It's 3 am. You ate dinner at 7, partied hard, and now it is time for 4th meal (Thank you, Taco Bell). In Boise the decision of where to eat is easy: Merritt's Country Cafe. I am sure that at 3 am Merritt's looks better than at 3 pm, just like a bar looks better late at night. Merritt's is not much to look at, but you don't go to Merritt's for high class dining. Merritt's is a treasure of the Treasure Valley known for being open 24 hours a day and super-awesome-amazing-giant scones. I went for the scone, but was enticed by the Trucker's Special. 
The name itself rings of dirty toilets and a long day's travel. But you have to give it to 'truckers', they usually eat some pretty tasty food, even if it means an early, artery clogged death. The Trucker's Special consists of two burger patties, a slice of both American and Swiss cheese, and your choice of ham or bacon. Lets start with the last first. I chose ham, although I could have been fooled. I only know there was ham on the burger because I can see it in the picture I took. It looks like good ham, but I never tasted it. Next is cheese. First I will say that I am not a cheese snob! I admit that I still enjoy eating Kraft Singles processed cheese and Easy Cheese with Wheat Thins. However, there is only so much processing that can happen to a "cheese" before it 'jumps the shark', if you catch my drift. The Trucker's Special definitely flirts with the edge of what you can call cheese. Yes, it they were yellow and white (the appropriate colors for American and Swiss). 
Yes, they were salty and gooey like cheese on a burger should be. But all I could taste was the artificial, mostly hydrogenated oil, cheese flavoring. It put all the other flavors of the burger to shame. The hamburger patties didn't really call for any special attention, either. Definitely just your regular old frozen, corn-fed, beef patties that are cooked until they are just a bit dry. All in all, I would say that the Trucker's Special should stay where it is. Way down on the burger list of Merritt's where only the truly brave dare venture. Don't get me wrong, I ate the whole thing and I would definitely say that it was not the worst burger I have ever had. However, with all the splendor of life and the many, many burgers that are out there I doubt that the Trucker's Special will cross my lips again.Trucker's Special - 4/10 ****
The Perks of Merritt's: It is open 24/7, they have a Juke Box, and SCONES (see the upcoming post!)
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