Dining Guide

Cover 3

When Cover 3’s north location opened several years ago, its menu far exceeded what was required even for an upscale sports bar. Since then it has become a solid neighborhood destination, with the likes of ahi tuna with udon noodles and snap pea salad, calamari with fried artichokes, jerk shrimp salad, and especially, an extensive and imaginative burger lineup. Our present favorite, the Big Tex, is the best of two worlds: burgers and Mexican food. The colossus starts with a juicy, cooked-to-order eight-ounce Angus patty tricked out with applewood-smoked bacon, then piles on guacamole, pico de gallo, a big tostada chip with melted cheese, and black beans (why the kitchen doesn’t mash the beans is an enduring mystery, because a number of them immediately fall onto your plate, but the flavor combination is killer). If the heat of the day is not too intense, have your burger at a picnic table on the large covered deck along with couples, families, and panting pooches. Or retreat inside for cool comfort and flat-screen TVs.