Chuck's

There is one name that comes to mind when speaking about dining in downtown Raleigh: Ashley Christensen. She is a decorated chef with a slew of restaurants under her belt, a James Beard award and an Iron Chef America appearance.

Today Nate and I checked out Chuck's. Chucks is, as her website describes, "burgers and frites with signature updates".

Chuck's is located at 237 S. Wilmington St, Raleigh, North Carolina 27601; a convenient walk from my new office!

Decor: good. Chuck's is located in a sub-divided building that was formerly a Piggly Wiggly (the kitchen is shared with Beasley's Chicken + Honey and Fox Liquor Bar as well). As such, the small space is condensed in the most cozy way; you are within touching distance of your neighboring tables but it almost makes the dining experience communal. Here you're not strangers, you're cohorts enjoying delicious food together. The tables have bright red metal chairs, funky art pieces adorn the walls and a large chalkboard menu is painted above the entrance to the semi-open kitchen.

Service: excellent! We were immediately greeted by the hostess and taken to our table; upon which time we were brought waters from our server who also keyed us into the daily specials. Our water glasses were never empty, our dirty plates were never in front of us for longer than a minute at most and even thought it was the middle of the lunch rush we always felt well tended to.

Food appearance: good. These burgers may be updated but there is no fuss or frills when it comes to plating. Burgers arrive on a metal tray covered with wax paper and sauces are served in small metal cups.

Food taste: excellent! We decided to split a shake before our meal (we're adults, we can have dessert first if we want). We ordered the cold-brewed coffee milkshake was definitely one I'd order again. For our meals, I ordered the Spirit Animal burger; a burger with cream cheese, roasted poblano peppers, grilled tomatoes and tortilla dust. This burger was sublime! The bun was soft but held up to the juicy patty (cooked-to-order, of course), the peppers added a slight smoky flavor and the tortilla dust gave the perfect crunchy finish. Nate ordered The Dirty South burger -- smoked pork shoulder, chili, crispy onion strings, roasted tomato slaw, cheddar cheese and yellow mustard. This burger had a lot going on but in the absolute best sense; the flavors played with your pallet and no bite was the same as the one prior. These burgers came with house cut fries and two dipping sauces each. Now I highly recommend conversing with your table-mates to maximize sauce options. Nate got the buttermilk herb dressing and espelette aioli and I got the malt vinegar aioli and their signature "Comeback Sauce". The buttermilk herb is the creamiest ranch-like dressing you've ever had, the espelette aioli was smoky and flavorful, the malt vinegar aioli combined the best parts of salt and vinegar with the consistency of mayo but their "Comback Sauce" was the true winner! This sauce was crafted by the gods and I have no clue what's in it other than maybe some sriracha and wizardry.

Cleanliness: good. Everything looked clean and well attended to.

Total: 12/15

Obviously anything that Ashley Christensen puts her name on is going to be fantastic and Chuck's is no exception. If you're ever in downtown Raleigh and craving a darn good burger head straight to Chuck's and thank me later.

Also, fun fact, I've never heard of an espelette prior to trying this aioli. After doing some Google research I found that the espelette is a pepper cultivated in the French commune of Espelette and is a mild pepper. Learn something new every day.