317 Burger

A few Sundays ago, Tim and I were out and about running errands and decided to randomly pick someplace in Broad Ripple for lunch.  We drove past 317 Burger and realized it was new and burgers sounded good to us, so we opted to give it a try.

It was a fairly nice day so several people were sitting out front, but we wanted air conditioning so we headed into the bar.  We were the only ones in there.  Which doesn't mean that much, at a new place on a Sunday afternoon, but...

We quickly reviewed the menu, and I opted for the Spicy Tuna Burger ($12)--it just sounded good that day.   I've had the tuna sandwich at Boogie Burger (whole piece of tuna, citrus-y and awesome), and the tuna burger at the now-defunct Scotty's Lakehouse (spicy and teriyaki-ish and packed with flavor), so I was excited to try another.  Sadly, this one was just 'eh.'  It came with avocado, arugula, and wasabi aioli, but somehow none of those things had any flavor.  Not enough wasabi to make up for the rest of the bland.  Also, it had a slightly strange texture.  It was made from diced tuna like the Scotty's version, but this was much more tightly pressed and bound with something  that gave it a mealy texture (flour? I know it sounds odd, but that's all I can think of that would make it feel like that). I wasn't overly impressed.  I think Tim liked his burger--he customized it with duck bacon and gouda ($10)--but it wasn't anything extraordinary to write home about, either.

The highlight was the poutine we shared.  They served up hand-cut, thick steak fries topped with cheese and the gravy on the side.  You poured the gravy over the top so that the cheese (appeared to be some curds and some shredded) would melt.  I guess this was so they didn't get soggy?  Unfortunately, the fries were thick and not overly crisp to start, so it didn't really help.  But the flavor was there, and we enjoyed them.  For the price ($5), it was a very generous serving.  We couldn't even finish them (which is saying quite a lot).

My verdict is that this place is only so-so.  Perhaps it's finding its footing; perhaps I would have enjoyed a true burger more than the tuna.  Either way, I'm not particularly excited to go back.  Frankly, we probably won't return.  This town just has way too many truly GOOD burgers to get a mediocre one.

Website:  No real website that I could locate, so here's the 317 Burger Facebook page.