Sunday's $100 Hamburger

Anyone who knows, loves or is a general aviation enthusiast has heard the expression of the $100 Hamburger. You see, general aviation pilots are hobbyists. They fly because they love it, not because it is their job. And as a result, they look for excuses to go somewhere new, or just fly in general. A hamburger at, or near a regional airport's restaurant may be reason enough to go for a flight. Sure the hamburger costs five bucks, but when you factor in the fuel it took to get there, it ends up being a $100 hamburger.

My husband and I sought out on Sunday to an airport in Cumberland, MD. We were going for cheap fuel...that's excuse enough these days to go somewhere within 45 minutes or an hour flight. When we got there, we heard pilots talking to the ground operation staff about how they were going to grab lunch, then refuel. My stomach was growling so I prompted my husband to find out where those pilots were going.

Turns out, there is a restaurant actually on the field! It's the Runway Cafe. You can literally pull your plane up to it and park, just like you would your car. Of course they don't bring your food to you, but just imagine pulling up to a restaurant in a plane.

We, not knowing about the restaurant's proximity to the main terminal, actually walked over. It took us two minutes. And there it was...the smell of home cooking in a quaint small town setting. It was obviously a hang out for folks who enjoyed good food and the ever changing scenery of general aviation planes taking off and landing against the fall foliage covered mountains.

The cliche got even better when we looked at our menus and saw The Pilot Special: a $100 hamburger. Look no further. Cliches are us!

The hamburger was even better than my husband's homemade burgers (he admitted himself). YUM! I took a picture, but only in the Chris Ann tradition of having a few bites first. Therefore you won't see the pic. (Looked less attractive once I got my teeth into it.)

So if you ever find yourself in Cumberland, Maryland, I recommend the Runway Cafe. Outstanding food, great views and some of the friendliest folks you'd ever want to meet.