DANVILLE, Va. – Emily Tomlinson is an avid reader, much like her parents.
“We love books and reading, and Mom and I always had a dream of opening a bookstore. That wasn’t in the cards, but buying a restaurant was.”
Four score and seven years ago, Me’s Burgers and Brews wrote its opening stanza in Danville.
Typewriters and classic books give a bookstore vibe to this burger joint, but the prologue begins with things like house-made pita chips, pimento cheese and a locally-sourced spiced tomato jam.
The cobb salad’s many characters add to its colorful plot.
Then comes the protagonist which, of course, is the burgers.
“All of our burgers are named after some of our favorite authors. When you walk in the front door, there’s a wall of book covers. Those are the burgers we’ve featured – or the authors we’ve featured – over the last seven years.”
One of the best selling authors is the Fannie Flagg, which is “a beef patty with pickled jalapeños, a fried green tomato, house-made pimento cheese and bacon.”
Chef Naomi Musso wrote up the Emyl Jenkins, topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese and a trio of condiments.
A creative mind in her own right (and a trained chef), she has even made dessert burgers. One such burger had cupcakes for buns and a brownie as the patty. How cool!
Tomlinson offers high praise for Musso, saying, “There are some of those details that she pays attention to that really ups our game as a restaurant.”
Each season brings a new chapter - each page filled with new creations. Let’s just say, for example, you’re not a fan of what’s in that current chapter.
“They can author their own. They can take a protein and put anything on it that they want, and it becomes their burger.”
Washed down with local and regional beers, it’s no wonder this spot has maintained popularity in Danville since 2015.
This July, Me’s put four never-before-seen burgers on its menu.