Taphouse Grille, Wayne NJ

"Crappy Photo Alert"
Where: Taphouse Grille, Wayne, NJ
What: Cheeseburger
Build: 80z Angus beef patty, American cheese, raw onion slices, dill pickle slices, kaiser roll.
Comment: My wife and I were on our way to my son's house to wish him well on his first business trip abroad when he said he and his wife were at a local bar/restaurant and asked us to meet them for dinner. We were glad we did.
The Taphouse Grille has changed hands a few times over recent years, in fact there were so many failed attempts at making this place work I never thought I'd get a good burger there again. Until Thursday night. Let me back up a little... the Taphouse was originally called The French Hill Inn and it was, I believe, established in the early 1920's and was quite a rowdy place with a history that includes the murder of 2 NJ state troopers. The tavern gets it's name from it's location, French Hill Road in Wayne. Needless to say this establishment was a landmark for well over 80 years and like any landmark it was common to use the French Hill Inn when giving driving directions - "when you get to the FHI, stay right", etc... Why anyone would change the name of an established landmark is beyond me. (I'm just sayin') The tavern went from The French Hill Inn, to "Formerly the French Hill Inn" to "Tavern 344" to "Lava" and now, Taphouse Grille. 
On with the burger...
As with all the recent brief ownerships, my odds on eating a decent burger had been hit or miss, but I was determined to try the burger regardless. I ordered the cheeseburger medium rare with American cheese, raw onion and sliced pickle and asked them to butter and toast the roll. (love that) The burger came out perfect... the bun-to-burger ratio was spot-on, the temperature was a perfect medium/rare, the burger had a light charcoal sear and I was a very happy camper. Everything was sandwiched between a bakery-fresh brioche bun. It was soooo good. I had a chance to speak with the owner Mike who told me how they've been working on making their food even better. I told him whatever he's doing... it's working. Great burger, I will be back soon! 10/10  (Sorry about the crappy burger photos, I was armed only with my wife's iphone. The tavern photos are compliments of the TH web site).