Sycamore Drive-In

282 Greenwood Ave., Bethel, CT - (203) 748-2716

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Posted By Michael Stern on 1/21/2011 4:20:00 AM

Hamburgers at the Sycamore Drive-In are made in an unusual way that we only recently learned (by reading the menu) is known as “French style.” What that means in Bethel, Connecticut, is that the grill man slaps a 2.5 ounce sphere of beef onto the grill then uses his spatula to flatten it out so far that the edges of the resulting circle are nearly paper thin. As the burger cooks, the middle gets nice and juicy while the circumference turns into a crusty web of beef. You can get it plain, doubled, or topped with all sorts of ingredients, but the connoisseur’s choice is the Dagwood burger. The menu describes it thusly: 5 ozs. ground steak meat topped with a slice of melted American cheese, served with mustard, ketchup, pickle, onion, tomato slices, crispy lettuce and just a touch of mayonnaise to enhance the flavor and make this a special treat. (You're just gonna love it!)"

Beyond hamburgers, the Sycamore also offers frankfurters which are OK, and franks 'n' beans, which are amazing: the hot dogs virtually julienned and planted in a pot of sweet beans. The best known house specialty is root beer, made on premises from a top-secret recipe and served in frosty glass mugs. The root beer varies from sweet to dry, depending on where in the barrel yours comes from, but whatever its nature on any day, it always makes the perfect basis of a root beer float.

The Sycamore is a genuine drive in with car-hop service (just blink your lights) and window trays for in-car dining. Indoors, there are booths and a long counter. It’s a true blast from the past!

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

root beer	French Fries
Dagwood burger	Chili dog
Double Bacon Cheeseburger	Vanilla malt
Root Beer Float	Onion rings
Onion burger

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"Many napkins are required."
Michael Stern

"Summer Saturday evenings is the time to drive your cherry coupe or pickup truck to the Sycamore ... although heaven forbid you drip burger juice on the upholstery!"
Michael Stern

"Sycamore root beer always arrives in a frosted mug. A scoop of ice cream on top, in addition to adding untold richness to the beverage, keeps frost on the glass throughout lunch. The mug comes in a trough -- necessary to catch root beer that spills when you try to spoon up ice cream."
Michael Stern

"When you order Franks & Beans at the Sycamore, you get a bowl full of beans in which perches a pair of julienned fried wieners."
Michael Stern

"A delicious Sycamore-style spread: onion burger with cheese, onion rings, and a vanilla malt at the rear."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Homemade root beer in a frosted mug (note the ice slush from the mug's melting walls)."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Sycamore's very beany chili dog with mustard."
Chris Ayers & Amy Briesch

"Roll your window halfway down so the car hop can hang a tray on it."
Michael Stern

"The Dagwood Burger is Sycamore's house specialty."
Michael Stern