It shouldn’t be much surprise, really, that my favorite burger in the universe is the Ronie Burger at the Miracle of Science Bar and Grill in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was, after all, the very first thing I ever posted to this blog.

I recently made a pilgrimage back to my former Boston home, not for the burger, but for a reunion of my old college band, the Supercosmic Transcendentaldam Orchestra. We haven’t played together in around 2 years, but I figured it was a perfect time to use up those frequent flyer miles. Oh, and I may as well indulge in a little Ronie Burger while I’m at it…

The Ronie burger is a hand-formed beef patty mixed with finely chopped jalapeno, and topped with pepper-jack cheese, on a home-made bun that I still have a difficult time describing.  It’s not quite white bread, but it’s close, and it is ultimately what makes this burger stand out among the crowd.  I’ve never had a Ronie burger cooked wrong, and that is something that cannot be overstated.  Consistency is an extremely difficult thing in a burger joint, but the Miracle of Science has never, ever, let me down.  And I’ve probably eaten at least 100 of these.

I won’t get too involved here, as I’ve written about the Ronie before, but let me just say it one more time: if you are ever in the vicinity of the MIT campus, do yourself a favor and make a bee-line for the MOSBAG.  You won’t regret it.  Oh, and have yourself a Brooklyn Lager, the perfect pairing if you ask me.

Photo by Kevin Davila

I’ve often waxed poetic about favorite burgers of mine, but one stands alone in the great halls of burgerdom: the Ronie Burger at the Miracle of Science Bar and Grill in Cambridge, MA.  I came to know the Ronie after many a night spent at this excellent bar just north of the MIT campus (what?  you couldn’t guess from the bar’s name?).  It’s a beautiful work of ground beef filled with jalapenos and spice, topped with pepper jack cheese, and served on a specialty bun that lies somewhere in between a kaiser roll (no seeds though) and a standard white hamburger bun.  Served with new potatoes (I’ve been corrected on this numerous times) and a tomato chutney (also on this).

But what gets me most about the Ronie Burger, and indeed the thing that sets it apart from so many others, is the consistency by which it is delicious.  I’ve eaten many Ronies over the years – I’ve even had two in a sitting, no joke – and it is without fail delicious.  In fact, it might just be the only burger where on multiple occasions I have said to myself that was the best Ronie Burger I’ve ever had.

I salute you, Ronie Burger.  Thank you for many a delicious meal.