Tonight summer ended with a bang. After years of waiting, I tasted my first Parisian burger.

The Parisian burger is famous in Mountain View gastronomical lore. Once upon a time a burger joint named Linda's served up these burgers with a secret sauce that generations of my family and other Mountain View families greatly enjoyed.

Linda's closed in 85, but you'll still find true-blue (and gray) Mountain Viewers who have spent the past two decades perfecting their own version of the Parisian. One of those people, lucky me, is my uncle.

Word that the Parisian burger was being served at my Uncle Fred and Auntie Rosemary's Labor Day BBQ was enough to bring almost my entire extended family together within a days notice....quite a feat. (As well as some of my uncle and aunts friends from high school who also fondly remembered Linda's.)

The burgers were indeed quite good, as were the fried tater-tots (also a Linda's staple), chili beans, fresh cookies from my Auntie Becky, and watermelon. The company was even better. I'd say there were about 40 or so people there, with at least half being my family. We chilled until sunset, my cousins and I caught up on each others lives, the older generation talked about days gone by. The burgers brought out old memories and stories from those who were alive to eat the originals. Everyone by the end of the night was full and happy. And that was a great way to end a good weekend.