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PEANUT BURGER Made Well!!! (Mothermeatloaf's "I didn't know that! W/O"" )Sep 09 '04 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Don't let the sound of the name gag your mind closed, or you'll be missing out on one super-delicious sandwich!
MEMO TO WATCHDOGS FOR PROPER TOPIC PLACEMENT: This piece DOES contain a quick-meal recipe, but it's simply surrounded by "all the trimmings! Back in the 1950s, there were two places to hang out and get food. . . Well, actually, there were lots more than two places, but what I mean is that there were two places that would eventually end up having a special connection. One of them was one that I wasn't familiar with. It was called Bearden's Drive-In, and it was away off in Cleveland, Ohio on Rocky River Drive. The one who told me this was so (more on him in a minute) doesn't even know if it's still in business anymore (at least, not under that particular name) or if the building is even still standing. The other place I've known about "forever," as it played a big part in my growing-up years--and contributed to making me the big person that I am today (Don't worry! I'm not suing, because it was far from acting alone!). It was called Bert T. Owens (and, when I was very young, I thought it was called Birdie Owens), and it specialized in serving several flavors of ice cream (in solid or milkshake form) along with a few sandwiches and some soft drinks--and there was nothing edible/drinkable in that place that wasn't also absolutely delicious! It had (before the Owens family retired and sold their businesses) at least four locations in Madison County--one in a storefront at a strip shopping center (which has now increased in size and is known as Applewood Centre) and one in downtown Pendleton to go along with its two original locations (Pendleton Avenue & Columbus Avenue with the Pendleton Avenue location opening a little while before the Columbus Avenue location did), and the one where we went the most was the one on Columbus Avenue. In fact, this one even figured into the scene of the crime re: one of my childhood capers!!! This was located across the street from what was then Washington Elementary School (and is now the high school for Liberty Christian School) and Plant One of Delco-Remy (now, along with several other DR plants in the area, torn down--Don't even get me started on why I believe this happened!...). Anyway, on with story... After Elvis (OOPS! I mean Bert T. Owens!) left the building, I wondered what would go in there next. There was a neighborhood bar that was almost right up against it, so that might expand into it in order to add a family room or otherwise make more space. Sadly, it might even get torn down. Anyway, I was glad to see that the person who did move into it was also selling ice cream--doing so along with renting videos. This was back in 1987. As I was trying to lose some weight and there were other places to go to and spend my calories, I wasn't stopping in there that often--and, when I did, I didn't even notice that they were starting to offer sandwiches again, because I was thinking in the direction of ice cream whenever I decided to stop there. Actually, in 1988, they were starting to phase out of the video business (because video stores were now springing up on every corner) and concentrate on food. In 1989, I didn't notice them much at all. This particular year, I was keeping pretty busy with a number of things--not in the least of these preparing to go to a couple of writers' retreats, with one of them being one where I would be conducting a couple of mini-workshops on very short form-poetry (e.g. cinquain, lanterne, haiku, etc.). Was also following several progressive stories that I wanted to write about. Then, on July 7, my kneecap popped out of place while I was napping in my little car and was out for over an hour. (For those of you who don't already know, I have what's known as a trick-knee.) There was a very long recovery time on that one, due to the complications involved. By the early part of 1990, I was finally able to drive again. At first, I didn't get out of the car at all and, finally, was able to get out and make my way around with a walker, once I started wearing a brace. If it weren't enough that I was finally getting my freedom back, I was also falling head-over-heels in love!!! Some of those details can be found here--along with an extra recipe! It was late March or early April when I was out and about with stars in my eyes and a bad case of spring fever that I happened to notice a sign outside of the former Bert T. Owens inviting people to come in and try a peanut burger. Since some of my relatives are Seventh Day Adventists, I was ahead of the "health food craze" when it came to discovering vegetarian dishes, so the first thing that came into my mind was that this surely must be a "hamburger" that was made out of peanuts. Anyway, I was quite sure that I was going to love it (whatever it was)--almost, but not quite, as much as I loved (and still do love) "Johnny Angel!" I parked and made my way to the front