Old Fogies — Restaurant in Burlington

You know you are in a rough part of town when you walk into a convenience store and there is a bulletproof glass-encased Western Union check cashing booth, a large array of malt liquor selections but only one kind of White Claw, and an employee and customer are having an open conversation about crystal meth and how it alters your appearance.

But tucked away inside this dilapidated part of east Burlington is a true diamond in the rough: Old Fogies. OF is very cute, is run by a very cheerful and helpful staff, and serves up a fine lunch.

I ordered a Reuben with potato salad and a sweet tea.

The Reuben was beautiful, with a flat and crispy exterior and a warm and tasty interior. Either they have a sandwich maker appliance or the sandwich maker person is a sandwich grilling master. It was delicious. Note: they put dijon mustard on it instead of the traditional thousand island.

The potato salad was very good. A bit mild (nothing Texas Pete couldn’t fix), though, but it had a delightful texture. The potatoes (red skin) were perfect—not too hard and not too soft—and very tasty.

The sweet tea was excellent—a perfect amount of both tea and sugar. Just a fine sweet tea.

I asked for a sample of the chicken salad, and it was EXCELLENT. A chicken salad melt from OF would surely be award winning. Maybe next time...

OF is a really neat place. And from my experience, it lives up to its name. I am 50 and was easily the youngest customer in the place. I think that the pace, atmosphere, items on their somewhat limited menu appeal to members of the Silent Generation, the Baby Boomers, and perhaps some of Generation X. I do NOT see this place having a huge appeal to hipsters or millennials, or, thankfully, to hipster millennials, the most obnoxiously pretentious humans ever described in the annals of anthropology.

Worth noting: I actually found this place by typing “hot dogs” in the Yelp search. They don’t have hot dogs. They have mostly sandwiches. And no fries. Fortunately I knew this ahead of time because I looked at the menu.

This is one of those places that charmed me so much that I can’t stop thinking about it. Definitely worth a visit...if...

Old Fogies is a "hidden gem" in Burlington! Open Monday- Friday (11am-2pm), and cash only. Everything prepared fresh, homemade desserts, daily specials. Today I had a hot Italian sub with a side salad. Sub was terrific and the salad one of the best served! My husband had the hot spicy turkey (and the mustard was truly spicy) with potato salad. Both really good. Service exceptional and fast. I have been here several times and always good food. There is street parking in front and a parking lot out back (which is my first choice) with stairs to back entrance. Well worth...

Our seniors from Baptist Temple met at Old Fogies today at 11:00am. We had the best lunch and good time. We went to the back and put several tables together. A preview trip discovered the owner makes carrot cake. She made one for us and was ready when we arrived. The service was excellent and the food was too!! Best chicken salad and today’s homemade chicken noodle soup was wonderful. The Italian sub was huge and delicious . They close by 2:00pm so if you go allow enough time . We will be back for sure! Thank you for a...