Grind Burger

Gym. Tan. ... Burger. We're flipping that tired Jersey Shore saying and making it tastier. Grind Burger shares its suburban strip mall location — formerly Catalano's Stop-N-Shop — with a fitness center and a tanning salon. It's a must-stop whether you've just hit the treadmill, need to refuel at lunchtime or want to blow off workday steam. The East Side restaurant, which opened in October, gets its name from grinding its all-Ohio beef two times, ensuring a well-blended and juicy burger. But its list of inventive appetizers kick-start the meal. For the Love of Bacon ($7.50) is a devilish duo of candied and deep-fried bacon with maple syrup to dip, while the sauerkraut balls ($8) are coated in a beef and sausage mixture before their own dunk in the fryer. The 12 burgers on the menu do all the heavy lifting though, including the tangy Blue Collar ($12) topped with blue cheese, zinfandel-braised onions, smoked bacon and mayo, and the Diablo ($11) with onion rings, pepper jack cheese, buffalo sauce and blue cheese. The Aria burger's ($11) seemingly off the wall, yet melodious, combo of garlic cheddar cheese, fried pickles, smoked bacon and Thousand Island dressing is music to our mouths no matter how many times we eat it. With craft beers such as Deschutes Brewery's Black Butte Porter at just $5 a pint and hand-cut fries ($2.50) to complete the experience, it make us thankful there's a gym two doors down. 5604 Wilson Mills Road, Highland Heights, 440-421-9721, grind-burger.com