Mmmm, see that? That's delicious guacamole, chipotle mayo and pepperjack cheese conglomerated between two buns and a medium-well patty. It's called The Freethrow and it's just one of many specialty burgers that you can find at the new Stadium Bar & Grill in Columbia, MO. They have an extensive, and rather exhausting, list of different, imaginative burgers. You can also order your burger in amounts of a 1/3 lb, 1/2lb or 1lb. Burgers range from your traditional bacon and cheddar to burgers topped with chili and a fried egg. I requested jalepenos to accompany my burger and GUESS WHAT?! they're freshly chopped to ensure extra spiciness. I dug in with vigor. My burger buddies did too.
I ordered the 1/3lb burger with fries and a Long Island Iced Tea (shout-out to Bar Buddy Jordan!). I was stuffed. I know what you're thinking, that's it?! Burger Brittany's a wuss! And perhaps I was that fateful night, but friends, that meal did me in. I had to go home and lie down while my buddies continued their festivities.You can clearly see I attacked this burger with the ferocity of drunken cat fight, but in the end, the burger beat Brittany. I waved my white flag as a food comatose paralyzed my mind and body. Truly, I could no have been beaten by a more worthy opponent. Burger lovers, I command you to get your burger butts to this restaurant STAT!
My rating is out of ten now, FYI and I give it 10/10!

Burger Buddies and Brethren

Burger Candid Shots!

Burger Buddy Andrew closes his eyes and sinks his fangs into a luscious Counter burger, making a mess of the monster. Clearly, he has experienced a tiny piece of heaven.

Burger Buddy Noelle rips into the seared flesh with a ravenous look in her eye. Although holding the burger upside down, she knows exactly what she's doing. Single-mindedly, she devours her meal before I've even arranged the condiments on my own.

Burger Buddy Stuart reminds us that eating a burger isn't alway as sexy as Paris makes it

Burger Buddy Charles munches down while Burger Buddy Jordan looks on in shock. What an 'aggressive' burger!

I love this: Dad and burger are happiness

Burger Snoopy!

Burger Boy-Toy does not think he is a handsome burger eater, but he is!.. Well he should at least look happier when he is about to eat a burger, I suppose. IT'S A BURGER!, after all.

Like this, my brother is so excited for his burger!

And my mom also looks happy to partake in a burger!

I got my paws on a Juicy Lucy!

Ok faithful Burger Buddies, I know you must love food or why else would you be wasting your time on a burger blog? And any fan of food is a fan of a little show called Man vs. Food. Do you know how jealous I am of that man?? Anyways, I'm actually going to refer to a specific episode where Adam Richman goes to Minneapolis, MN and has a cultural favorite: The Juicy Lucy. Now, there are two restaurants who claim to be the original creators of this bewitching beefy treat: Matt's and The 5-8 Club. They are located across the street from each other and are fierce competitors. If you want the whole scoop, watch the Minneapolis episode! Unfortunately, I was not able to go to either of these places, for they were not conveniently placed near the airport; HOWEVER, I went to the other 5-8 Club aka The 5-8 Tavern and Grill in St. Paul. Friends, I got as close to the real thing as I could manage in my recent, short visit to Minnesota and I knew I had to take advantage as best as I could!

Now, for those of you food lovers living under a damn rock, let me introduce you to the Juicy Lucy. She's luscious, bold, daring and delicious. Inside her buxom beefy build lies a center of

molten cheese just waiting to burst and singe your tongue. Although it is not the clearest picture, you can see the cheese spilling out of the patty! Traditionally, it is served with American cheese, but The 5-8 Club also gives the option of Bleu, Swiss or Pepper-jack... I went with pepper-jack for I love a little spice! My mom (who shared with my Aunt... why two grown women need to share a quarter pound burger is beyond me) and brother chose Bleu, mom and aunt liked it, brother not so much. I say, stick with tradition or try the pepper-jack. I was fearful that bleu would be too strong and swiss too bland. Another great thing about having the cheese in the middle was that the burger stayed juicier and hotter, thus providing optimum flavor in every bite. They happen to also serve it with pickles, Culver's style (under the patty as opposed to on top). I picked out those pesky round crinkle-cut pickles. I still swear they do not taste the same as the spears. I just can't stomach them. If you order the basket, you also get lots of fries and cole slaw. I'm not too fond of the slaw either, so I gave it to my dad. He's one of the only people I know that loves cole slaw.

As you can see, I polished off that baby, no problem. It's a quarter pound, so just the right size for me. For the heftier eaters, they offer a third pound burger called the Saucy Sally in which they fill with their "special sauce" (which I can only assume is simply Thousand Island dressing). I also think they dropped the ball in not calling it the Saucy Suzie, but I can ignore their lapse in judgement.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience and the burger was well worth the late arrival to the airport!

I give it 9.5/10 Fries! Better than Sesame Seeds, no?.. *Hear ye, hear ye* I think I'd like some input on my rating system. If you have the best idea and I use it, you'll win a $5 Culver's gift certificate! Get creative, people!