Cambridge drive-ins have never matched the Henning's heyday

Being a kid who grew up in Galt during the '50s and '60s, playing in Mill Creek was what we did. Soper Park and Clyde Road was our open space to explore.

We'd follow the creek from Soper Park under the Elgin Street and Clyde Road bridges looking for crayfish, frogs and small bait fish that could be sold to the fishermen at Shades Mill or Puslinch Lake for some quick cash.

Back then I had no idea an area resident named Frendy Graham had one of the first in the city fresh, flowing water swimming pools next to a trailer park with a small drive-in diner named after the family called Henning's.

I heard the trailer park was there in the heyday of Henning's. Mill Creek flowed through that area and a diverted channel was constructed using river stones that you could walk back and forth on to continuously fill the cement pool.

As kids, we would get real dirty collecting brass slag tailings from the Canadian Brass foundry and washing up here. 

We took our brass collection to the Woznuk brothers' scrap yard on upper Elgin Street for the payback earned from a hard day digging by hand through the black dirty slag piles. The dirt I came home with gave my mom a big clue to what I was up to that day.

Thirty five cents a pound was a lot of cash back then and rather going downtown to George's or to the afternoon movie matinee, we'd get a quick wash up in the pool to get the dust off, then to Hennings to spend it on some hand cut fries and gravy.

If it was a good day digging the piles you could make enough cash to get a banquet burger with fries and a chocolate milkshake made by daughter Carla or Joy Henning and served by Oscar or Theresa Henning.

Now that I got your attention, can you remember how good it once tasted? 

Brownies, The Log Cabin and Frost Top all had good burgers but nothing compared to a Henning's Banquet Burger.

Over the decades I lost count of how many times I duplicated that order but still today I get the warm fuzzies thinking about it.

Whenever I left home, I made a point to make Henning's my first stop when I returned.

At the end of the 1980s I moved west to BC and returned home to get my personal affects and say goodbye to my doctor, Ken Berkley for his decades of keeping me healthy and wise. His nurse aid Ms. Penny was also thanked for her abilities to get me in for quick appointments.

After that I went to Henning's and got a take out consisting of three banquet burgers, fries and milkshakes to go. We feasted alfresco in the back yard at the Park Hill Road office.

It was also when I found out that Henning's was going to close. So that was my last connection to this once iconic Galt drive-in. Salute!

Over the decades, several entrepreneurs tried to revive this diner, but these days starting any kind of an eatery takes lots of skill, money and consistency.

You're only as good as your last meal served.

Here is my recipe for you to make a first-class hamburger.

My take on the Henning's Banquet Burger

Finding a good supply of top quality ground beef is key to being successful when making a perfect burger.

Also, a well seasoned iron skillet, flat top grill or charcoal barbecue definitely defines serving a good tasting deluxe hamburger.

You can go out and purchase a grocery store ready, machine-formed from frozen or fresh hamburger patties.

I advise going to a butcher that grinds fresh beef daily. You can choose regular, lean or extra lean, but for the ultimate burger ask your butcher for fresh ground beef chuck, 85 per cent lean and 15 per cent marble mix.

When you have this mixture, the grind has lots of prime rib and sirloin bone trim cuts along with fresh beef fat cap. It really makes it a premium hamburger. 

Now the secret is to handle the ground beef as little as possible and keep it as cold as possible.

Divide five ounce of beef into four piles loosely.

Use a dinner plate to form the patty and season each pile with a good dusting of kosher salt and ground black pepper.

Place one pile on the plate and using your palm, lightly press down to flatten to approximately one inch thick.

The secret is the less and lighter you press the beef, the juicer results. It will make you a grill master.

Set aside and make get your fry pan, broiler grill or barbecue nice and hot. Season it with a little cooking oil, then place the burgers on without crowding.

Set a mental timer for 7 minutes and lightly flip over and repeat till desired doneness.

While this is cooking, prep your chosen condiments and choose to toast or grill your burger bun.

The new pretzel burger buns work well and no matter what toppings you use, this burger stands up till the last bite.

I found that when training a new cook, the best stage to learn is knowing how to prepare a first class hamburger with flawless consistency.

Using fresh cut toppings with good cheese and crispy smoked bacon is essential. 

Most burgers have a secret sauce and mixing some equal parts mayonnaise, pickle relish, ketchup and mustard makes a most excellent personal deluxe condiment.

The new air fryers can save you the calories, but fresh cut and french fried potatoes in shortening still gets the best results. 

I like using Dairy Queen Ice Milk to make milk shakes at home and I suggest using strawberry jam, peanut butter, bananas or chocolate syrup to make a blender smoothie shake.

So many of us have the Fondest Memories of Henning's Drive-In.

I would like to thank Tim Sykes for his image collection captured from our past.

Chef Wayne Conrad Serbu writes monthly for CambridgeToday. The former executive chef also shares recipes and memories from his more than five decades in the hospitality industry on his blog, the kitchenman.