Arriving in Indy for a conference, they were setting up the buffet line at the hotel, and I thought, “who have I become?” So I immediately went to “the list” to see what was nearby. This led me to the Workingman’s Friend, courtesy of Hamburger America, and I was quickly heading toward the giant sliding doors….

Pulling up out front, the parking lot was packed. So packed that signs <see above> don’t seem to matter. Walking in the door, the “MUST BE 21 TO ENTER”, gave me an idea of what was in store.

What it didn’t prepare me for was the cacophony that was inside. I wish there was a way to embed audio, just so you could hear the ambient noise level. I was told to sit wherever I wanted, so I ambled up to the bar.

When the first thing the barkeep says is, “Is this your first time here? Do you know we’re cash only…”. Followed by, “we’re known for our double cheeseburger”, I knew I had found my people. Open since 1918 and open only from 11:00 am – 2:45 pm, it was packed when I arrived at 11:45. I asked the server if they were always this busy and she said that there was a line when they opened at 11:00 and it was always like this. By the time I left, as she told the guy as he sat down next to me, the wait after you ordered was expected to be 45-50 minutes. I guess this other sign was true.

The menu was more broad than the cheeseburgers, but I knew what I was there for, the double smash burger,

with fries. I’ve eaten many a burger and smash burgers are among my favorites – fresh beef mashed flat on a griddle.

In this instance, a really thin burger that’s more than half made of crispy edges. The burger was at least six inches in diameter with cheese holding the patty to one buns. Service was great (although I did ask the server at the bar if the blond server was always that angry – the answer, with a chuckle, was “pretty much”) and the burger was stellar. I thought based on the cinder block walls I was heading for a good lunch and it portended great things.