That old Spring Hill burger: Looks like love to us.
Twice in its life, Seattle Met has put a burger on its cover: The second time exactly one year ago, the first in June of 2009—the very month mutual friends set up two nice people named Jack Clampitt and Suzanne Smith.
Neither was looking for marriage—but the moment they met, Clampitt was at the very least certain he wanted more dates with this woman. He spied the current month’s Seattle Met—that iconic burger from Spring Hill (now Ma’Ono) on the cover, along with twelve others inside—and the idea hit him. “How’d you like to try all of these ‘burgers that will change your life?’” he asked Smith, shrewdly toting up how long it would take to get through all 13.
It only took 11 to get engaged.
“It was so much fun,” burbles Smith. “We’d get lost in West Seattle…we’d stop for cocktails.” Sometimes Clampitt would roguishly try adding something extra, like cheese, only to be hand-slapped by Smith, who insisted they keep to the precise preparation as stated in the magazine. This they came to call the Burger Bible, toting it carefully to every restaurant, where employees often nodded knowingly and asked if they were doing “The Burger Challenge.”
As many of you have told us, that was a thing.
Their favorite? Palace Kitchen’s burger. Disagreement? Café Campagne’s lamb burger. “Jack loved it; I didn’t,” Smith reports. Unimpressed with the prospect of a veggie burger, they put off 22 Doors for so long the restaurant closed. “Yessss…I got out of that one,” Smith laughs.
And at their Columbia Tower wedding yesterday, they had the blown-up cover displayed prominently. (As long as we’re tooting our horn, we may as well tell you they chose that venue because of the Seattle Met Bride and Groom First Look wedding showcase held in that space.) They even mentioned Seattle Met in their vows. Which, I’m here to tell you, is enough to make a restaurant critic lose a fair bit of her emotional detachment.
Mazels to you, Suzanne and Jack.
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