Sometimes basic is good enough. And my lunch at Eli’s in Hamden was good solid basic fare in a friendly environment with an outstanding server.

The four of us decided to go to Eli’s for lunch after temple. It is conveniently located near Route 15 and there is ample parking across the street. We grabbed a table for four in the main dining area and Mike, our server approached. He was fantastic, patient and spot on throughout the lunch.

It was midday and the menu included an entire section on of my favorite meals, hamburgers. I chose the Bacon and Cheddar with regular fries, medium-rare. When it arrived the first noticeable feature was the size. In addition to a large patty, there was ample bacon jutting out of the sides, plus lettuce and tomato, all enclosed in an enormous bun. The meat was grilled to my requested medium-rare. My impressions were that the meat was mild in flavor, nothing special and good. The bacon was also grilled properly, crispy without being burnt. The cheddar was too mild to compete with the bacon and I would have preferred a larger amount to deliver more cheddar flavor. The bun was buttery, almost a brioche and it was very good, but a smaller size would have been more in proportion to the other ingredients. The fries were very good, crispy on the exterior, soft on the interior, and properly salted.

Overall Eli’s delivered a very good burger in a relaxed, family environment with a great server.