Teds Montana Grill: A Tasty Burger

Teds Montana Grill located at the corner of Luckie and Spring St. is gateway between two different eras. The two roads that run parallel to the front and rear of the restaurant, Spring St. and Centennial Olympic Park Blvd, are the center and major thoroughfares of much of the modern structures and buildings that compose modern Atlanta; the Westin Peachtree Plaza, Phillips Arena, and Centennial Olympic Park. While located on the left hand side of Ted’s is one of downtown Atlanta’s most classical and original structures, The Tabernacle, a hundred year old church now converted to a concert hall. Teds centered location between these two contrasts in time period establishes perfect congruence with the theme of the restaurant, upscale classic American grill. Teds Montana Grill is named after its owner and founder, a well known Entrepreneur and former Atlanta Braves and Hawks owner, Ted Turner. Like most of Mr. Turner’s investments, Teds has found its niche applying to a wide range people, this time in the form of fine quality American food.

I decided to go during most restaurants typical downtime between lunch and dinner, as a typical hungry college student looking for a much needed good and plentiful meal. I pulled into one of the free 2 hour parking spaces outside the building at 3:00 pm in my normal jeans and T-shirt, and only having consumed a bowl of cereal at 6:00 that morning, was starving.

Stepping into the restaurant, the design and motif give the impression of an old western saloon that has been combined with a fine restaurant. Directly facing you when you enter is a large mahogany counter surrounding the vast bar of various liquors and beer, off to the side of the bar are huge mahogany booths that despite being only a few feet from the bar seem to seclude you from the rest of the room with their vast wall of wood that serves as a back to each side of the booth. In the back of the restaurant there is a larger dining area for larger parties and couples to sit.

As I entered the near empty restaurant, the bartender, who was taking the place of the hostess, looked up in all but surprise to see me standing at the door. Quickly, his look of shock went away and he kindly and enthusiastically asked me to sit at the vacant bar. Drawn in by the theme of the restaurant and the enthusiasm of the bartender I sat down at the bar. Immediately, the bartender handed me a menu and asked if get me anything to drink, while he proceeded to lay out a napkin and silverware to establish my place at the bar. Looking at the drink list I quickly decided on a cherry coke, in which the bartender happily agreed and ran off to mix my drink. Having eaten at Teds before, I already knew that they were famous for their buffalo burgers. As I was contemplating bacon or not on my burger the bartender came back and set down my cherry coke, and asked for my order. Making my decision, I ordered the bacon cheddar bison burger with fries. Once again the bartender looked happy and ran off to place the order. Looking at my cherry coke I could immediately tell it was made right, there were three maraschino cherries floating on top and the coke had just the right tent of red signifying the right amount of cherry juice. Tasting the cocktail I realized my observations were correct, as ridiculous as it may sound, it was a perfectly concocted cherry coke. Putting the coke down, I realized that the bartender had placed a small bowl of pickled cucumbers, the pre meal specialty, I have only seen served at Ted’s. The idea of pickled cucumbers might just seem like a glorified name for a pickle, but at Ted’s the two are completely different. The pickled cucumbers are served in a state that is between a pickle and a cucumber; they maintain a texture that can only be described as a soft crisp, and have a taste that has both a refreshing sweetness and a blend of saltiness and vinegar that is neither too harsh nor light. These briny slices of perfection were an ideal accompaniment with the sweet refresh of my cherry coke.

Just as I finished the last slice of cucumber my burger arrived. At once, I could smell the intricate richness of bison, cheddar, and bacon blending in a perfect combination. I lifted up the bun to put on the fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles that had been strategically placed to the side, and caught a glimpse of this huge chunk of bison meat. My mouth began to water as I slowly and carefully picked up the burger and tactically fitted it into my mouth to take a bite. Instantly my taste buds were drowning in the juiciness and flavor of the bison, which was more flavorful and leaner than a typical cut of beef. I felt myself savoring each bite of the rich taste created by the combination of the high quality bison, cheddar and bacon. It was not until I was half way done with the burger did I even notice the large pile of fries on my plate.



Ted’s is not only known for its bison burgers but also the fries that go with it. Sitting at the end of the bar where you can get a full view of the kitchen, you can watch as every few minutes an employee is put in charge of pushing fresh potatoes through a large metal slicer that cuts the whole potatoes into individual slices. After that the potato slices are cleaned, dried and deep fried to a picture perfect slightly crispy golden brown. The fries were remarkable and I caught myself consuming half the pile before turning back to my burger. In the middle of my meal and about halfway through my cherry coke the bartender pulled out a classic glass bottle of coke, popped the top, and set the fresh bottle down for me. For a split second I felt that I had gone back in time and was sitting in an old timey American grill, but I was brought back to present with the T.V.’s commentary on Tim Tebow’s concussion and I went back to enjoying my burger. After finishing off the rest of my burger and most of the fries I was utterly and entirely full.

Despite my absolute fullness, I decided I had to attempt a dessert. Looking through the dessert menu, both the kahlua fudge brownie and the featured dessert looked very appealing, but eventually I set upon the iconic five dollar chocolate shake, that reminded me of the movie Pulp Fiction. When the bartender placed the shake in front of me, I knew that there would be no way I could finish the treat. The shake was served in the classic large metal container, accompanied by a large glass cup. After pouring the shake into the glass cup, the metal container was still a quarter of the way full. The chocolate shake was amazingly creamy and flavorful and was obviously made with high quality ice-cream; I soon wished that I had not eaten all of my burger so I would have had more room for this delicious dessert. The bartender must have been able to tell from my slow progress and the look of pain on my face, because he kindly volunteered to bring me a to-go cup. The bill came to about twenty one bucks, a pretty hefty price to pay for a burger, fries coke, and milkshake, but the meal is worth every penny if you’re absolutely starving and are in the mood for a tasty grade A burger.

Teds Montana Grill

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