A few months ago it seemed the whole Boston universe was a buzz with the news that Donnie and Marky Mark's brother, Paul, was going to open his second restaurant in the Hingham Shipyard, a burger joint called Wahlburgers.
I totally bought into the hype and could not wait to make the trip down 93 to experience Wahlburgers for myself. One week went by, then two, then three and eventually I found myself months out from the opening without an adventure planned.
Today ladies and gentleman was the day! I had the day off of work today (thank you!) and I planned to have lunch at Wahlburgers with two friends (and one of the girl's seven year old twins!). I was picked up at 12:00pm and the road trip began!
Forty five minutes later we arrived in the Hingham Shipyard. We hopped out of the car and I spotted that "W" sign and felt magnetized toward it. I felt I could hear that tune Ariel the mermaid sings, "Ahhhhhh ahhhhhh ahhhhh!" You know the one, when she gets her voice?
We opened the doors and there was a huge line! We learned there are actually two lines. One to be seated in an area where you are served by the wait staff and one where you order at the counter and fight for a table in the general seating area.
We opted for the counter/fight for seating option because it seemed to be moving faster. While in line I noticed the Wahlburgers Christmas tree, which was decorated with hamburger and hot dogs ornaments. But of course!
The menu at Wahlburgers is simple - four burger choices, a few hot dogs choices, a kids menu, four sides and a list of milkshakes. The four burgers on the menu are labeled as: Paul's choice (owner), Donnie's choice (NKOTB), Mark's choice (Marky Mark) and the vegetarian choice (we non-meat eater's don't get a Wahlberg brother).
There were so many fantastic choices for sides and milkshakes that we were having a tough time choosing! Between all five of us we strategized an order that maximized our ability to taste the most menu items.
After placing our order, the manager helped us find a booth in the general seating area.
Our booth had a very 50s diner feel, which I loved. From our booth we had a great view of the back wall, which tells the story of the Wahlberg family.
All over the restaurant there are photos of the brothers.
Hanging from the ceiling are incredibly cool, black and white pieces that have the names of all the brothers' albums, movies and TV shows. These were my favorite design element in the whole place. Chic looking, but very personal.
When our buzzer lit up we went up to the counter to pick up our trays.
One friend ordered the classic burger, also known as Paul's choice. She was really pleased with it. One of the twins also ordered that burger and gobbled it right up (even with a missing front tooth!).
Two of the ladies ordered the grilled cheese sandwich and they added tomato. One said the sandwich was a great comfort food staple, but the bread was overly buttered. The best part of the grilled cheese baskets were the french fries! They were a slightly thicker version of McDonald's fries, the ultimate compliment.
I ordered the vegetarian choice which was a portabello mushroom "burger" topped with caramelized onions, melted cheese and the Wahlburgers secret sauce. It was so unbelievably delicious! On most menus the veggie burger is a last minute addition (translation = obligation) and is usually underwhelming. This was a complete home run.
For sides we all split the tater tots, sweet potato tater tots and the onion rings.
I didn't even know one could make sweet potato tater tots! While the tots were quite good, the star of the entire meal was the onion rings. They were very thinly sliced red onions, breaded just right and fried to perfection. They were so light that they didn't leave you with that heavy, guilty, food coma feeling.
Of course we also had to try the milkshakes. Two of us decided to split the mocha milkshake and it was exceptional! I would drive all the way to Hingham again just for that shake! They also offer vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, coffee and chocolate mint. Mmm mmm mmm!
Wahlburgers deserves every single moment of attention it's been given. It really does feel like a family run place and the food is outstanding. I think I'll be putting quite a few more miles on my car in 2012.
