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The best burger in Muncie ... at a gas station?
Date: 12/22/2005 12:00:00 AM
Written By: Colleen Steffen - Muncie Star/PressATMOSPHERE. It's been my great pleasure for many years now to make fun of my husband for his love of gas-station cuisine. You know what I'm talking about: alarmingly pink hot dogs circling, circling, circling on rollers over a heat lamp, sandwiches of questionable origin aging under murky plastic. His prior jobs put him on the road for hours every day, so he became something of a connoisseur of Village Pantry doughnuts and the perfect slushie (diet Mountain Dew with a splash of cherry flavoring). He has long identified towns not by their names or exit numbers but by the offerings of their service stations: 'Oh, that's the place with the Otis Spunkmeyer cookies and Caesar salads."
Personally, gas stations make me a little nervous. It might be all that fluorescent light or the fact Unsolved Mysteries is constantly focusing on something terrible that happened at one. I consider paying at the pump to be among the Top 10 Best Modern Inventions Anywhere.
But ... Ryan has been right about many things that are bad for you but delightful, such as The O.C. So I threw him a bone and took him to review a new burger grill that has cropped up inside, of all places, a Hoosier Pete Marathon station.
THE FOOD. Yes, there is a restaurant called Charlie & Barney's operating just feet away from a line of folks waiting to pay for gas and a dizzying array of Slim Jims, Doritos, sunglasses, windshield wiper fluid ... It's weird. That's all I can say. It's even weirder that this establishment doesn't sell reheated hamburgers but takes its sweet time throwing raw hamburger balls onto the grill right in front of you. It's not quick. A line formed behind us. But it was well worth the wait.
Brace yourself: Eating this hamburger, I found myself declaring it the best I had ever had in Muncie. It was delicious: ever so slightly charred and crispy on the outside, juicy and faintly pink on the inside, generously sized on its toasted bun with melty cheese and onions. I was amazed. Ryan was not, of course. 'I told you!" he said. I agreed he had been right, which is rare and painful, and I repented within the hour. Friends, I'm a meat eater, but that was a shock to the system. So heavy, so greasy, so ... meaty. This is not a hamburger for beginners. I laid on the couch afterward and swore to eat nothing but vegetables the next day.
By the way, Charlie & Barney's has a fascinating menu including such items as a walking taco and chili pie with Fritos. I have no idea what either of these things is, but I am intrigued by anything using a corn chip as a main ingredient.
THE SERVICE. The service at Charlie & Barney's was quick and to the point, as you would expect at a service station. The friendly young man who took our order and fired up the grill wore plastic gloves and changed them between chores, which was comforting as I waited and watched a line of customers with slushy, muddy boots tramp in and out. There are a few tables and chairs at the front window, which might make for interesting people watching, but the food held up to the journey home, which most folks will probably prefer.
THE COST. Our tab, which included two burgers, two orders of fat waffle fries and a great bowl of meaty (surprise!) chili, barely cracked 10 bucks, and that's not even a tank of gas in my tiny Hyundai -- a bargain, in other words.
THE EXTRAS. Four Hoosier Petes in Muncie have full-service Charlie & Barney's grills, and three are 'express locations," meaning they have more limited options such as chili and some very appealing-looking prepared salads. I visited the full-service location inside the Hoosier Pete at the corner of Tillotson and Bethel. If you have the gastrointestinal fortitude and total disregard for your pants fitting in the new year, have at it. Charlie & Barney's is for you. If not ... well, it's worth trying at least once. After all, many things that are fun make you feel bad after. And seriously, I have to find out what Frito pie is.
Charlie & Barney's
Various locations in Muncie
Telephone for location at corner of Tillotson and Bethel: 288-8600
Credit and debit cards accepted, checks accepted only at certain locations
Hours: 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
