those were the days. riverside lunch has been in business since 1935, making it the oldest, or at least one of the oldest, grills in charlottesville. i have eaten there for about 39 years. it was once a generally local establishment, a " beer parlor" as my mother would call it, and was decidedly working-class. women and children, of course had no place: my father would get the food and bring it out to us in the car. the original location was down on the industrial river st. in my opinion, the burgers were better at the old place, likely because they used a well-seasoned 1930s grill. a fire took care of that. the burgers are, however, the best around and my touchstone for what a hamburger should be. go minimalist and avoid the urge to " gourmet" your burger: get a cheeseburger with mayonnaise, or a plain hamburger with mustard. in the old days they liberally applied salt and pepper to the patties, so to achieve a more authentic taste, add them. also, the frenchfriesare fantastic, and if you seasoned salt, it's on the table. oh, for the grey formica!