Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

The cheese used is too sharp and overwhelms the mild beef flavor.
I think this was intentional as they realized they needed to somehow satisfy the customer's palate.

I adore extra sharp cheese in robust Mexican food or as a stand-alone snack but not on seafood and not on a low fat(aka low flavor) burger.

Thanks for the review and photos.

Places like this are not just 'greasy spoons' but living artifacts of our rich American cultural tradition. Every time you visit a stand like this you are validating the efforts and aspirations of the mid-century generation and rediscovering them for yourself.
I know I am preaching to the choir here on AHT but just wanted to give an 'amen' of my own.

That's sad that NC has such a anti-choice law.

In many states, I see menus with the disclaimer to the effect of "Consumption of raw or undercooked seafood and beef, tree nuts..blah blah"

Such a notice should suffice to allow people to order their burgers at least medium rare.

"I've had several undercooked batches that resist consumption."

Undercooking fries is so common at so many place, I think that french fry cooks tend to be people that prefer to eat fries that are like limp steamed potatoes...so that's why they cook them for us that way.

If the burger is that good then it deserves a non-juvenile name.
Yes, I like kitschy burger names but any body odor theme is just dumb branding.

"Doesn't Trader Joes sell something similar?"

Yes. I think the onion and ham tart that Trader Joe's sells is very good.
The crust is thin and delicate, the sauce intensely flavored and overall satisfying.

The only drawback is that it cools off very quickly due to the thinness.

90/10 results in such a dry unappealing burger, this meat eater would opt for a nice big Portabello mushroom pan griddled in lots of olive oil vs 'low fat' beef if I were forced to choose between the two.

I adore the taste of very sharp cheddar cheese...in Tex Mex cuisine or in potatoes au gratin.

But I find that any strong cheese flavor overpowers the taste of a good beef burger.

When I see someone (I'm looking at you Emerald) pour a pile of blue cheese on a burger, I think that person is oblivious to the subtle beef flavors they are obliterating.

I had an oven like this in the US about 8 years ago.

The Pros:
The hot porous stone gave me excellent crust results with a thin crispy exterior and an airy, hole-laden interior. Small and easy to use as you have 260 access to the pizza unlike reaching into a conventional oven.

The Cons: smoke
If you use oil in your dough or brush some oil over the outside of your formed dough disc that oil eventually gets pulled into the porous stone.
The next time you go to use your counter top oven and let it pre-heat properly, that oil burns off into acrid smoke.

I had the same issue with a large pizza stone for use in a regular kitchen oven. Unless you want to make oil free pizza or never top with meat, you WILL get oil onto the stone.

I now see using inexpensive individual tile squares on a metal pan as a semi-disposable way to get the advantage of baking on stone while abating the oil smoke issue.

So what's the deal with Wilson's describing their burger as 'flame broiled to perfection" when it is actually griddle fried?
Did they used to flame broil it and didn't change the written description?

I don't think cumin has any place near a beef burger...a lamb burger, yes, but not in a beef burger.

What a shame the crime syndicate intimidated NY slice pizza joints from using locally made fresh mozzarella and instead mob factory cheese from Wisconsin.

"Does anybody anywhere in the country ask for a "piece" of pizza at a slice place?"

Apparently you really need this guide.

In many parts of the US, people refer to 'pieces' of pizza.
Many restaurants offer both round pies cut into slices and rectangular pies cut into squares.

In parts of Pennsylvania, the regional specialty Old Forge pizza is baked in rectangular pies and cut into square pieces which are called 'cuts'.
Go ahead and order a 'slice' of Old Forge pizza in your mellifluous New Yorker accent and viola...you're the out-o-town goober.

These guides are very useful.
It results in a more comfortable experience for both the out-of town eater and the person behind the counter.

No one likes being marked as the non-jargon using rube.