On this momentous day, we shall feast upon...burgers.

The morning of my 30th birthday dawned bright and sunny; being on the west coast meant my east coast friends had been up and wishing me well for a few hours already, so I spent some time checking my email and then headed downstairs to herd the crew into three of our assorted rental cars. Our first stop: Taylor's Automatic Refresher in St. Helena.

We had a 12:15 appointment at Schramsberg (more on that later), so it was going to be burgers for lunch at Taylor's, something about which a few of our party were slightly skeptical. One taste changed all that, though.

I've posted about Taylor's before, and I can assure you that their food is just as strong now as it was two years ago. The fries are fresh and piping hot, crisp and delicious. On this visit, I got to sample the standard fries as well as the garlic fries (above), which were stinky and tossed with parsley to make you feel healthy, and the sweet potato fries, which were served with a delicious aioli.

For my burger, I went classic old-school: hamburger with lettuce, tomato and pickle, topped with ketchup and mustard. The meat was well-seasoned and cooked perfectly to my requested medium rare; the pickles are still stand-out at Taylor's, and the bun is slightly toasted and the perfect texture: thick, but not too bready.

Aw yeah.

Taylor's Automatic Refresher
933 Main Street
St. Helena, California
707.963.3486