A Tale of Three Burgers: Genre Triggers Eating Strategy

I've had three different cheeseburgers in the last week or so, and I wanted to share my thoughts about them with you all.

Dick's

If you are the kind of person who likes solidified American cheese that is stuck to burger wrapping paper, I've got a recommendation. A buck-thirty or so will buy you a cheeseburger at my local Lower Queen Anne Dick's, and fries are the same price. They are approximately comparable to McDonald's cheeseburgers, though they are a bit more expensive, and maybe a three quarters of a step better in the class category (though class admittedly counts precious little in the realm of delicious cheap eats). What counts for more is the quality of french fries, which are of the hand cut variety and, glistening with glorious grease, are practically begging for you to let them make the nearest piece of paper on your desk translucent.

Of course it'll take a few Dick's cheeseburgers, plus the fries, to put a dent in your hunger, but I'm okay with that, because after tax I still find myself in the four dollar neighborhood. Not a bad neighborhood to be in when you are hungry and in a hurry.

In the genre of cheap fast food burgers, Dick's gets a solid "A."

Burgermaster

This drive-in is located up on Aurora, somewhere between 85th St and the Canadian border. Closer to 85th, I think. It's like a Sonic, only with a much more mom-and-pop feel, less annoying uniforms, and a cooler, less technologically advanced way to order (turn on your headlights for service). It's not in the same class as Sonic though, because a cheeseburger combo ("Burgermaster w/ Cheese") is something like $6.34 plus tax. With me giving them more of my money, standards must be raised. The cheeseburger was delicious (Austinites - think Player's), and the fries were comparable to McDonald's, in a good way. One problem I had was the drink that came with this combo. It was only 10 oz. You can easily upgrade it for a bit more money, which I didn't do because I wasn't thirsty at all, but in a world where a small at Jack in the Box or Taco Bell is the size of an average pitcher, I think you can afford to give be a bit more to drink. Even though I didn't want it. This is America, dammit; waste some carbonated beverage on me.

If the benchmark is Players in Austin, I'll give them only a B because they are a bit overpriced and they have Mr. Pibb instead of Dr. Pepper. At Players on MLK I can get a jalapeño cheeseburger, thick fries and a bottomless Dr. Pepper for about $5.25. But be kind, this is Seattle, and the burger options are far less diverse.

A note from the bad pun department: Anyone who thinks this burger is master needs to get out more.

Mcmenamin's Queen Anne

A northwestern chain of brewpub/restaurants, I'm partial to the one a few blocks from my apartment in Uptown Seattle at the bottom of Queen Anne Hill. I don't really have anything bad to say about this place. The beer is delicious (try the Terminator Stout) and is brewed a few feet from where you sit, and the cheeseburger is priced reasonably enough at $7.10 to justify not ordering from the Happy Hour menu. This is a sit down restaurant, so clearly a class or two higher than Burgermaster, but surprisingly less than a dollar more expensive (before tax and tip), a notable feat in a city where the industry standard restaurant burger price is an over-confident ten bucks. And this burger is better than most ten dollar Seattle burgers, and might be the best burger I've had in the Seattle area (see also Red Hook brewery in Woodinville - evidently the ability to make good beer also comes with the ability to make good burgers). Of course the fries are delicious and hand-cut, and I can get Tabasco and beer, two things that were lacking at the other two establishments.

All told, in the Seattle restaurant burger scene, Mcmenamin's gets an "A".