Personally, I like everything, and can rave about a cockroach sandwich.
By Jay P. Wagner / November 12, 2006
TThe hamburger arrives at the table in Gunder perfectly cooked, adorned with sautéed mushrooms and onions, and resting on a fresh bun.
That’s a bit of a surprise, because when you first hear about the Gunder Burger (AKA “The Wonder in Gunder), a 1-1/4 pound behemoth of beef, you might think of it as more of a novelty than good eats. It’s both.
“It’s the double whammy of taste and size,” says Kevin Walsh, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Elsie.
The burger, 80 percent lean ground beef, measures eight inches in diameter, is more than an inch thick and takes 20 minutes to properly grill. “The secret is the grill,” Walsh says.
The Gunder burger is a challenge for nearly everyone. Tbe jumbo burger measures 8 inches in diameter and is more than an inch thick. The burger was created nearly 15 years ago by a now-retired cook at the Irish Shanti, although no one remembers exactly why. It’s been a beacon to hungry pilgrims ever since.
Gunder, population 28, is located in Clayton County, at the crossroads of county roads B60 and B64. Elgin is seven miles to the west. Elkader is 12 miles to the south. St. Olaf – home to its own culinary giant, the big-as-a-pizza pork tenderloin at St. Olaf Tap – is eight miles south. Decorah, where a good number of the burger’s fans – students at Luther College – come from, is 30 miles to the north.
Gunder, to be brutally frank, is in the middle of nowhere and a little hard to find. Ask my five-year-old boy, who wondered why we passed through Elkader twice en route to the Irish Shanti. But it’s still the epicenter of the burger world for many eastern Iowans. And the drive offers two rewards: a full stomach and some of the most beautiful scenery in the state.
Once you get to Gunder, particularly on a Friday or Saturday night when the restaurant goes through a quarter-ton of ground beef, you won’t have to ask directions. The Irish Shanti is the place with all the cars lined up front. From the outside it looks like a roadhouse; on the inside it’s clean with a pleasant dining room. One wall of the place is decorated with winners of various Gunder Burger eating contests, including Colter Kirby, who polished off three and one-half burgers on Sept. 24, 2005. There was no sign of young Mr. Kirby the night of our visit.
The Gunder Burger is the star of the menu and goes for $7. The Irish Shanti also offers a variety of other sandwiches as well as steaks, pork loin, shrimp, home-fried chicken on Thursdays, and a dish known as “Poor Man’s Lobster,” a whitefish served with lots of butter.
The food and the beauty of the trip makes the Shanti a popular destination in the summer for Iowans who love a Sunday drive and is frequented by motorcyclists and car enthusiasts who congregate in the parking lot to admire one another’s machines.
“Someone at nearly every table orders a Gunder Burger,” Walsh, a Boston native, says. “About 30 percent of them finish it.” If they don’t, to-go boxes are available for lunch the next day.
For the record, my plate was clean when I walked out the door.
The Irish Shanti is located in Gunder, at the intersection of County Roads B60 and B65. The restaurant is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, except for major holidays. On the web at
www.thegunderburger.com.
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