By Ethan Nichols, World News Editor
Just steps away from campus on Dana Avenue across from the Smith Hall parking lot, Listermann Brewing Company is a longtime staple in the Xavier community. Now, with the addition of Tickle Pickle — a Northside-based burger joint — to the taproom’s menu, your chance to snag a grilled, music-themed meal is closer than ever.
After opening their primary location in Northside in 2015, Tickle Pickle expanded to Listermann’s in November of last year.
Upon entering Listermann’s front entrance, you’ll notice the long wood bar stretching past you to your right. An unorthodox-looking brewery, you head up a short flight of stairs to your left and find a small walk-up window at which to order. After ordering at the counter, you can find a park bench-style table to sit at and wait for your food.
The Listermann’s menu offers a somewhat limited version of the classic menu for which Tickle Pickle has become known.
The Northside location offers a wide variety of burgers, sandwiches and most importantly, milkshakes. When perusing the menu at the new location, however, you’ll immediately notice something key to your cheeseburger experience missing — the milkshakes. While you can still order from a variety of soda or beer options to pair with your burger or sandwich, there’s just nothing quite like the classic burger and milkshake combo.
Upon receiving my food, I honed in on the mammoth pile of fries awaiting me. The fries, which came out piping hot, were heavily seasoned. The copious amount of salt drenching the fries didn’t deter me, but certainly didn’t help my thirst (which I was unable to adequately quench due to the lack of milkshakes).
I sampled two pieces from the menu — the Bread Zeppelin, a classic cheeseburger heaped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayo and ketchup, as well as the Mariah Curry, an aptly named grilled chicken sandwich on a pretzel bun covered in goat cheese, cucumber, spinach, caramelized onions and curry ketchup.
The Bread Zeppelin is a classic. For anyone who appreciates a traditional cheeseburger, this is for you. Oozing juice, this burger certainly made a mess. It was well worth it, though. Unfortunately, the slices of American cheese seemed to have been thrown on at the last minute and were not thoroughly melted.
The Mariah Curry is perfect for anyone who likes experimenting with new flavors. The combination of curry and goat cheese causes one to pause. While the mixture of flavors is not something you’d expect on a traditional chicken sandwich, the compilation of toppings does not disappoint. Sadly, the curry ketchup and goat cheese results in a rather slippery surface upon which the chicken sits. Because the bun inevitably falls prey to sliding off the sandwich, you end up finishing the chicken first, leaving almost a quarter of the bun — along with assorted toppings — left in a soggy pile.
With an array of potential sides and a wide variety of burgers and sandwiches, including vegan options, Tickle Pickle left me satisfied, yet yearning for a milkshake to chase down the salty fries and juicy burgers.
For any Xavier student looking to try something new or find a burger that far exceeds that of Burger 513, Tickle Pickle is well worth a trip.