Brennan's Restaurant

»Jfood hits Brennan's (Stamford) Twice - Needs some Kitchen TLC

I’ve heard a lot about Brennan’s in Stamford as a place to get good burgers and it was another day to enjoy a burger off the beaten path. I drove to the Shippan Point neighborhood of Stamford, where, at the far end of Iroquois Road, sits Brennan’s. A fixture in this neighborhood for almost 100 years and a hangout for the locals and regulars to sit with friends and neighbors, you can feel the...+READ I’ve heard a lot about Brennan’s in Stamford as a place to get good burgers and it was another day to enjoy a burger off the beaten path. I drove to the Shippan Point neighborhood of Stamford, where, at the far end of Iroquois Road, sits Brennan’s. A fixture in this neighborhood for almost 100 years and a hangout for the locals and regulars to sit with friends and neighbors, you can feel the history in this building. It had a special feeling of times past as I spoke with some of the regulars who were enjoying a mid-day beer. The loyal patrons told me that in the early 1900’s this building was a local food market that was eventually converted into a bar.

I settled onto a stool in the middle of the long L-shaped bar and I ordered my normal bacon cheeseburger medium-rare with fried onions, plus orders of waffle fries and onion rings. As I eagerly awaited the delivery of a really good burger, I read copies of several newspapers, watched snippets of CNN on one of the two TVs, and eavesdropped on the regulars at the other end of the bar. The bartender approached, was extremely friendly and we spent several minutes discussing the pluses and minus of various burgers around Fairfield County.

The bartender returned and delivered my order in a plastic basket that contained the cheeseburger (sans bacon), iceberg lettuce and tomato, all encased in an enormous toasted bun, plus a side order of waffle fries and onion rings. As always, I cut the burger in half to see its doneness which was cooked to well-done rather than the medium-rare burger that I ordered. The bartender noticed that the burger was very much overcooked and replaced it a few minutes later with a second burger (again sans bacon) that was cooked to medium-well. After a few bites I thought there was a certain looseness and tenderness to the texture of the meat that indicated that the burgers were hand formed on-site. I really enjoyed the flavor of the sirloin meat with its nice, rich, deep flavor. Unfortunately this burger did not deliver the juiciness I was expecting, probably a result of it being overcooked plus the kitchen omitted bacon from both burgers. The onion rings were crunchy and the interiors were soft and moist with a good onion flavor. The waffle fries were also crispy while still moist on the inside. My first visit was a bit disappointing and I returned a few weeks later to give Brennan’s a second chance.

On my second visit I ordered another bacon cheeseburger with waffle fries. When the burger arrived, it had a nice crust on the outside. I thought I was about to enjoy the Brennan burger that many raved about. I cut the bacon cheeseburger in half and stared at raw meat. The bartender must have seen the expression on my face and she asked me if everything was okay. I showed her the inside of the burger and she returned it to the kitchen. The replacement arrived about five minutes later and again had a great crust. I could only smile when I noticed that the bacon was missing, to quote Yogi Berra “déjà vu all over again.” I cut the second burger in half and one side was medium-well and the other well-done. I insisted on tasting the meat and yes, the meat was still very tasty, confirming my opinion from the first visit. A few bites of this over-grilled burger were enough. My tally was four bacon cheeseburgers, three overcooked, one raw and only one with bacon.

Brennan’s is a great neighborhood hang-out that has the potential to deliver a tasty burger, fries and rings while enjoying your neighbors, locals and regulars. But the consistency of the end product requires significant improvement to live up to it’s reputation.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (4 Replies) (by jfood, created October 27, 2010)