Their burgers are named for music legends and are fit for kings

The fact that the Rookery has menu items other than burgers is like the Louvre having more to offer than just the “Mona Lisa.” Sure, the other stuff is great, but the burgers are what everyone keeps coming for.

That’s because the Rookery knows how to build a burger. First, you choose a quality protein: blank angus beef, the Moonhanger Prime beef, a great hand-formed turkey burger, chicken or veggie. If you want to go classic, get the double-stack Rookery Burger with not just any onion, pickles, and ketchup — sauteed onions, bread and butter pickles, and Coca-Cola ketchup, all for just $10 with a pickle and a side. The Classic City is 50 cents less without all the fancy toppings and your choice of American, Swiss, cheddar, pepper jack, provolone or bleu cheese crumbles.

But we’re still not to the genius of the Rookery’s burgers. Those are the ones named for famous Georgia boys, from Macon’s best musicians to the country’s only president from the Deep South. My favorite is named for Capricorn brothers Phil and Alan. The Walden Greenback is topped with applewood smoked bacon, fresh chevre and a fried green tomato, and is the most expensive burger at $12. The Big “O” Burger, named for Otis Redding, has bacon, cheddar, BBQ sauce and a fried onion ring, and the Allman Burger is smothered with sauteed mushrooms. If you’re really hungry, get the Johnny Jenkins with their famous pimento cheese on it.

The James Brown Burger is blackened with bleu cheese, Jimmy Carter’s has bacon and peanut butter and the Jerry Reed is super spicy with pepper jack cheese, jalapenos and sriracha mayonnaise. If Georgia’s not your thing but the South is, try the Drive-By Truckers Dirty South Burger with beef chili and cheese sauce or the Dr. John with a fried egg on top.

And what goes best with a burger? A milkshake, and the Rookery’s got ‘em. We tried the Orange dreamsicle shake with fresh orange juice and the Georgia Peach with cake batter at the bottom for a taste of cobbler. There’s also a Moon Pie shake, a pineapple upside-down shake and a cherry street shake. And of course, there’s a Jimmy Carter shake with peanut butter, bacon and banana ice cream. Each masterpiece only costs $5.

My only complaint about the Rookery is that it fills up fast and it doesn’t take reservations. Get there early for good parking and and you can dig right in to these works of art.

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Their burgers are named for music legends and are fit for kings."