Ironically Good

While David and Diane continue to explore the Southeastern culinary treasures, I manage to stop in on an oldy but a goody here in Texas. One of my goals this winter is to visit some great places that I haven’t been to for a while…and make sure they’re still great. This last weekend I managed to get by a favorite burger place in Waco, Tx. “The Health Camp” has been in business since 1949. “Burgers, Health?” you might ask. Well, there’s my irony. The Health Camp is a dive with greasy diner style burgers. I guess that back in 1949 that was considered healthy. Healthy or not, delicious they are. The burgers are classic diner style…greasy (not too much so) with a good flavor. Made fresh to order. “Mayo or Mustard…all the way?” is what they ask you when you place your order. The shakes and malts are a must have…made fresh from scratch. A cheeseburger will run you about $2.50 and a shake about $1.50. Back in the 80s they were written up in the Washington Post and The Dallas Morning News as one of the great burger places in America. Some friends have told me they think it is not as good as it used to be. I’m not sure whether we are just older or that is actually the case. I can tell you that the burger I had on Sunday was delic-ariffic. It’s nothing fancy, but I think it is excellent. When you stop in, you will see the old newspaper writeups on the wall, along with some old pictures of Waco. There a few aerials of the “circle” where the restaurant is located that look like they were taken from a crop duster with a brownie. The booths are old but clean. And there is a jukebox. The current model is a modern CD based one. It’s less nostalgic, but has a better selection. If there are a bunch of locals in the restaurant I usually select some Metallica on the jukebox right before I walk out the door. Where is this place? Exit Valley Mills off I-35 in Waco. It’s on “The Circle”. I imagine that this traffic circle was an important and busy place back in “the day”. It’s not much these days, but seems to be making a comeback with more restaurants building up nearby. Have you ever been in a traffic circle? Imagine 4+ roads coming together. Instead of a stop sign or light, all of the roads dead end into this circle. You then drive around the circle until you get to the road you want to be on. It’s a very silly concept that you don’t see built anymore. This one is true genius; it’s a 2 lane traffic circle! BTW, don’t get in the inner lane if you plan on getting out of the circle. As you enter the circle, you will see a nice (and recently refurbished) place called the Elite Diner and next to it a completely un-refurbished Health Camp. It’s a square, squatty, ramshackle little building that looks like it has had little maintenance since it was built in 1949. Old, ramshackle and the perfect ambiance for an old style burger. As we drove off, all we could say was “Mmmmmmmmmmmm.” I give it an 8.5 on the old Heave O' Meter.