I had a discussion about cheeseburgers with a friend of mine the other day. As I have already mentioned here on this blog, I think that the Rutherford Grill serves the best cheeseburger here in the Napa Valley, although plenty of great competition does exist (mostly in St. Helena). Even so, my friend — who cooks over at Cyrus in Healdsburg — wouldn’t even entertain the possibility of my argument, since the Rutherford Grill doesn’t offer French fries as a side item.

My buddy built a compelling case that afternoon, and I began to wonder: is the French fry so deeply intertwined with the hamburger that this criticism could somehow warrant merit? Does the ideal hamburger, by definition, have to share the plate with fries? Ultimately, I decided that context is important, so maybe there was some validity to this contention. However, even though I do adore French fries, I will still drive all the way up to Rutherford for this particular cheeseburger (and settle for cole slaw).

• • •

I imagine that with as many people who dine at the Rutherford Grill in a given day, most of these folks are probably visiting from out of town (at least during this time of year). Since the French fry is such a ubiquitous side item for cheeseburgers, the restaurant probably receives hundreds of requests for French fries per week. After all, French fries are certainly not limited to cheeseburgers: some people will also want them with the fish sandwich, the veggie burger, or the French dip.

I also imagine the Rutherford Grill waitstaff grows weary of breaking the “no French fry” news to its guests, time and time again. It must become an exhausting mantra. Invariably, when the French fry request is denied, any given customer will probably ask the server to list the side items that are available. Even then, the guest is likely to listen to the choices, only to say something like, “And so you really don’t have French fries?”

Anyhow, in the interest of full disclosure, and in case anyone places as much of an emphasis on French fries as my friend does, there are no French fries at the Rutherford Grill. And I must admit, it really does raise the question: why in the devil not? For me, I’ve have never really bothered to ask, since I still consider the Rutherford Grill cheeseburger to be the best in the Napa Valley. And if it’s any consolation, they serve the best margaritas as well.