The Weakenders is a Nashville band that makes rock n’ roll music and eats a lot of burgers. So we’re featuring them here for two reasons: one, to hear their top five burger joints in town (because why not) and two, so you can listen to their music (their diverse list of influences includes Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, Thin Lizzy, BRMC and Oasis). The boys are big on singles: in fact, they’ve been focusing on releasing their new record, Super Major, via A/B format weekend to weekend (or, weakend to weakend?). They also brought in local mix engineer Jason Miller (The Devious Angels, Shane Tutmarc) and mastering engineer Greg Rierson (Paul Westerberg, The Cure) to work on the LP.
Now, The Weakenders‘ top five burgers in Nashville, counting down…
#5 – The Gabby Burger from Gabby’s – Joshua, who drums, chose this one. Considers it the perfect American burger. Gabby’s was about a block from the warehouse we rented to record our new record, so it was a chosen destination.
#4 – The Local from Fido – It read crazy to me on the menu, the combination of different parts. But, once the urging from my friends got to be too much to handle, I tried it. It’s incredible. There are components to it that I don’t like in any other application, besides this burger. Something seems wrong with it to me on paper, but it’s very right.
#3 – The House Burger from Teds Montana Grill – Our bassist, Joel, works at Vanderbilt. He chose this burger, and even though it’s from a chain, it is actually really, really good. I don’t know if that place has a bad rap, but anytime we’re on that side of town, I go. It seems weird dining somewhere so…silly. But, that burger is serious. And having the option to do the Bison or the Beef is nice.
#2 – The Stroganoff Burger from The Pharmacy – Also my choice. I put off ordering this because growing up, Stroganoff was a Hamburger Helper flavor. But, I finally tried it, and it’s absurd. I’m assuming it hangs in the 2,000 calorie range, but every one is worth it. I order it after a 20 plus mile bike ride so I don’t feel like a giant slob. It’s unreal.
#1 – The Pharmacy Burger from The Pharmacy – Everyone in the band agreed on this. Some order it with Jalapenos, some order it with the wasabi mayo, and some order it without Onions. But regardless, this thing is just classic. It’s all you could ever really need in a burger and it had to be the #1 because everyone agreed on it, and no one in this band agrees on anything.
Lockeland Springsteen 