The 18th green at PopStroke Waterford Lakes. Dusk coming in low, the sky gone the color of a Creamsicle somebody forgot on a dashboard. I had a forty-footer with two breaks, uphill into the grain of the evening. I read it from behind the ball, then from below the hole, the way the pros do. I stroked it clean.
It lipped out. Of course it did.
And then, across the patio, I caught it on the evening air: beef hitting a flat-top griddle at a temperature usually reserved for forging horseshoes.
The best smash burger I have ever eaten. Two 4oz patties, smashed thin until the edges go to lace. American cheese, the honest kind, melted into the cracks like it signed a lease there. A slick of bacon jam, sweet and smoky and a little bit dangerous. Crisp lettuce. A slice of tomato. Burger sauce, a recipe I asked about and was politely refused. All of it held together by a pillowy potato bun that knows its job and does it without complaint.
On the side, house-made chips, still warm. A pickle spear standing at attention like a caddie.
I tapped in for bogey. I didn't mind. Some victories aren't measured in strokes.
More entrees
Play through
the menu
Crispy Chicken Sandwich
Hand-breaded crispy chicken on a toasted brioche bun with sweet heat sauce and pickle chips.
$15
Crispy Chicken Tender Tacos
A hand-breaded chicken tender tossed in a bold hot BBQ sauce, nestled in a warm flour tortilla over a crisp bed of citrus slaw. Topped with cheddar jack cheese and a sliced jalapeno for a fiery finish. Finished with shredded carrots and a pickled onion garnish.
$16
Turkey Club
Turkey breast, toasted ciabatta, bacon, arugula, roasted tomato, garlic mayo. Served w/ house made chips +a pickle spear
$16.50