Endoscopy center should open a burger joint next door

A medical screening procedure recommended at 10-year intervals for everyone approaching 50 recently came my way for a second time. The exam gets no description here, other than to say that a full-body cleanse — from the inside — is required just prior.

In my thankfully limited experience with hunger, nothing brings on a craving like leaving that procedure to renew routine subsistence from scratch. For me, 10 years ago and again recently, the craving was for a burger and fries.

As much as I enjoyed the post-procedure burger of 10 years ago, it did not compare to the more recent selection. The older I become, the fewer burgers — and red meat in general — I consume. My taste for that particular cuisine, therefore, has become more refined.

It might sound a bit snobbish, but I no longer order burgers from fast-food restaurants. And if the person taking my order does not ask how I would like my burger cooked, I will take that as a sign that I should not burn one of my limited burger intakes at that establishment.

Well-done burgers have their place. I prefer mine done well.

Fast-food burgers were a consistent presence during my upbringing to be sure. During my early childhood in North Carolina, it was a wonderful treat whenever Dad would take us to the What-A-Burger drive-in. I wanted a Shoney’s Big Boy or a Big Mac from McDonald’s long before my mouth was large enough to bite into those double-decker varieties.

My usual from Hardee’s in those days was two regular burgers and a small order of fries. In later years, a Whopper combo from Burger King was a helpful antidote for painful mornings after nights on the town.

But those days are, for the most part, gone. When I had that first aforementioned procedure, we lived in Greenville, North Carolina, where I picked up my post-procedure burger from a chain restaurant that does, nevertheless, cook the meat to order.

That chain has a location in Johnson City too. But on the rare occasions when I order a burger here, I generally split a sandwich with my wife from one of two local establishments.

For my money, Mid City Grill has the best burger menu in town. It’s a popular hamburger restaurant with a no-frills dining room where the food takes center stage. I have never been disappointed.

Another fine choice is the one and only burger on the menu at Gourmet & Company — all Angus beef with “smoked gouda, caramelized sweet onion, and sorghum aioli” served with house-cut fries.

That Gourmet & Company burger so dominated my pre-procedure thoughts that I devoured the entire delightful dish about 40 minutes after coming around from the anesthesia. A little over the top, perhaps, but with no regrets.

I could enjoy eating burgers like that more often, but then they might not seem so special. Besides that, I don’t ever want any unfavorable results from that dreaded procedure.