With the passing away of Gastronomique, I mourned the loss of one of New Haven’s great burgers.  While the hole-in-the-wall “French” bistro on High Street probably violated just about every health code ever enacted, it did turn out some great food, including delicious, melt-in-your-mouth burgers served on–well, whatever carb they had lying around (more often than not, mine would come on a halved bagel topped with whatever cheese had been sweating on the counter).  AND they delivered.  When I heard that a Mexican place was taking residence in Gastro’s high street location, I was despondent for days.  Louis’ Lunch, though it offers excellent burgers fairly cheaply, has some erratic hours, and is too far from campus for some to walk to unless dinner is combined with a trip to Criterion Cinemas (or Hula Hanks).

So thank god that Heirloom, the restaurant at The Study Hotel on Chapel Street, is now offering its cheeseburger entrée for just $5 on Mondays.  Heirloom is, of course, a completely different animal from Gastro.  You can sit in the almost-too-chic dining room, ogle passersby on Chapel and grad students smoking on the art building steps, and the ketchup comes to you in a cute ceramic dish.  The burgers, cooked to your liking and topped with a choice of American, Cheddar, or Gruyere, are thick and tasty.  The fries, though not quite as greasily appealing as Gastro’s, offer satisfactory crispness.  And on the other six nights a week, the combination retails for $12 and is one of Heirloom’s cheapest entrées.

I know where I’ll be eating lunch tomorrow.  Probably dinner too.  Do you?