Bartley’s Burger Cottage, A Glorious Throwback, Lives On in Cambridge

Bartley’s Burger Cottage
1346 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Monday - Saturday 11 AM - 9 PM, closed Sundays

You’re hungry. It’s past suppertime. You’ve just been blown away listening to a world-class storyteller rivet you with “Forged In The Stars,” his love letter to NASA celebrating its 50th anniversary. You hustle past the sandwich board sign on the sidewalk and your stomach overrides the automatic pilot zeroing in on your car. 

Next thing you know, you’re sitting at one of the communal tables in Bartley’s Burger Cottage in Harvard Square, blurting out “I want a bowl of that vegetarian chili you advertise on the sign outside.”  Yes, I know Bartley’s is famous, with a capital F, for their burgers. But when stomach speaks, owner listens.

The chili arrives in minutes. Wow. Good portion, topped with chunks of cheddar cheese. Hmmm, intense flavor, enhanced by little side of sour cream I ladled on top. Halfway through, stomach says “OK, you can pay attention to the surroundings now.”

This is as thorough-going a college joint as you’ll find anywhere. Formica tables, plastic chairs, terra cotta tile floor, the place seems to embrace you like a long lost roommate when you walk in.

Some of the memorabilia has been marinating on the walls since the class of 1964 began eating there when Joe Bartley opened the place in 1960. A prominent caricature of Ted You-Know-Who, vintage posters, Harvard/Yale pennants, and photos of memorable Cambridge moments hang in glorious clutter on the walls.

You watch waitresses step up to the chest high order counter and shout stuff like, “One Ted, medium rare, one Joe, well, and a side of rings!” then leave their slip on the counter. The young chefs get into gear.

One of those old fashioned silver bells that “clinnngs” when you push the plunger on top, pierces the chatter. Waitresses fetch and deliver orders. The burgers take serious muscle power to haul to the tables. Seven ounces of choice beef, ground daily, with fries or rings, they fill the plates, their edges spilling out of soft bulkie rolls.

And, for all those red meat eaters who like to see their fare still wiggling, you can order ‘rare’ here. Your plate will look like a piece of the set on a vampire movie when you’re done.

Salads, appetizers, home made dinners, gourmet burgers, celebrity wraps (“Yes, they’ve all been here!” says the menu), three deckers, frappes, dessert, and a kids’ menu fill out the menu. None of them rings in over $10.00. Cash only (“Real food, real cash”).

Someday, the only place you might be able to find such a fabulous throwback in time as Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage will be in a museum installation back at the Harvard Art Museum.

For now though, a trip back to those thrilling days of yesteryear is right down the street at 1246 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA.

By the way, if my enthusiasm is taken for homeboy booster-ism, The Wall Street Journal voted Bartley’s  “One of the best burgers in the U.S.A.”

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

 

 

Comments

[Bambi]

I just sent out a rave in my forward to your article on Jay and now this!!!! I'm glad you mentioned vegetarians!!!

[Joanne Y.]

I have been a fan of Bartley's for years!! Love the place. BTW, I hope you took a walk through Harvard Yard......theyd say just walking through the Yard increases your IQ by 20 points!!!!!

[Diana]

Even vegetarians can eat there – I did!

[Gerard M. McMahon]

PT,
I will have to check this place out. Looks good...