Food Critic Nick: Mixed feelings on school burgers and tots
Let’s start with the tater tots. The lunch ladies often serve a generous amount of these, which is nice. You would expect the tots to have a hash brown flavor, but something tastes strange about them. Not bad –– just strange.
I normally just dip the tator tots in ketchup or barbecue sauce, and they end up tasting great. Despite the interesting tang in these tots, I like them, and I am likely to get them if they are served.
Next up on the chopping block is the disputable hamburger. I like to put American cheese from the salad bar and a couple squirts of ketchup on my burgers, so your mileage may vary. Let me cut to the chase — the burger is very well done. I am 100% certain there are specific restrictions on how much you have to cook a school hamburger, but I mean it is well done.
It tastes similar to the burgers at the barbecue in your neighbor’s backyard, but the guy running the grill put the ground beef on too long, but at a relatively low temperature so that it doesn’t get smoky.
All in all, the tater tots are slightly overrated but still satisfactory and the burgers are decent.
Hamburger and Tater Tots Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
-- By Nick Smucker, LS News food critic
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