door using my walker and entered a place that was empty except for a middle-aged couple behind the counter. Country music played quietly in the background. "What is this peanut burger, anyway?" I asked--and was told that it was a burger of high-quality ground beef (what Steak'n'Shake would refer to as a "Steakburger" when made by them) that was put on the grill and, when ready, topped with a dollop of smooth peanut butter that would melt, much in the same way that cheese would. This would be put between two lightly-grilled bun-halves, and a few sweet pickle chips would also be added to it. Obviously--since my middle name (one of them, anyway) is "Peanut Butter"--I ordered one without hesitation. While I was waiting for the man to fix it for me, the woman and I got into a pleasant conversation. Their names, I would find out, were Richard "Dick" and Jean Madewell. I was answered--and proudly!--in the positive when I asked if they were related to the Rick Madewell who wrote for the local newspaper. He was their son--one of two with the other being named Jim. It turned out that their last name was the current name of the place as well. Speaking of which, these days, it has a really neat website that can be reached by going here: http://www.madewells.biz/ But don't expect to go there for Christmas dinner or a Valentine's Day treat, as it will close for the season in the fall and not re-open again until the spring. However (for those times when it's open and you feel like getting a bunch of people together for a party), they actually DO have a party room that will hold up to 24 people and needs to be booked at least two days in advance. I won't elaborate on their menu--except to say that it has a lot of surprising items beside the obviously-surprising peanut burger (such as fried cauliflower and fried okra)--as you can study it for yourselves when checking out their website, but I will say that I'm salivating just thinking about it!!! Will likely be going there sometime later today--even though I was also there yesterday making sure that I had all my facts straight before writing this (That's my excuse, anyway!)!!! I'm not sure--and I don't think Dick is, either--where the peanut burger actually originated, but, for him, it was back in the 1950s when he was working for someone else at Bearden's Drive-In a good state-and-a-half away from here in Central Indiana. When he went into business for himself some 30 years later, he decided to add it to his own menu. Rick remembers that time well and wrote about it this past spring for The Herald Bulletin: "When my dad first told me he was going to put that on the menu, my first thought was that it was time to call those guys in the white jumpsuits with the straight jackets." A copy of the entire article has been framed and hung on the east wall of the restaurant, giving people the idea that Dick and Jean are mighty proud to have this talented writer in the family! Their original plans had been for both Rick and Jim to take over the business from them once they retired--but decided that one out of two wasn't bad. Rick--famous for ringing up two scoops of ice cream to the tune of $20,000!--came to the conclusion that he was cut out to be a writer instead of a restaurateur! He has actually gotten several of his co-workers at the paper hooked on peanut burgers, though there have been a few who continued to respond to its very name with "EEW!" One such person even responded with that such a sandwich wasn't even "normal"--and Rick wrote about this in the article and responded: "Hey, Mount Rushmore is pretty much not normal either." As you can surely tell, I have nothing but nice things to say about peanut burgers--not to mention the family who makes and serves them and the place where they do this. And I've even developed my own vegetarian version of the peanut burger: Take one of those vegetarian burger patties--there's a variety of them out on the market, including, but not limited to, Gardenburgers & Harvest Burgers--in the "original" flavor and prepare it (microwave version) as instructed. I personally like to splash a small amount of water on said burger right before I heat it up to make it more moist. When it's close to being done, put a small dollop of smooth peanut butter on it and cook it for about fifteen seconds more. Place between two slices of whole wheat bread along with a few pickle chips (sweet, dill, or a combination of both). That's all it takes to have one delicious sandwich! And this is all she wrote. In a little bit, I'm going to run some errands. After that, I'm going to get a bite to eat...GUESS WHERE!?! One final thing: How many of you had heard of a peanut burger before reading this? I might be wrong, but my guess would be that those who have would be in the minority--so this surely qualifies as an "obscure" bit of knowledge. Anyway, whether mine is or not, you can go here to be put on the path to slices of life (not necessarily food or even animal, vegetable, or mineral) that might just make you say: "Hmmmmmm...I learned something new today!"  |
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