burgers are on the table along with a huge side of fries. Their fries are also A-One. They are the smaller cuts that deep-fry quickly and they’re served so hot you have to wait a minute or two to eat one. By the way, their Onion Rings are the the finest in town, bar none.
If you go, skip the dogs and barbecue and other offerings and stick with the burgers. I like their Double Cheeseburgers with pickles, mustard and onions. What a treat.
Riverside is a Charlottesville institution. It’s one of those places you’d take an out of town guest to impress. Their burgers are simply superior.