Laden with Pinterest-inspired decorations and rustic furniture, Mystic’s Engine Room is the new sweet spot for all-American comfort food. Serving up America’s most cherished dish, the burger, the Engine Room provides a natural and hip yet historic atmosphere in their refurbished marine engine building. Not your average burger joint, this restaurant has a few personal touches that place it above the rest.
A carefully selected 16 beer draft selection in addition to a complete bourbon bar that would make “a Kentucky man proud”, the Engine Room goes out of its way to accompany its food with some classic southern drinks. Highlights of the drink menu include a tap dedicated to Stonington’s very own Beer’d, a genuinely local nano brewery.
Committed to working with the locals and sharing a philosophy that every customer should know where their food comes from, the chefs and owners go out of their way to find the right farmers, purveyors and fishermen in order to serve up the most quality foods. With the burger beef traveling a short distance from North Stonington and the cheese coming from Mystic itself, the burgers are carefully built to achieve tasty perfection.
After my own dinner there Friday evening it’s safe to say it is all-around exceptional. Seated at a cozy, farm-like table topped with crafty mason jars filled with soil and greens, burlap drink menus and a one sheet menu, the simplicity of the restaurant is what initially makes it most comforting. There’s no flipping through pages and pages of a menu only to order some chicken, and every item sparks an “Oh, I could totally go for that right now” thought.
After selecting a beer from my hometown brewery in keeping with the restaurant’s local vibe, I quickly decided that a mundane grilled cheese was just what I was craving, while my friends opted for one of the many selections of burgers: one smoked beef and one French onion. Being anything but similar to every other burger joint, the waitress delightfully followed up our orders with: “Will that be cooked bloody, rosy or crispy?” And with that, we were hooked.
The grilled cheese was anything but mundane and blew any of my own creative Harris panini-grilled-cheese concoctions out of the water. Thick slices of hearth bread, local Mystic mellville cheese melted to that just-right consistency—it was mouthwatering. Not much talking occurred as we scarfed down our meals and a side of baked mac-n-cheese which tastes just like your mom’s back at home. The reviews on the burgers were equally as positive as their unique combination of ingredients doesn’t really permit otherwise.
When the arrived at the table we were all happy with the price of the meal. Fair for the quality of the food, it’s a place any student can go for a quick break from Harris and not have to wait for a weekend when their parents are visiting. Even if a sit-down meal isn’t in the plans (if it is, snag a seat by the open kitchen and watch the cooking in the works), the bar is down to earth, friendly and bustling on a Friday evening.
Taking the American classic and adding a little hometown twist, you’ll leave the Engine Room with a full stomach, a not so empty wallet and an urge to head back for more the following week. •
