PATTY DOWN: The Ram Restaurant & Brewery

Name: The Ram Restaurant & Brewery
Location: 515 12th Street SE, Salem, OR 97301 (map)
Website: www.theram.com
Twitter: @theRAM 

'All American' burger and sweet potato fries at The Ram

When it comes to food, locals usually know what they're talking about. You can read every tourism pamphlet, scan a few recommendations websites and ultimately Google your way to the good places. Residents, however, will point you to the great places.

That's how I ended up at The Ram in Salem, a family-owned brewpub that operates 17 restaurants in five states. The one in Salem, approximately 50 miles south of Portland, is situated along Mill Creek, making its outdoor patio the perfect place to soak in a summer evening.

The Ram serves standard but well-executed pub fare, including sandwiches, deluxe fries and buffalo wings as well as steak entrees and enticing desserts. The menu is not unlike one you'd see at Chili's or Applebee's, but it doesn't make you feel like you're filling the pockets of a shrewd chain restauranteur.

What immediately stands out about my selection, the All American burger, is the massive bun. Looking at it is like seeing an especially interesting movie trailer on TV and just knowing the movie itself will live up to the hype. All American? They should call it The Breadwinner. It costs $9.59 including fries, and it's worth the dough.

As I learned later, the hamburger buns are specially made for The Ram. They're sweeter than sourdough, fluffier than kaiser rolls and much softer than ciabatta bread. They don't have sesame seeds, and they don't need 'em. Even a knuckle sandwich would taste good on these brilliant baked creations. So many burgers are satisfactory but not memorable; this bun -- and, therefore, this burger -- will be hard to forget.

I know, I know, man does not live by bread alone; he needs a side dish and a drink as well. And yes, the rest of the meal was tasty in its own right. Lettuce, tomato, onions, ridged pickle chips and ketchup came along for the ride, as did delicious sweet potato fries and Buttface Amber Ale. The Buttface (no joke), which is described as a malty caramel beer with a smooth, slightly sweet finish, was easily one of the most enjoyable pints of my drinking life. The best ever? Hard to say. Memorable? Definitely.

So thank you, Random Salem Resident, for the restaurant recommendation. Now I can pass it along.

(Also, bonus points for restaurants with gargantuan overeating challenges that aren't just created to nab spots on food TV shows. The Ram dares its customers to conquer the BeHemoth Challenge, a 5-pound mountain of a burger couple with a pile-sized batch of fries that must be finished by one person in a single seating. If you're able to clear your $24.99 plate, you win a free T-shirt!)