Poppa Joe’s Humble Kitchen

I've tried going here twice before, but it was closed despite the fact that the hours on their door said they were open. So, I was pleased that they expanded the hours they said they were going to be open when I tried them today.

Poppa Joe's Humble Kitchen on Route 13 in Milford used to be Humble Kitchen on Elm Street, and while I can't vouch for the old Humble Kitchen, I covered a story that brought me here and had me talking about their hamburger with hot dogs and onion rings on it.

While I didn't try that one, I did try a fairly good alternative called "Kelsey's Buffalo Burger".

I'd assume it's named after a staff member like the choices at The Seedling Cafe in Nashua, but I didn't bother to ask, all I asked is if I could put Jalapenos on this bad boy, and they were cool with it.

Despite the fact it was a million degrees inside (they have picnic tables, but it appeared that it was going to rain), they only had a counter, and the previous trips, I was really pleased with this burger. It was certainly comparable to any of those family style joints with the crap on the walls that charge a few bucks more for their burgers and the fast food joints that are offering premium burgers now but make you feel like a number.

And I think even if this burger wasn't appetizing, which it was, I would have given it more than the benefit of the doubt. If Hamburgers are like the Star Wars franchise, Chili's and Red Robin are like the prequel trilogy while Poppa Joe's is like A New Hope: with all the money put into those other guys, anything other than exceptional is a failure, but this was a pleasant surprise.

I may well come back and try that burger with the hot dog and onion rings on it.

Meal: Kelsey's Buffalo Burger and a drink
Price: $6.98
Speed of Service: 5 minutes
Time of Day: 12:30 PM, Weekday