Jr.'s Old Packinghouse Cafe

What do you require after spending a few hours birding at Celery Fields? A burger, of course!

In our continued hunt for the best burger in Sarasota county, we stopped in for lunch at this unique cafe. Located on Packinghouse Road only a couple of short miles from Celery Fields, this place just might qualify as a "dive." There is plenty of ambiance. Their claim to fame is "the best Cuban sandwich in Sarasota." We can't contest this claim as we all went for the burgers this time around.

Every Monday, all day long, Jr.'s Old Packinghouse Cafe offers a $6 burger special. Yes, this sounds fantastic. However, $6 only covers a basic half-pound hamburger with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion. The burger comes with chips. Cheese is extra. Fries and slaw is an extra $2.95. So our $6 burgers quickly became $10 burgers. Not terrible, but also not super cheap. Also be forewarned: the service was very slow. We were not in a hurry, so it wasn't an issue.

As for the quality of the burger, I'd say it was good. A solid B-. The patty was thick and juicy, charbroiled, but I felt mine was lacking salt. Although I asked for medium, most of my burger was well-done. The bun was very soft, with a glossy top.

As for the fries, they were average. Not too thin, not too thick, right in the middle, but nothing notable. The slaw, however, was better than average. For once, this slaw had enough seasoning. Nicely flecked with celery seed, it was a yummy addition to the platter.

The homemade desserts sounded fabulous, but we didn't save any room. We plan to return to this homey dive to try the Cuban sandwiches next time!

Photo credit: Sophie Moock