In Search of the Burger, Week 3: St. Michael's Sports Bar & Grill

St. Michael’s

Hours: 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Friday; and 11 a.m.–midnight Saturday

Address: 301 South Ave.

Phone: (417) 865-2315

Décor: Renovated building with brick walls, wood floors, and sports and 1960s memorabilia

Notoriety: Downtown hamburger joint

Seating: Tables

Clientele: Downtown hangout for adults

St. Michael’s Sports Bar & Grill doesn’t sound like a restaurant.

It’s only if you know the history that it sort of makes sense. History, that is, expressed with the quirky sense of humor that has been demonstrated in several restaurants by entrepreneur Nick Russo.

The story of Russo’s allegiance to St. Michael’s Grade School in Atlantic City is part of the kitsch of the place, an echo of what he did with Ebbets Field on Walnut Street. Throw in more sports memorabilia, and St. Michael’s takes on a personality.

It’s the type of inviting personality that greets you at the door with, “So, are you a window person, or would you prefer to go a little further back?”

The restaurant is decorated with athletic and East Coast memorabilia, plus a bit of 1960s trivia thrown in – such as the poster of Muhammed Ali meeting the Beatles. On this visit there was also a poster-size print of Russo as a child, inscribed with “Happy 60th Birthday” and well wishes from many of his patrons and fans.

Just as in Ebbets (see our Aug. 4 review), the burgers have a special section on the menu, and most of them have interesting names. In this case, they are named in honor of Russo’s Atlantic City memories.

The Schoolyard Burger, which is a simple cheeseburger with provolone cheese, sells for $6.25 while the rest of the burgers are $6.50. Choices are the Dante Hall Burger with portabella mushrooms and cheese, the Steel Pier with bacon and cheese, the 500 Club with Caribbean seasonings and bleu cheese, plus a Guacamole Burger. Our waitress also told us, “If you don’t see the combination you want on the menu, go ahead and ask us. We might be able to make it for you anyway.”

We went with the Steel Pier.

We also substituted fries for the standard chips ($1.25 extra). When they came, we mourned the loss of the “old” fries we’d experience on a previous visit – those fries were the true, albeit greasy, hand-cut fries like you can still get at Crosstown Barbecue. St. Michael’s fries were hot and tasty, just nothing unusual.

The verdict

The burger was a nice K-pounder, hand formed and served on a sesame-seed bun. It was tasty – good enough to satisfy a burger craving.