Connor's Restaurant in Sarasota

For a (one week late) Mother's Day outing, we took my mom to Connor's Restaurant last Sunday. Several people had recommended we try Connor's for their burgers. I looked at the menu online, and I had high hopes. Would we discover the best burger in Sarasota County?

Connor's is a chain, with branches in several different states. It feels a bit like Cheesecake Factory. They specialize in steak and seafood, but offer a full range of entrees, appetizers, and desserts. I was disappointed by their beer selection: no local brews on tap. I ordered a Guinness and my mom tried a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. 

We arrived right at the shift change, which seems to occur at 4pm. For this reason, we waited quite a while for our drinks, and again for our food. When asked if we wanted bread and butter, we said yes. For three people, we received one small roll. I'm sure they don't want to waste food, and this was plenty for us, but it still looked a bit chintzy. 

I selected the Boursin Burger ($16). My husband and mother both chose the Swiss Mushroom Burger ($15). When we ordered, our waitress asked if "medium well" was okay. This struck us as odd. We all asked for medium, and she didn't comment.

Our burgers arrived and we instantly realized they were all overcooked. Not medium well, but well done. Charred on the outside and grey on the inside. My mom guessed that the burgers had been precooked to a certain degree, and then reheated before being served. I don't know if this was the case, or if the cooks can only do burgers this way? But for a $16 burger, you would expect it to be cooked to order. Due to overcooking, the burgers were quite dry and devoid of juiciness.

Apart from the temperature, the burgers were well seasoned. In fact, many might find them overly salted. I prefer this to under-seasoned so this wasn't an issue. I requested the Boursin cheese on the side, and I think it was a good call. Boursin is a soft cheese and would get lost when added to a very hot burger. The tobacco onions were a nice, crunchy addition. The lettuce, tomato, and pickle were all present in a pretty minimal way. The brioche buns were greasy on the outside.

As for the fries, once again, they fell short. Just average. Nothing special at all. Since arriving in Florida, I haven't found any fantastic fries. Where are the duck fat fries? Does anyone do gourmet fries down here?

So I am continuing my search for the best burger and fries in Sarasota County. Does anyone have recommendations? Please help!