a burger on the hill… Boulder, CO

Pearl Street is not the only place to find great food in Boulder. If you walk uphill a few blocks you will find yourself in a part of town fittingly named “The Hill”. This is where you will find a lot of the University of Colorado’s bars and restaurants (the University does not own them, they are just the type of places you would expect to see on a college campus). There was one place that I heard from multiple people that I had to make a visit to.

As you can probably guess from the first picture, that place is the Sink. The Sink has been around in one form or another since 1923. According to their website, it was originally a place called the Sunken Gardens. It contained a large sunken fountain that was named “The Sink”. In 1949 the Sunken Gardens was sold and renamed the Sink. Over the last 60 years, the Sink has changed owners a few times and gone through some renovations. You can read the full story over at their website, but bottom line is the building has an 87 year history of putting out great food. I had to see for my self what it was all about.

You are looking at the Premium Grassfed Lasater Ranch Burger topped with shredded cheddar cheese. How did I come to this decision? Well I simply asked the people at the Sink what they recommend. Usually, when I go to a new city, I have an idea of what I am going to eat at each restaurant I visit. At Sink, I was told to have a burger. They have a wide variety of burgers to choose from, so I just asked the management to steer me in the right direction.

Above is what I was presented with when the burger arrived.

I was told I had to add their sauce, definitely a good decision.

This burger is pretty straight forward. Just a patty, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato. Not quite as complicated as the Brat Burger or the Bad Breath Burger that I had in Madison. There was not much for this patty to hide behind. The beef is from cows  that only raised and finished on grass. This produces beef that is better for you with higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins A&E, and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. This beef also contains less fat. Because of this, it was recommended that I do not order the burger above medium. So I ordered mine medium rare. I usually order,medium, but given the lower fat content and higher possibility of the meat drying out, I stepped out of my usual comfort zone and went medium rare.  This was a good decision. The burger was incredibly moist and tasted amazing. Not a very complex burger, but with beef like that it does not need to be.

I ate my meal burger outside. Partly because it was a really beautiful day, and secondly because I was going to take pictures of my meal. Like a lot of restaurants I encounter, the Sink was lit for people and not the food. I always eat where the best light is, which in this case was outside. Inside of the Sink is a bar, plenty of seating, and some of the coolest wallart I have ever seen. If you are in Boulder, I definitely recommend making a visit for yourself.