The Filling Station: Grass-Fed Fast Food Burgers For All
Walking up to The new Filling Station Co. in New Canaan last weekend, you would have thought they were giving away free food. Lines of families snaked through the tight burger joint, all eager to sample the long awaited kid and price-friendly fare. But the huddled masses were not just here for a bargain priced burger. The Filling Station, with it's retro-modern street appeal, has a value proposition that is hard to beat for consumers who care about the food they eat. Everything served at The Filling Station is organic, grass-fed, antibiotic and hormone free. Let me tell you, devouring hamburgers, dogs, and shakes has never felt so right. For some parents (myself included), this is the holy-grail and reason enough to travel for a fun for the whole family meal, but I needed to sample the goods before I was sold. With the prospect of comparing these grass-fed burgers to those of the competition, we entered en masse with a party of 6.
The menu at The Filling Station is simple: burgers, veggie burgers (actually falafel..and they're good), sloppy joes, and hot dogs in three varieties (beef, chicken or veggie). To compliment your "entree" there are free and premium toppings along with crinkle fries, thick creamy shakes, wine and beer. As I said...fun for the WHOLE family.
Entering this cozy storefront, you'll notice that the focus of the Station's small 20 seat dining space is the open kitchen. This gives transparency to the cooking process (nothing to hide here) while also providing entertainment for hungry children. Due to the tight quarters, be prepared to wait for a table in peak hours.
As you saunter up to the counter, you should know that it takes one round of ordering to understand the order process at The Filling Station…The concept is "stay with your food." If you feel confused at first don't fret. By my second cheeseburger run I had it down. Here's the deal.
1. Order your grass fed burger, sloppy joe, or nitrate free hot dog with the cook behind the gigantic "George Forman style" grills, and watch as he tosses a round ball of meat, falafel or split dog under the heat. This amazing double sided cooking method can grill a burger in 1 minute, veggie burger in 30 seconds. This quick cook time keeps the meat juicy and minimizes complaints from the kids who are ready to eat. 2. Follow your food to the Toppings Bar where you will find premium toppings including station chili, crunchy fried onions, homemade apple braised sauerkraut, and the station cheese sauce, a decadent mixture of warm extra sharp cheddar, dijon mustard, hot sauce, and cream. Free toppings range from caramelized onions, 3 kinds of mustard, BBQ sauce, and creamy horseradish sauce. 3. Add some fries and shakes to complete the meal, and whip out your cash because there are no credit cards here.
On our first visit, the group managed to eat most of the menu. Here is how it went down:
We started with the station burger, a 3 oz beef burger with classic American cheese, station sauce, lettuce and tomato. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium, still juicy from the quick stint on the grill, and at $4.35, a good deal for grass-fed beef. You can debate all you want, but grass-fed beef just plain tastes better than grain fed, plus it's leaner, lower is saturated fats, and higher in Omega 3 and antioxidants. If this doesn't get you excited, the station sauce that came dripping off this burger will give you a reason enough to get in your car. A zesty blend of mayonnaise, chipotle (one of my favorite ingredients), Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and seasonings make this a mandatory add-on. As I sat there comparing notes with my fellow diners, someone from a neighboring table leaned over and offered "I love the station burger. It's all about the sauce." Nestled in a classic old school toasted white bun with a nice chewy mouthfeel, this burger was a solid starter.
Moving on to opposite side of the spectrum, my next sample was the veggie burger with caramelized onions. This was perhaps the most unexpected surprise of the meal as fast food veggie burgers often arrive in the form of a bland frozen soy puck. The Filling Station has opted for a wonderfully conceived falafel burger, a thin well seasoned patty of grilled, not fried, ground chick peas with just the right kick. Tell the Toppings Bar crew to go easy on the ketchup and mustard as it can overwhelm the flavor of the falafel. They do come thin, so I recommend the double if you're hungry.
At this point my husband re-entered the line to order milk shakes, and I took advantage of his exodus to finish off the last of his station dog. These come in beef, chicken, or veggie (all nitrate-free may I remind you), with apple braised sauerkraut, cheese sauce, and Dijon mustard. I have to admit, I do love a good hot dog, but those toppings sounded dubiously diverse. As it turned out, while my kids dogs were a little over-cooked, the station dog had a blanket of condiment heaven that really was uniquely sweet, rich and delicious. The creamy cheese sauce, slightly spicy mustard, and sweet fermented cabbage worked together in a way I wouldn't have imagined.
The organic fries were crinkle cut, well cooked with a crunchy exterior and moist soft potato inside, but lacked the same character that the rest of the menu displayed. The chili cheese fries sported a simple and flavorful chili with no hint of spiciness such that the kids could enjoy it without complaining of excessive heat. The aforementioned cheese sauce provided a nice layer of creaminess over the fries. I should note that we enjoyed this same chili on a burger which gave added richness and depth to the main attraction. You will also find this chili in your sloppy joe if you choose to go that route, but as the chili was on the "looser" side we opted for less laundry and steered clear.
