Triangle Classics: Rathskellers and Johnson's

[Sinophile]

By coincidence, I had first-ever meals at two Triangle classics this month: Rathskellers on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill and Johnson's Burgers in Siler City.

Rathskellers was dead empty on a Friday at lunchtime. I had the lasagna because the menu seemed to push this as the classic dish. It came with salad and garlic bread, and we ordered some fries just to see what they were like. Everything was wretched and, I would say, pricey. The lasagna reminded me of airplane food; the garlic bread was a puffy white loaf slathered with greasy butter, and the salad was strictly iceberg. The fries had clearly been fried earlier in the morning. They were cold and greasy. Service was annoyingly familiar: we were chided for making a mess of our table -- jokingly, but still....

Johnson's was a better experience, but still a slight disappointment. It's a Siler City hole-in-the-wall that's been serving up burgers since, I believe, the 1930s. It was packed for lunch on a Friday and service was extremely friendly and welcoming. The meal, however, was nothing special: smallish patty on a supermarket bun complemented by standard frozen fries. This was perfectly acceptable chow of a certain type, but not worth driving thirty miles for or even standing in line for.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with an older fellow sometime ago. I was lamenting the decimation of the roadside eatery, the quirky hole-in-the-wall, the mom-and-pop restaurant -- all serving slowly perfected family recipes of course -- at the hands of the chains. My friend contemptuously insisted that they had been swept away for the reason that 99% of them served perfectly disgusting food, and that McDonalds had triumphed because it was actually better than what it replaced.

Certainly I would rather have eaten at McDonalds than at Rathskellers (saving $15 into the bargain). Johnson's beats McDonalds in terms of atmosphere, of course, but in terms of food I'd call it a draw. Johnson's serves a fresher-tasting burger, but McDonalds serves better fries.

[Guilty Gourmand]

Yes, I agree about McDonalds being at least the equal of (if not better than) Johnson's. I hope everyone heeds this advice. I think there is also a Sonic in Siler City that's worth a stop. Please, please avoid Johnson's (so that I do not have to wait as long for their burgers when I stop).

[Sinophile]

Tell me then what makes the burgers so great? The bun is Wonder-style straight from the supermarket. The burger is smallish. The fixings are mere raw sliced onion and lettuce. It's a satisfactory burger, but -- disentangling the actual burger from the mystique of a classic joint -- I would call it no big deal. Please enlighten me.

Johnson's fries are frozen and I would say objectively mediocre.

[Guilty Gourmand]

I don't believe I said the burger was so great. It's all as you say. I simply greatly prefer it to other nearby options. As you note, the place gets crowded and I think has plenty of business as it is.

[RaleighRocker]

i was always told that the rat was known for their roastbeef. it has been years since i've been, but i recall it being gross until i had a few pitchers.

[jsb23nc]

The Rat was good (though, definitely not gourmet) until a change of ownership about 5 years ago. The lasanga (bowl of cheese), the Gambler steak, and their garlic bread were the main selling points along with the service (waiters who had been there for 40 years). The new owners came in, fired those waiters and some kitchen staff, got rid of the garlic bread and even messed up the lasagna and gambler somehow.

[fussycouple]

Jsb23nc has the knowing of it. Even a decade ago, the Rat served a comfy bowl of lasagne, and the atmosphere & service were better than the food.

Now it is pretty much as Sinophile described. I would neither go nor take anyone from out of town.

If I remember correctly, the burgers at Johnson's are just fine if you are driving to the Zoo and want to stop. I wouldn't say they were *better*, but they were their own thing, much in the way that some people miss a white castle burger (supermarket bun and all). Oh, and don't get the fries....

[tacostacoseverywhere]

Agree totally with jsb. It was a good, nourishing, CHEAP plate of food when I was in college; and it has woefully strayed off path since it was sold. Sad but true. That said, I too am saddened by how few of these original places (Sutton's, the Rat) are left. Even the Carolina Coffee Shop isn't the same, and Spanky's has never really been that good, so I'll leave it out of the discussion.

[rossgrady]

So the urine-drenched subterranean alleyway wasn't enough to dissuade you from trying the Rat?

For a truly mystifying experience, try navigating that alley on a game day & you'll have to fight your way through hordes of middle-aged fans clad solidly in sky-blue, all lining up to get into the Rat, presumably to relive their miserable college years.

[cackalackie]

Why would that be mystifying? And why presume that they were miserable in college?

When I take my dad there on game day, trust me - it hardly matters what the food tastes like. And we thoroughly enjoy ourselves. Makes sense to me!

[brentk]

Ross -

Did you not sleep well last night? Awfully early to post such a misanthropic post.

The Rat is nothing special foodwise (but its not terrible either) and I go there once in a decade. But it does contain nostalgic elements of a bygone era and when I go, it brings back memories of the good times I had in college in Chapel Hill years ago. Its one of the few places left from those times.