Bulldog Revisited

Oh, so fuzzy.... happy hour.... it's an hour, or two right? Not five? Uhhhh, I did it wrong. Water. Coffee. Breathe...... Okay, now I can tell you at least part of my night.
I dined well. I did meet Laura (and Aisha and Shannon) last night at Bulldog in Northeast, anxious for a tasty burger and a little friendly company. I ended the night... Well, let's just say that I made it home and thank God for that. I thought I would be fine, pickling my liver at the bottom of a rum bottle, because I'd eaten so well and so much food.
This time I decided to order something different. This is always a danger at a new restaurant. You order one thing, find it fantastic and then decide to branch out. This is dangerous territory. What if you end up with food envy and spend the entirity of the meal gazing longingly at the plate next to you? Still, I soldiered on, this time ordering the truffle burger while everyone else went with the reliable Junk burger. We were starving, so we ordered a basket of the truffled tots first. These are evil. They're so delicious and so perfect with a little vino that I think I ate the whole basket myself. There in this little red cradle were dozens and dozens of golden, crispy perfect tots tossed with a wee bit of luxurious truffle oil and a salty perfection of an addition - Parmesan cheese. Oh heaven! Oh love! Thy name is tot!!! And there's aioli too!? SHUT UP! no WAY! Yeah, I ate the whole thing myself. Who knew that I had this fond longing for tater tots lingering in the back of my palate and subconscious?
For wine, we ordered the temperanillo - delicious. It was a fine, deep red wine that wasn't too heavy or thick for this lovely, sunny afternoon. Did I mention that this was at 4:00? We'd all been released from work early and decided to get a jump on happy hour. Unfortunately, their happy hour is only a buck off rail drinks and beer. This did no good for any of us. It would be nice if they had a little food discount, or something. But, sadly no.
Still, there were burgers to be had! My truffle burger was served with a slice of brie on an English muffin. I was wary of the muffin and rightly so. The juice from the burger and grease created from the healthy drizzle of truffle oil seeped into the bottom of the English muffing creating a sloppy soggen grody mess.
I stared longingly at everyone's Junk Burgers. Dammit! I must say, though, that it was cooked perfectly medium rare as requested. Meanwhile, Shannon, who requested the life be charred out of her meat, was pleased with how exactly her burger was cooked to her liking. There's something to be said for a guy in the kitchen that takes direction well.
Upon second glance, Bulldog Northeast is still a delight to add to the list of summer spots to visit. The Junk Burger is a flavor sensation to be savored over long afternoons out on their lovely patio overlooking Hennepin. Order it with the truffled tots and you'll be lapping up the last hours of sunlight like a happy little puppy in a pool. Just do not, under threat of life, limb and wretched hangover, brightly turn to your crew and ask, "So! Where should we go after this!?"