If you've left the topping station and still require a condiment fix, you can use the self-service Mustard Bar. This multi pump array of honey, Dijon, spicy brown, and yellow mustard allows the diner to customize an entree to suit their needs. It was a nice touch.
As one diner in our party made it through his second burger, we noted a little inconsistency in the caramelized onions, which came out at different size cuts and varying doneness, but we chalked that up to opening week.
The milk shakes (available in vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) arrived with great excitement and everyone savored the super thick hormone and antibiotic -free desserts that almost required spoons. They were darn good.
The 6 of us shuffled out full and satisfied, all in agreement that The Filling Station is a welcome entry in the fast food burger scene. The menu goes beyond the standard burger joint with its "gourmet" takes on classic sauces and toppings as well as interesting touches like the falafel veggie burger. We hope more fast food venues embrace The Filling Station's commitment to using organic local and healthy ingredients. We're also crossing our fingers that owners Nick Type and Seth Leifer get their permits for outdoor seating in time for Summer.
The Filling Station Co. 19 South Avenue, New Canaan. 203.966.4404
Burgers, Lunch, New Canaan, Organic, kid friendly
Reader Comments (10)
A falafel burger?! Why haven't I thought of that! As if I needed a nudge to visit, I will definitely be stopping by soon. Thanks.
Went here for the first time and had an AWFUL experience! It wasn't even busy yet I waited there in front of the sign that says "Order Here" yet none of the 4 workers behind the plexiglass would look up and help me. When I walked down to the cashier, I was yelled at that I should have seen the sign saying "Order Here"....okay....
I saw on their website that they would like to franchise. As if...why would anyone buy a franchise that is so poorly set up and illogical. The space simply does not flow and the space for the order line is cramped & claustrophobic - both coming and going.
Sure, the burgers were good and it's wonderful they have veggie choices on the menu too. For the latter, I definitely applaud them. The cheese fries were average and the cheese was way too processed tasting. Why not offer some onion rings, sweet potatoe fries or some other interesting variation on normal french fries?
For goodness sake, we are only 45 minutes from the city where there are a plethora of gourmet burger joints from which they could have copied the blueprints. What were they smoking to come up with such a poor concept?
Don't think I'd ever go back or recommend to anyone to try. The entire experience put me in a bad mood. You certainly don't go to get fast food feeling that way. So to leave after having spent $24 on quick takeout, no thanks... I'd rather drive into the city. BTW, love the burger joint on 13th St/5th Avenue, which has been doing so well it keeps expanding!
@MLC
Where have you been on the CH Boards. We miss your POV on many subjects.
seeing no positive feedback confirms my visit to this place.
I have had them cater 2 parties. One for 80 people, one for 250 people. Both times all guest RAVED about the burgers - hands down the best burger they ever had.
To EHiggins
How did they prepare the burgers on site at the catering event since the method they use on-site is the giant George Formann press?
Alan, thanks for your interest in our catering. Different locations pose different challenges to re-create the flavors and quality of our in-store burgers. At some of the off site events, particularly at private homes, we've cooked on the hosts' regular size propane gas grills. For larger functions, we've used institutional size grills. Some private homes have flat top griddles in their kitchens or we can also bring a portable flat top griddle. Cooking on a flat top griddle, closely approximates the searing and cooking process of the "giant George Forman grill". Depending on the budget and the location, we offer our wide selection of cold and hot toppings to allow guests to customize their burgers just like the restaurant experience. All our meat is organically raised from local farms; we use a proprietary blend of beef cuts to make our burgers. Please stop by, introduce yourself and we'll be delighted to offer you a personal tasting.
www.fillingstationco..com
Wow...now that's service :-))
...where does the local beef come from? I was always interested in that
To Alan:
We get our beef from Wolfes Neck Farms. This is a collective of over 250 farming families from CT to Maine. Before we opened Filling Station Company, we met numerous meat purveyors and tasted their products. We settled on Wolfes Neck Farms not only because of the quality of the meat but we also appreciated their business philosophy which was consistent with that of Filling Station Co. We even inspected the production facilities where the meat is prepared to ensure the best butchering practices; we came away really impressed. Despite its high cost (nearly double that of regular beef), it's worth it. Grass fed, antibiotic-free and growth hormone free meat is the only responsible way to go - anything else is toxic. Wolfes Neck had a prominent mention in the NY Times dining section over the summer when David Chang of Momofuku and ma peche fame announced this was his meat of choice so we guess you'll see more Wolfes Neck on the menus of high quality restaurants.
Sorry about the long answer to your question but we're proud of our burgers. We look forward to serving you soon and please say hello!
Nick
Filling
Thanks. I think that is the same meat at Whole Foods, not bad. Will have to give it a try.