On the trail to biking adventure…the road to the Michelson Trail, part 4: the meal

One of Bill’s favorite sayings is, “Hunger is the best sauce” and riding 50+ miles makes for hunger.   After a shower, for Bill, and the Belmost and subsequent excitement at seeing the first Triple Crown in 37 years, we headed to downtown Custer (only about three minutes away), to look for Black Hills Burger and Bun.  This place had achieved the highest rating on Trip Advisor, which also warned that a) they were only open from 11-2 and from 5-7:30, and b) there would be a line.  I’m normally not much of a burger person, burgers always sounding better to me than they ever taste, but after last night’s deliciousness, I was ready for more.

Trail head in Custer

Seen in downtown Custer

The looming storm in sepia

We arrived to find that the location had moved around the corner and that at 5:10 or so, the restaurant was full and we were looking at a wait.  No handy little device that lights up or buzzes when it’s our turn was on offer, so we visited some of the other shops in the immediate area, coming back regularly.  I’d been told we were the fifth set of two, so when the hostess called the first couple, we stayed close at hand.  We’d stolen a look at the menu (as it takes me forever to decide) and already knew what we wanted: a Greek salad to share, the Iowan burger (similar to last night’s but with Maytag bleu cheese, caramelized onions, and bacon topping a 1/3 pound burger on a toasted, homemade bun), and a craft beer.

After about 40 minutes, we were called and offered a place at the end of a long community table or to wait a bit longer for a table or booth.  Community table it was and we placed our order.  After perusing the chalked dessert menu, though, we added to our order:  coconut cream pie for Bill, strawberry rhubarb for me.

The Greek salad was fresh, filled with tasty ingredients, including plenty of pitted Kalamata olives and sharp feta, and dressed with a house balsamic dressing.  Our burgers were perfect: the cheese just right, the bacon crisp and filled with flavor, the carmelized onions adding a bit of sweetness. My side dish of potato salad was very good, but Bill’s of Grandma’s baked beans was amazing.   Oh, yes, and the toasted buns were the final bit of wonderful.  The dark beer was smooth and deep.  I really didn’t have room for pie (and I’m generally not that interested in pie), but I ate every bite and Bill’s coconut cream was like fabulous rice pudding topped with cream.  Heavenly and worth every minute of the wait!

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Tomorrow: Day 2.

If you’ve just joined us (thanks for that), click here for part 1, here for part 2 and here for part 3.