Dozens of blackboards proclaim, in colored chalk, the dizzying array of meals available at Bartley's. The menu itself is jammed with handwritten descriptions of pasta dishes, fried clams ("no bellies"), hot apple pan dowdy, cajun fried sweet potatoes, and of course, Mr. Bartley's celebrated burgers.

Bartley's began with a few standards burgers. Today, they offers about 20. To distinguish among them, the burgers often take the name of an appropriate celebrity.

Bartley says he tries to keep up with "who's in vogue."

The Madonna burger, for example, is "a naked burger stripped of its roll."

Bartley also gets political.

A few years ago, there was a Ronald Reagan burger served with a jelly bean. The Nancy Reagan Burger was served "on our best silver," says Bartley.

Current offerings include the George Bush burger ("not for the faint of heart") and the Bill Clinton burger ("don't inhale this slick burger").

Patrons can also sample various forms of potatoes (sweet, mashed and French fried) when they order "Dan Quayle's 'Poattoee' Trio."

Bartley is considering adding "Women's Club Sandwiches," which would be named after Tipper Gore, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush and Marilyn Quayle.

"People get a kick out of that," says Bartley, who has personally christened his burgers for 12 years. "Before people even eat, they start laughing. It puts them in a good frame of mind," he says.

Cambridge City Councillor Walter J. Sullivan is among a number of locals honored with a personalized burger. Featuring sauteed peppers and onions, the sandwich is "tasty," says Sullivan, who says health considerations prevent him from enjoying his namesake as often as he would like.

"It's a great sandwich," Sullivan says. He added, however, that he might go a little easier on the peppers.

The Bartleys have seen Harvard Square change quite a bit over the three decades they've spent on Mass Ave. "I've been the revolution of the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s," Joe says.

And though Joan says she kept a "family restaurant" even through the rebellious sixties, two darlings of the counterculture, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, made Bartley's burgers a regular stop before of after folk performances.

Joan remembers one time when Baez and Dylan ordered nine Deluxes--"fries, the whole bit," she laughs.