Following the long run of Sonny’s as a popular watering hole and fine dining Mecca for Latin fusion fare, restauranteur and chef Jay Villani decided it was time to change and has given us Black Cow in its place where it still commands the prominent crossroad of Tommy’s Park, Exchange and Middle streets in the heart of the Old Port.

You’re meant to order at the front desk and go to your table or at the bar you can order there with the waiter/bartender

Basically, the Black Cow is a burger and fries-centric eatery with a sidecar of housemade sodas (to wit: egg creams)—all as a backdrop for the still popular bar serving well-made cocktails.   The after- five crowd summarily packs the place for drinks.  But now they can stay for a burger and fries and other stuff to cap off a relatively inexpensive evening out.  (Drinks are $10 to $12 for their craft cocktails.

A coveted spot to dine or have cocktails in the bar room

Villani long wanted to re-create a 1950s style luncheonette type restaurant.  He first thought of doing it where Tandem Bakery is now located.  That might have been a more appropriate venue for a soda shop more than the more architectural romp through the old Sonny’s space.

I’m not sure, however,  if Black Cow fits precisely into the mold of a luncheonette.  Advance hype billed it as a burger and soda venue. Yet if he’s going after the millennial crowd, most have never heard of heard of luncheonettes or many of the items on the soda menu like the Brooklyn and Manhattan egg creams, orange crush or vanilla soda much in the vein of not knowing anything about Hi-Fi sets playing 45 RPMs.

The bar and back room dining room

Luncheonettes and coffee shops—akin to diners in New England–are still a staple of New York City casual dining.  Growing up in New York we went as a family all the time.  On my own I’d stop in for a grilled cheese sandwich at lunch, but at dinner time it was slightly more serious food with platters like Cheese Burger Deluxe (a thick patty seared on the flattop and served on a bready bun with sliced tomato, lettuce, fries and a little tub of Cole slaw).  More complex dishes included ham steak with pineapple, baked or mashed potatoes and  insipid  vegetables like canned beans or carrots.  Salisbury steak was another main course thickly topped with a brown sauce fortified with mushrooms and sautéed onions.  I loved the ham steak platter almost as much as the plate of fried fish very similar to Becky’s fisherman’s platter. But the burger deluxe remained the mainstay.

Looks great, tastes fine.  Underneath it all is the the sliver of beef burger

So far, I’ve been to the Black Cow for both lunch and dinner. I wasn’t that impressed by the burger though others who’ve been say they loved them.  I found it whiplashed by a ton of toppings covering a quarter-inch thin burger patty—more like a slider than an 8 ounce-fat-wedge of carefully grilled beef.  It looked and tasted like an upscale, finely made Big (small) Mac.  The fries were excellent—crispy, salty and creamy within—and an order of fried mixed vegetables was less distinctive; the actual vegetables are described as seasonal and included (I’m guessing) cauliflower and broccoli. I couldn’t tell one from the other.

On my second visit I knew what to expect and liked the burger much better, realizing that I wasn’t going to get a classic hamburger thick and juicy inside. One critic claimed that it was a cheap place to have a meal.  After all, burgers are $5 and $6 with cheese; fries at $6 and other options such as a slush burger and fried chicken sandwich are $8.  Our tab for two with drinks and burgers, one order of fries and another of the mixed vegetables was over $60.

At lunch I happily relived my childhood memories of enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich and a side of tomato soup.  These were both fabulous.  The grilled cheese, in fact, was the best I’ve had in Portland. Thick slices of bread (homemade) held gobs of melted cheddar.  But it was the crispiness of the bread that made it a stand out.  I’m not sure how they achieved the great outer crust, but probably it was  done by frying in lots of butter or slathering the bread with mayonnaise.  The soup, a thick puree of canned tomatoes made into a hearty serving of soup, had great tomato flavor and seasoned judiciously with herb and spices.

Tomato soup, egg cream and grilled cheese

With my sandwich and soup I had the Brooklyn egg cream instead of the Manhattan egg cream, which is made with vanilla instead of chocolate syrup. This was not the egg cream of my childhood.   As a kid I would stop in to the neighborhood candy shop (a soda-fountain shop with candy like chewing gum, candy bars and such where soda fountain treats were plentiful).  I loved egg creams (milk, seltzer, and Hershey’s chocolate syrup) almost as much as a sundae with Bryer’s, Dolly Madison or Schrafft’s ice cream, hot fudge, wet walnuts, and whipped cream with a maraschino cherry on top.

Burger platter with fries and fried vegetables

Black Cow’s version is meant to be more artisanal fortified with a homemade chocolate syrup, which I found too sweet.  That’s the problem with recreating classics of the past with too much gastronomy in the present, much like making a tuna fish salad sandwich with line-caught fresh tuna instead of canned.

All said and done, the Black Cow and its menu are brilliantly located in the heartbeat of the Old Port vibe where you can have burgers, fries, soda, sandwiches and casual salads all washed down by a great menu of craft cocktails and bar drinks of all stripe.

Black Cow, 83 Exchange St., Portland, ME 207-772-7774 www.blackcowqburgers.com

Rating: Ersatz burgers, more like sliders than hefty slabs of beef charred on the flattop or grill.  But tasty and cheap.

Service: Basically self-serve

Parking: On the street

$$$: Cheap but the drinks tab can add up fast.