7 Meals in 7 Nights: Monday - The Taurus, Coconut Grove

"Mon-day, back from the dead. Im letting it go, back for another one.", starts the song "Days of the Week" by Stone Temple Pilots and also pretty much sums up how I was feeling on Monday. After 7 days in Vegas, 18 hours in Miami, and 4 days in Boston/Rockport, I was looking forward to a night in my own bed. Unfortunately, my flight that was supposed to depart at 7pm didnt depart until a little after 10pm which had me arriving at my condo at around 2am. Since Id slept a bit on the plane, I ended up being semi-wired and couldnt fall asleep until about 4am. Three hours later and it was time for work...yay! It was during those 2 hours of tossing and turning that I reviewed my upcoming week and decided I was going to dine out every night - 7 meals in 7 nights.

After a long day of playing catch up at work, dealing with fires while putting out new ones that were popping up everywhere, I was beat. There was only one thing I was thinking about that would put me in a nice, sleepy mood: a good burger. I had heard thru the Grapevine that the Taurus had reopened and supposedly used to be known for having a killer burger. Being that the new owners were completely different from the old, I was a bit skeptic but I decided to stroll on over to give this meat patty a shot. A nearby lady friend of mine was feelin my burger buzz and met up with me at the Taurus.

The Taurus is a tiny little hole-in-the-wall on Main Highway in Coconut Grove. They have outdoor patio seating and an indoor bar with bar seating, a few hightops, and then an area with couches and chairs. Some of the chairs are made from horse saddles which was pretty cool but I cant imagine it being comfy. I ordered a Guinness to start and asked if they had a menu. The bartender pointed to a blackboard on the wall at the end of the bar and said, "Here's what I've got today." There were 3 choices: a burger, 6 wings, or 12 wings. That makes things easy I guess. The bartender confirmed my assumption that the reason for the limited menu was so people could smoke in the bar. I guess this is great if youre a smoker. I personally dont like inhaling secondhand smoke while I eat and a suit-clad press type of guy was sucking em down like his life depended on it. Luckily he left right as our food arrived.

We both opted for the burger. I went with medium-rare with swiss cheese, she went well done with american. The burgers come piled with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and a pickle. There was also some sort of mayo-based sauce smeared on the bottom bun. I added a little ketchup and mustard and decided Id do a few bites without Tabasco to get the regular burger flavor before getting the awesome burger flavor (Tabasco + burger = awesome) and went to town. The burger was juicy, seasoned, and cooked a perfect medium rare. It was also a rather large burger. I muscled my way thru it but my friend raised the white flag halfway thru and took the other half home. Burger aside, the huge surprise for me was how kickass the fries were. Crispy fries are my favorite and these ones were mega-crispy. They also had some sort of paprika seasoning on them that really enhanced the flavor and complimented the awesomeness of the burger.

After mowing down my plate of fries, I noticed my friend had a few on her plate that looked poisonous so I made sure to eat those just in case. Nice guy I am, right? Now me belly was full. I enjoyed a few Makers Mark on the rocks while she sipped a couple of the bartender's lemon drop martinis. When we got the bill, it came to about $80 with tax and tip included. I thought this was kinda high but most alcohol in the Grove is kinda high in price anyways. The burger was about $11 or $12 which seemed fair for its size and the amount of toppings and fries. The owner stopped by (he owns Calamari Restaurant next door) and asked if we had made it for happy hour. I said we just missed it and he suggested that maybe they would increase it to 8pm from 7pm. Nice guy. The bartenders were also really cool and attentive and seemed to match the casual vibe of the place. All in all, I can definitely see myself having a few more burgers at the Taurus, most likely at an outdoor table if its not too hot so I can avoid the chain smokers. Hell, forget the burger, Im going back for the fries. :)

Taurus (Another Round!)
3540 Main Highway
Coconut Grove, FL 33133
305-441-0219