A couple of weeks ago, while my wife and I were out and about on other business, we found ourselves looking for someplace to eat. Passing by all of the ususal bad choices, she said, "I would really love a good burger." As we rounded the corner off of Western Avenue onto New Karner Road, she happened to spot a new sign on a strip mall that looked like the icon above, so we pulled in.

As some of you may know, and the rest of you are about to find out, I am a vegetarian, so I tend to approach places like this with a certain amount of caution, however, it is clear from the menu that they do give due consideration to both the vegetarian and the no-red-meat crowds, by offering the options of broiled mushroom caps or chicken breast in the place of the patty on any of their burgers.

The place struck me as somewhat out of place, but truly welcome, here in upstate New York. It was the sort of eatery I would have expected to find in mid-town Manhattan, a sleek, contemporary design, with clean lines, industrial ceiling, sans-serif font used on everything, and very high-tech.

In addition to a very nice range of burger options, the place also sold some interesting salads. I ordered a tomato-mozzerella salad, which was absolutely to die for, and my wife ordered a really good burger. Some onion rings and fries were ordered along with it all as a side.

I have got to say, the onion rings are probably the very best onion rings I have ever tasted in my life, and the fries were second only to the Glenville Queen diner. The salad was also first-class, as apparently was the burger.

I mentioned high-tech. In addition to ordering in the traditional fashion, you can, if you feel so inclined, place an order on-line at their web site or you can place an order at a computer terminal there.

I'll be honest, though, I can't think of a reason not to interact with the staff. The whole company seemed to be genuinely happy. It wasn't the sort of feined happiness you get from a place like Johnny Rockets, where a corporate-approved song and dance show goes every time the jukebox plays Respect or YMCA. I expect their staff is tired of it. No, no song and dance here, just very happy people running the store. It speaks of a place where the employees aren't just in it for a paycheque, but actually like what they do.

It's exactly what no corporate store can ever be. I love it.