Thursday, May 12, 2011
Burgers Burger joint of the week: Starlite Diner
Posted by Kat Robinson on Thu, May 12, 2011 at 8:29 AM
- Kat Robinson
- CLASSIC BURGER: Starlite Diner's The Original
Starlite Diner offers seven variations on its griddle-fried burger. The Original ($5.25, $6.25 with cheese) comes with green leaf lettuce, tomato, white onion and ridged hamburger dills and choice of condiments, along with a handful of fries.
Like most good classic burgers, The Original comes on a toasted bun speckled with sesame seeds. In this case, it’s a buttered bun — which adds a nice extra layer of moisture and salt to the sandwich. The meat has a nice char to it, not over the top. Inside, it’s medium well. You don’t get an option on that. The fries are skin-on, sometimes spot-on and sometimes a little spiritless. They almost always come a little undersalted, an easy fix. All together, it’s a pretty decent burger. You can double up on the patties for $2 more or go for other variations — including the Levy Burger (same with bacon and cheesE), the Swiss Patty Melt (with caramelized onions on rye), the Buffalo Burger (with buffalo sauce, Swiss cheese and blue cheese crumbles) and the Japaleno Cheeseburger (jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and “Bub” sauce, whatever that is). I still maintain that the best burger on the menu is the MacArthur Chili Cheeseburger ($7.95). The buns are turned inside-down on the plate, a beef patty is put on top in the middle and the whole affair is smothered in homemade chili, Cheddar shreds and white onion bits. It’s the chili that really makes it great, a beef-bean-tomato chili that soaks into the bun and patty equally. But I’ve talked about that before.
If there is one gripe I have about the burgers at Starlite Diner, it’s that they’re a little pricey for what you get. These aren’t gourmet burgers, they’re road food, and they should be accorded the same sort of pricing structure.
You’ll find Starlite Diner at Military Road and MacArthur Drive in North Little Rock. I’d give you a phone number, but both the numbers I have for them won’t connect this morning. Still, they have a Facebook check-in page. I guess that’s something.
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Comments (8)
Showing 1-8 of 8
I drove out there after a late night downtown to find it completely dark. Any clue as to what their current hours are?
like
dislike
While the menu claims they're a 24 hour joint (and one of the waitresses actually said that to me, "24 hours except Sundays," last time I went it was 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day except Sunday, when they close in the early afternoon. Which is a shame, since Central Arkansas really needs a locally owned 24 hour diner.
"If there is one gripe I have about the burgers at Starlite Diner, it’s that they’re a little pricey for what you get."
Really. An extra dollar for a slice of cheese? I guess I'm just cheap.
Er. Yeah, I did leave out a word there.
Green leaf lettuce -- as opposed to iceberg, romaine or purple leaf.
Hey Everybody,
We appreciate everyone coming out to the Diner and posting comments even the negative ones. I want to address some of the comments above. Our hours are Monday thru Sat 6-8, Sunday 6-2. We are considering staying open until 10 thru summer. As far as the pricing, we apologize that it seems excessive for a cheeseburger, however our burgers are hand-patted and are also 1/2 lb. patties. And... they are delicious. Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you.
Thanks
Timothy Rogers and Amy Moore
(Starlite Diner owners)
It is good to know that there are some restaurants that still do their burgers fresh and "hand-patted" as stated by the owners. However, one dollar for a slice of cheese is totally ridiculous!!! Especially, when the LR/NLR area still have great burgers places, such as Sport Page and Town Pump and several others. I love cheeseburgers, but I won't pay a buck for one! I guess I am cheap too.
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