Mercury Burger & Bar

If you ask a newcomer to Detroit where to get burgers, or consult Yelp, you may get recommendations for Mercury. This Corktown restaurant has been open for a couple years now, and certainly fit in with the small but growing neighborhood of restaurants and stores collecting in this area of New Detroit. As everyone who has tried to go to Slow’s knows, it is packed. You’re going to have to wait. Dealing with this wait time usually includes heading over to Astro Coffee for a great pourover cup, Sugar House for a well-crafted cocktail, or to Mercury if your hunger is immense. I believe the Slow’s overflow brings them a lot of business, and they have the capacity to take advantage of it.

Mercury was designed a bit like an old-school diner. There are a lot of tiles, yes. But in New Detroit, the classic White Tower diner has changed. Mercury gets rid of the Formica counter tops in favor of a lot of stainless steel, a bar top that would fit in at any new sports bar, a weirdly out of place downstairs men’s bathroom, and a whole lot of faux-retro accents. Yeah, it works, but it isn’t necessarily that new or inventive, and is so different from the classic style that it doesn’t evoke any kind of nostalgia.

Of course, they adopted the moniker “Burger & Bar” to their name, so MCBC couldn’t avoid it forever. Most of us had been there before, for Poutine, a burger, or a craft beer (While waiting for Slow’s, usually). But getting together for an actual review was a must. A group of us got there early and were nice enough to save a table. Due to traffic and general late behaviors, the rest of us were about 40 minutes late. Frank dutifully held our ten person table with Joe, despite a barrage of dirty looks, server annoyance, and multiple frantic phone calls to us stuck in traffic.

Seems like this has happened before. Luckily Mercury was much cooler about it, and our server didn’t seem to mind that we were the slowest. I hope everyone tipped her well! I’ve heard complaints about really weird service here – awkward waitstaff, slow times, and weird food arrivals. Luckily, we didn’t have any of these issues. The staff was pretty quick considering our large table and the fact that the place was super busy.

Their drink menu is pretty impressive – it includes a number of draft taps, milkshakes (boozy or not) and cocktails. Most are reasonably priced, and the ability to get a Michigan craft beer on tap always gets points in my book, though I’m not happy to pay $6.50 or $7 for a pint. The burger selection is also huge, with 15 different choices, including a portobello burger, a black bean burger, a turkey burger, a salmon burger, and a wide range of toppings on their regular beef burgers. Keep your eyes open while you’re reading these, because the toppings are going to be really important to this burger. The basic burger (lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion) goes for $7, and the rest range up to $10. Mercury doesn’t have the cheapest burger, but it’s appropriately priced for Corktown. I opted for the French Onion burger (with bacon, caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, crispy onion straws) and a serving of poutine, because I apparently wanted the most umami thing possible.

Also on the menu is a range of french fries and tater tots, seasoned and unseasoned, a bunch of sandwiches, salads, and some hot dogs. You could probably find something for a picky child here, and your parents wouldn’t be offended either.

Presentation for all things here includes an aluminum tray (or a paper basket), some branded paper, and your food. The consistency of branding and metal throughout the restaurant is nice and cohesive. The food is attractive, and designed for instagramming. This is good.

When you bite in, you will be surprised by a few things. That delicious looking patty is a little dry, and not too seasoned. This might be by design, to hold up the substantial amount of ingredients, but it is still bad. The bun is a little flimsy, and if it is toasted, it is hard to tell. Mercury really could pick up some buns that don’t immediately soak and fall apart into their matching metal trays. The toppings really drive these burgers. They are fresh, substantial, and perfect in their combinations. This is a problem – a burger should be good when it is not loaded up with the other things, because you will be able to tell when it doesn’t. We certainly noticed. With the seasoning amped up a bit and better buns, this would certainly raise marks. If you’re a freak for toppings, this might be your favorite thing. Unfortunately, we didn’t really think so.

Their french fries and tots were also good, but not the best. There are better spots in town, without a doubt (I recommend Brooklyn Street Local for Poutine, it’s the most authentic). They were, however, freshly made and not a bad addition to the meal. You and your family would do well to share one order – they are big. On top of the big burgers, you’ll be getting a huge meal.

There were a lot of things to like. A wide menu that covers a lot of ground for picky and non-picky eaters. Good service (this time). Fresh ingredients. Craft beer. But the suburban crowd, the boring patties, and high prices turned us off. Nothing really excited us here, and nothing made us want to go out of our way to come back. They will rightfully get tucked away in the middle of the MCBC review pack.

Ratings:

Burger: 3.91
Service: 4.14
Atmosphere: 3.82
Value: 3.53
Overall Rating: 3.83

Erik: “Poutine was meh. Their bun could use some improvement. Great toppings make this burger good. ” 3.6/5

Frank: “The limes suck! Too dry. Kinda too busy for basic stuff. I hear the shakes are good but they take too long.” 3.5/5

Patrick: “Bun is soft. Great patty. Chewy bacon, thick cuts. Poutine is good. Poutine needs more cheese curds.” 4/5

Moses: “ I debated ordering a second beer ($6.50 pints… we’re not in Hamtramck anymore) then I ordered it, and they give the bill to Frank! Points for Mercury Bar! Too much sad indie music makes my burger cry. This might be, like, 6th on my list of recommending if someone asked me for a good burger place.” 3/5

Connie Gibson: “Burgers were on the small side, but don’t come with fries/sides! No pickle 😦 The Poutine was really good!” 3.8/5

Carl “The Gangsta Snarl” : “I like the burger- very unique. I DEMOLISHED this burger in record time. NO BABY STOMACH HERE. I would come back if I lived closer.” 4/5 (Ed. Note: Carl ordered the Southwest Burger)