Tom and I recently ate at Son of Thurman, a restaurant in Delaware, Ohio for the first time. Our friends, Paul and Sherry Downing, contacted us and let us know they would be in Delaware for the day. Paul was training his replacement as he is now semi-retired. Would we be available for dinner together? Tom and I were happy to meet them and get a chance to try a new restaurant.
There are two Son of Thurman restaurants, one in Delaware and one in Galena. Son of Thurman opened in Delaware in 2014 and in 2020 in Galena. The name comes from the owner, Chris DeVol, being the great-grandson of Nick Suclescy. Nick founded the famous Thurman’s Café in the German Village section of Columbus in 1942. Son of Thurman features many of same menu items that made the Thurman Café a Columbus landmark.
All three of the Thurman Café / Son of Thurman restaurants feature giant burgers. The Thurmanator is the signature burger with two 3/4 pound patties, cheddar and provolone cheese, bacon, ham, sautéed mushroom & onions, lettuce, tomato, pickle, banana peppers and mayo. It is served with a steak knife through it to hold it together. Our waitress explained that, because the servings were so large, many couples chose to share a burger.
Tom and I agreed that sharing sounded good. We ordered a 3/4 pound Kansas City Chef’s Burger to share. You can also order most of the burgers in a Junior size, which is 1/3 pound of beef. Sherry ordered a Chicken Salad Plate and Paul got a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. Tom and I both had right-sized servings through sharing, although there were still too many fries. The burger was excellent – juicy and delicious. The fries were also very good although we probably should have ordered them without salt. They were not low in sodium! Sherry and Paul also enjoyed their salads.
The atmosphere in Son of Thurman was very nice. It was not busy on a Monday, although it got busier as the evening progressed. We entered through the alley at the back of the restaurant. It was nice they had an entrance there, although it felt somewhat illicit going through the alley. Fortunately there was clear signage showing that was a way to get in. There was public parking at the back of the restaurant and the parking was free after 5 p.m. Son of Thurman had a lot of neon inside and there was plenty of light. We enjoyed watching them bring out the big burgers that other people had ordered.
Our food was very good and reasonably priced. The company was even better. Paul and Sherry travel to more National Park sites than we do, so it is always interesting to hear about their adventures. We are looking forward to seeing them again when we go back to Cumberland Gap this summer.