Moo Burger: Nutty but nice

Walking down Orange Avenue, on the sceptered isle, waiting for the beautiful Carla to get her hair done, feeling pangs of hunger spiking my gut.

Think of dropping into Clayton's coffee shop for a, well, burger and fries. It's just that kind of stark-sun fall afternoon. Sarra, the barista at the Café Madrid, the coffee cart outside Bay Books, says she'd been home to Minnesota and just got out an hour before the first snow. So, talking last of the summer wine right now.

On the other hand, on my way to Clayton's, pass Elvis - spooked out for Halloween - outside MooTime and tap the nose of the cow that's there too, for luck.

...and can't help looking into the ice cream store, just as the afternoon sun shines on a poster inside that says, huh:

"Moo Burgers."

Moo Burgers? "Your favorite MooTime ice cream sandwiched between two fresh baked cookies. Try it rolled or dipped!"

Ice cream burger? Well I guess that kinda unites two of my favorite things. Got to try this.

Being Halloween and all, I go for the pumpkin flavor.

Place doesn't have its usual line of customers snaking up the avenue this time of day. Jasmin behind the counter says Moo Burgers are four bucks. "It's a good deal because a regular scoop of our ice cream is $3.99."

She says "rolled" means rolled in sprinkles, rainbow or chocolate, or nuts.

And "dipped?"

"That's where we dip the sandwich in hot chocolate," Jasmin says, "but the machine is off right now."

So okay. I ask for the sprinkles, but with a few nuts rolled in too. They cost 89 cents.

Brilliant move! She brings me my "burger" in a little pot.

And then I have the second idea. Take it out and head back to Café Madrid. Jason, the barista who's on now, gets me a medium coffee ($1.50), and I sit down to chow.

The "buns" are chocolate chip cookies. It's a mess, natch, but what makes it a magnificent mess is those chopped nuts on top of the sprinkles. Walnuts, Brazil nuts, peanuts, almonds...

Ten minutes later, I scoop my last mess o'nuts and sprinkles and pumpkin gunk down the hatch. Swill the last of my joe.

I look up the sidewalk. That cow's staring at me, I swear. Like "Was that good or was that good?"

Have to admit: as burgers go, it was different.

I send her back a thought. "You might say I'm Over the Moo-n."