Bud's is to be found in tiny little Sedalia just off highway 85, situated between two sets of train tracks. As I pulled up, I noticed one inebriated local stumbling out of the place on a Tuesday at 4:30 pm, and a very intimidating biker giving me the eye. As I stepped out of the car, I said to biker, "I hear they have good burgers here". He replied, "The burgers are great, but the french fries are even better". Knowing I was likely to get physically thrown out if I asked for fries, I just chaulked this up to attitude, and there's no shortage of it at Bud's. I walked in and drew the stare of everyone in the place, so I ducked my head and acted like I knew what I was doing, and took a seat at the bar. The bartenders / waitstaff are pretty surly, protective of the locals and wary of strangers. I sat at the bar and noticed the whole menu was on one little stand-up - one side listed burger, cheeseburger, double burger, double cheeseburger, which also reinforced the notion "there were no damn french fries - you get chips, pickles, and onion at these prices" ($5.50 for a double cheeseburger, $3.50 for the single); the other side listed the beers in three price categories: $3.00, $3.30, $3.60. You can't beat the prices. So I ordered a double cheeseburger and beer. By this point the locals had stopped glaring at me, so I was able to look around a bit at the decor. The whole place is half the size of my family room, the walls are adorned with paintings of cowboys, hunting trophies, Broncos memorabilia, and bizarre figurines of yesteryear. The people watching is precarious but interesting sport here, be careful not to listen too closely, but the characters in this place were eye opening about what life is like in a small town that's remained insulated from all the urban growth around it.
As my burger arrived, I hunkered down to sample this slice of Americana. The first bite I just went plain, then added some pickles and mustard (no ketchup dammit - guess we all got our thing). The patties were hand patted chuck, and the cheese was probably velveeta - my guess as it arrived liquefied, then gradually took on a characteristically shimmering processed cheesefood look to it. This is a no frills cheeseburger, very filling, rich, cooked well. A very good burger, but in this writer's opinion, great if your down by Sedalia, but not worth a long trip unless you're in need of some attitude.
kindageeky´s # of visits: one
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