One advantage of planning the 27-day road trip was that I could dictate which route we take to each city.
It was essential that somehow I end up at The Burgerly (137 S Main Street, New Hope) on my drive from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Boston, Massachusetts.
One of the pandemic’s positives was bonds forged over a mutual love and admiration for burgers. Chef Bobby Marcotte of the Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery (Raymond, New Hampshire) and Chef Mark McLean of the Burgerly were two such friendships.
I tried some of Bobby’s magic via mail-order from his butcher shop, but for Mark’s craftmanship, a visit was gonna be necessary. A two-day stop in Philadelphia ensured that a Burgerly visit was imminent.
Making it to the Burgerly
The Burgerly is only open Thursday through Sunday, so it worked out perfectly since we arrived Friday night and left on Monday morning. By Sunday, Marcela and Fred wanted to stay in and rest.
Luckily, my bud Nedal was in Philly, which meant I had an eating partner who understood the rules, aka let’s do this.
I knew the Burgerly wasn’t very big from the pictures I had seen, but it makes up with it in character. A couple of picnic tables and two sets of stools line the window facing the busy street down below.
*Mark is out running some errands when we arrive. So we take a once over at the menu and say yes at the order counter.
This story might be a gross exaggeration of what happened, but we did order way too much.
I’m sippin’ on my cola when Chef McLean walks in. He sits with us, and we speak like we’ve known each other forever. Sometimes you connect with people, and it’s always so cool when that happens.
The food arrives, so he gives us some space to eat.
The Food is Here
A sauce flight rounded out our order with a sampling of all their housemade sauces: sweet onion aioli, hot sauce aioli, avocado salsa, honey garlic soy, serrano pepper honey aioli, and both regular & spicy BBQ sauce.
How was The Burgerly?
Freakin’ phenomenal. The Burgerly is serious business, and Chef Mark McLean is the real deal.
This burger brother had me eating greens and lovin’ every minute of it. There are no words to describe this food’s beauty and well-thought-out flavors.
In the court of Burger Beast, I consider it a crime if you live nearby and haven’t been; shame on you. I’ll leave it at that.
The Canal in New Hope, Pennsylvania
We parked in a lot behind the row of businesses on S Main Street in New Hope. We encountered a massive canal with lots of character on the walk down to the sidewalk.
The canal’s construction was completed in 1832 and is an astonishing 58.9 miles long. Nedal and I stood there for a little bit to take in its beauty.
New Hope, Pennsylvania, is such a cool little town. I wish we had more time to explore it, but we had to get going.
I have a sneaking suspicion I will be back sooner than later for more Burgerly.
