The Main Moose — Restaurant in Columbia

Rooted in an era which predates the ubiquitous mega-chain fast-food joints, Main Moose is an old-fashioned seasonal roadside eatery featuring burgers, dogs, fried seafood and chicken, and the usual assortment of sides, desserts, and beverages. Set just off of a wooded section of Rt. 66 in Columbia, you can enjoy the highway dining ambiance either in the comfort of your car or from one of a couple dozen picnic tables. My family has dined here several times over the past few summers, and our experience has been pretty uniform each time.

The best way to describe the food here is simple, competent, and generous. Burgers are healthy in size if not in composition, nicely charred on the outside and juicy inside. Their signature dish, the Moose Burger, is a big bacon cheeseburger with everything on it including a couple of onion rings -- it's substantial and there's a lot going on there. Dogs are plump and obscenely long, while the fried shrimp are crunchy, abundant, and not too oily. They've got a big sandwich menu and the pulled pork and Po'boys are outstanding. Lobster rolls can get pricey but are piled high and superb quality. What are supposed to be single-serving plates of fries are delivered heaped up in what looks like enough potatoes for three people. It ain't gourmet fare, but it's honest and capably executed fast food; belly up to the trough and chow down. You order at the counter and they call your number when the meal is ready..

Obviously, the word is out to the local clientele that you won't go hungry at The Moose. On a balmy evening visit last summer, every other table was crowded by diners with builds like former middle linebackers... and that was just the kids. The tonnage was impressive, and the only sounds which punctuated the calls of finished orders were the contented grunts and gentle squeals of our fellow gastrophiles.

If you're looking to slap on the feedbag for classic American roadside chow, just saddle up and mosey on down to Main Moose. Even the biggest appetites will waddle away satisfied. The Moose won't win any Michelin stars any time soon, although a steady diet from their menu may leave you looking like the...

I Have passed by this place a few times and it was always full and looked inviting. So today I made it a mission to stop by for lunch. First impression: excited to be here. There weren't many visitors yet so I was expecting to be served quickly. That wasn't the case. A bit of a wait for my meal. What I ordered for my tasting meal: a cheeseburger, small fries, chili dog and a strawberry lemonade. The cheeseburger was good. It came with raw onions, pickles and cheese. I added avocado and it was actually tasty. Good size. The chili dog I did not like. The hot dog itself was too salty to swallow. The chili had beans. I never have chili with beans on my hot dog. What could it mean? Maybe it was not homemade. I threw mine away. The small fries were great, a perfect small portion, crunchy and tasty. The strawberry lemonade with real strawberries was tasty and refreshing, although a tad too sweet. I added water and tasted better. Price for this tasting meal - $26 and change. Appearance: nice and inviting from the street. It has plenty of tables, chairs and umbrellas. There is a big chair in the back for your Instagram photos. In the back, below, there is also a pond and you can walk around it if you wish. They call it the river walk. They also have a small playground for kids. In addition to burgers, fries, hot dogs and drinks, they also have flatbread pizzas, soups, salads, seafood platters, sandwiches, grinders and more. They also have ice cream and shakes. The server said their special Peanut Butter Cookie Shake was a hit and people were raving about it. I did not try the ice cream or shakes. Maybe next time. As you can see, quite an extensive menu. Would I return? Maybe. To try something else on their menu. They close for the season on Monday, 9.8.25. So it will have to wait till next year.

Miriam...

This was excellent from the moment we got there. The biggest issue was that this is one of those places that you want one of everything on the menu. The girl who was taking orders was polite, energetic, extremely helpful, and a natural conversationalist. That level of customer service skill cannot be taught, she is a natural. She made it feel like we were ordering from a friend we hadn't seen in years.5 stars just for her. They also have cornhole, giant jenga, and giant connect four for the family and kids to play with while you wait. It was a blast! Almost everything comes with fries, and when I say fries, I mean potatoes blessed by divine intervention to become the tastiest fries in existence. I ordered the whole bellies, my wife got the steak bomb, my 2 sons got the cheeseburger and the mac and cheese, my mother-in-law got the fish and chips, and my grandmother-in-law got the chicken basket. The food was... shut-the-front-door amazing. The type where, everyone ends up trying everything because of the inevitable "omg, you've got to try a bite of this!" phenomenon. Everything was perfect. There were 2 small just me-being-nitpicky things: 1) They need better cocktail sauce, theirs was more like cocktail paste light on the horseradish. 2) for their delicious milkshakes, they need either wider straws or those cup lids with a giant hole in the top, and they just hand you a spoon. I vote for the larger straws (like Dunkin coolata size) because the strawberry milkshake blew my mind but was difficult to drink. All in all, this place was soooooo crazy good though.

Tl;dr - amazing service, fun family environment, STUNNING food, and I will...