Sunday night we headed to Lindburgers, located at 2157 Penfield Rd, Penfield. It's in the Penfield Wegman's plaza. Geoff & I had heard good things about this place, so we had wanted to try it out for a while. It has an aviation theme (get it? Charles Lindbergh?? It took me awhile to figure that one out...) and a huge menu of various burgers. A casual place that's definitely family friendly. But the question is...should you bring your family here? Keep reading!
Atmosphere
As mentioned in the intro, it's got an aviation theme. Since my brain was working a bit slow, it took me most of the meal to figure out what burgers have to do with flying (hint...they don't!) But it's where I assume Lindburgers got it's name. Cute, if you ask me. A little strange, but it's not pretentious, so okay, I'll go with it. Lindburgers is definitely a casual place. Most of the people eating there were long-time diners, loyal customers...always a good sign. While there's a Bills sign on their window, there's not a TV in the dining room or the small bar area, so don't plan on catching the game here. It could do with a face lift, it felt a little dated, but honestly...it's a burger joint. It was clean, what more can you ask for? What was interesting to me is that they have multiple locations in Florida, but only one here in Rochester. Why I found that particularly interesting is because it still had that "home town feel" to it. I mean, the guys working knew the regulars and knew what they were going to order. I dug it.
Service
In this aspect, I felt like Lindburgers could use some help. They had 2 servers and 1 cook (from what we could tell...we had a clear view into the kitchen from where we were seated.) The poor kids serving were running around. Adding just one person would have really helped. We were offered refills on water and then had to remind our waiter. He apologized and we didn't mind because we could tell he was a little overwhelmed, but seriously...hire another guy! The restaurant wasn't packed, but it was full. Another couple tables being occupied would have really swamped these guys. They did an adequate job, but I feel like if they weren't overloaded, the service would have really been stellar...they were very friendly.
Food (and drinks)
That night neither of us were really feeling boozy, so we stuck with water. I did check out their drink menu...all for you good people! They only served beer & wine, no liquor. The beer selection seemed adequate as well as the wine. Nothing fancy, but again...it's a burger joint, what did you expect!! I don't really drink beer, I only drink stuff like Mikes, and they did not have any Malt Beverages on their list. Just a heads up for anyone like me!
For food, of course we stuck with burgers! They did have a selection of chicken sandwiches, a kids menu, salads, wraps, etc. Typical finger food. But their burger menu? Oh. My. Word... What a selection! We had to ask for more time just to review it all!! Eventually we made our selections...
Geoff got the "Far East" burger, it had Teriyaki sauce and Herb Cheese...yes, herb cheese... Quite an interesting choice to put on a burger, but he's a bit more adventurous than I am. He subbed the sweet potato fries for regular ones.
He really enjoyed the burger, herb cheese and all! We asked our waiter what the herb cheese was exactly, and it's made from a cream cheese base. While he'd order this one again, he also wants to try the Hawaiian which has Sweet & Sour and Pineapple.
I ordered something a bit more standard...I was a little overwhelmed by the choices. I went with the Bacon and Cheeseburger, with provolone. And I got bacon and cheese fries instead of regular ones...apparently I was gunning for a heart attack!!
As you can see, this was a ton of food! While a fairly normal burger, nothing too exotic, it was very tasty. Here you can order your food cooked to how you like it. Geoff & I both ordered our burgers Medium, but I think they came out more Medium Rare. Okay when you're ordering a steak (we like them Medium Rare) but when ordering a burger, they should be more cooked.
Prices here are very moderate. With the subs on the fries, it cost less than $10/plate and we didn't come close to finishing.
Final Thoughts
We'd definitely head back here. I might order my burger Medium Well (though it would pain me!) Geoff thinks that his was cooked exactly like it said on the menu, mine was red in places. So perhaps ours differed slightly. Usually when we're in the mood for a burger we head to Red Robin. I think instead I'd opt for this place. Not only is it pseudo-local, it's also just as tasty, if not better. Plus we didn't have to wait. I wouldn't hesitate to bring a family here, it's definitely family friendly. I did see that they would sub a veggie burger if asked, so it's good for vegetarians too (though I'm not sure what kind of veggie burger and if it's as good as their burgers.) A good place for a bite!
