[Dion]

Hitchin Post a foothills favourite

Of course, the HP stands for Hitching Post. It’s not, as I was corrected, because they put steak sauce on the burger. It doesn’t need any.

It’s a double cheeseburger with sliced ham, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mustard and relish. The veggies are fresh, with crisp, crunchy lettuce and thick slices of tomatoes and onions.

The burger is cooked on a flat-top so it gets that tasty, crispy char on the outside to seal in the juicy goodness.

The patties aren’t as thick as what you may find at other places, but what they lack in girth they make up with an abundance of flavour.

Owner Carmen Lamoureux buys fresh ground beef each day and makes the hamburger patties each morning.

“We’ll never have a frozen patty, it’s all fresh,” she said.

As well, other than a little salt and pepper, she uses no seasoning or sauces in the hamburgers except for some breadcrumbs and egg to hold the patty together, it’s all beef.

The Hitchin’ Post has been a foothills landmark for more than four decades, but even the owner isn’t precisely sure when the burger shack first opened.

The drive-in has been in the family since the beginning. Her parents first opened the restaurant and she took over a few years ago. For all the years the drive-in has been open, the menu has remained the same – from the classic burgers and renowned onion rings to the fantastic milkshakes.

“We’ve never changed anything for 40 years,” she said. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

It all makes me glad summer has arrived, a Hitchin’ Post burger and fresh strawberry shake are the perfect match for a good lunch at the drive-in.

http://www.westernwheel.com/article/...307139945/0/js