By Alex Wu
Editor’s note: The Bangor Daily News has partnered with the Telling Room to showcase budding young journalists as they turn a critical eye toward the world in which we live. Read more about the project, and the rest of the students’ pieces, here.
YARMOUTH, Maine — Recently, I unpacked a white paper bag with the sticker “Thoroughfare” on it with the same enthusiasm a 5-year-old has with the new toy. I ordered a Smash-Burger and fries.
Thoroughfare is a takeout restaurant and that was originally going to be a fine dining restaurant. When the coronavirus pandemic started and everybody was forced to go into quarantine, the owner made the hard decision of turning their fine-dining restaurant to a humble takeout restaurant to better fit current conditions.
It started with the fries, which were seasoned with salt and pepper and complemented with potato. The fries also came with ketchup. I decided against eating the fries with ketchup after realizing that the ketchup sweet taste completely clashed and covered up the flavors of the fry. I really enjoyed the fries, which didn’t even need sauce, but could possibly be even better. Since they made a custom sauce for their burger, I feel they could do the same for their fries.
Moving on to the Smash-Burger, which is a huge burger with two thick tender patties, cheese, iceberg lettuce, sauce and buns. The sauce mixed in with the buns created a beautiful harmony. The iceberg lettuce provided a wonderful texture for the burger. However, the sauce made the patty slide around and was a little overbearing. The burger was simply overflowing.
I also had to remove the pickles from the burger because I didn’t want to get pickles stuck in my braces for an hour, and as such I was not able to taste the full flavor. The burger, albeit flavorful, could also use a bit more time and love to create. The buns weren’t as toasted as they could be. But other than that, it’s wonderful. If you’re willing for a messy eat, it’s simply delectable.
Overall, I would definitely recommend Thoroughfare if you want comfort food or just don’t have the time to make dinner.