Burger roundup

[girl chow]

I thought I'd share this with lurkers and newcomers who might not know that there are GREAT burgers to be found outside of Seattle proper.

These drive-in and walk-in burger joints are all located in the burbs where I work, play and live. I've started with my favorites....

Newcomers, feel free to post away with your favorite joints not listed below:

Ghorm’s, Kent

10429 Kent-Kangley Rd, Kent; 253-852-0190.

This is my all time favorite burger joint at the moment. The menu is pretty brief: burger, cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, fries, onion rings and shakes. The burgers are just fine, with just the right ratio of meat to bun. The cheese is the American kind. Fresh lettuce, tomatoes and onions. The fries are something else. They're the thin, curly, hand-cut kind (NOT FROZEN). Their special sauce will cost you five cents extra. I highly recommend shelling our 10 cents and loading up. This is a walk-up only restaurant, no car service.

Wally's, Buckley

282 Hwy 410, 360-829-0871

I've sung the praises of this joint before, but there's some exciting news at Wally's. They have a new sign! It's very diner-esque. And keeping with that theme, the inside at Wally's is the total retro diner look with sweet red vinyl booths and formica tabletops. I like that you can drive up and eat in your car or get out and pick out a few tunes on the jukebox while waiting for your food inside. The burgers are fantastic. They separate the burger on one side and put the lettuce and tomato on the other side of the foam container so your lettuce doesn't wilt (I love that). The fries are HUGE and fresh cut (not frozen). I'm pretty sure the onion rings are of the frozen nature, though. This place has a great menu for kid's food. Also, they have fish and chips that are OK.

Big Daddy’s Drive In, Auburn

1138 Auburn Way S., 253-833-7255

The burgers at Big Daddy’s are the biggest I've seen in a long time. They're huge! And the mess factor is quite high, as I like to say. I attribute this to the fact that these are the JUICIEST burgers around. I like the super bacon burger with a large order of fries for under $5. The fries are crinkle cut and I'm pretty sure they're frozen, so they lose points there. They have classic car shows here on weekend nights in the summer (call for dates). They have drive-up and walk-in service.

XXX Drive In, Issaquah

98 N.E. Gilman Blvd., 425-392-1266

This place is a total diner throwback, much like Wally's. I like the 59 Caddy burger, which is covered in a sauce that tastes suspiciously like Kraft Thousand Island. Cheese is extra, but worth the quarter. I'm not sure if the fries are fresh cut or frozen, but they are decent. They're the kind that are crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. They have classic car shows in the summer on weekend nights. This restaurant only does walk-up service and has no car service (at least not in the winter).

Burgermaster, Bellevue

10606 Northup Way, 425-827-9566

This is where I go when Dixie's is way too packed when I want to get back to our Bellevue office fast (and that's like, always). The burgers are loaded with the works and I absolutely love their tangy special sauce. The fries are not good at all. I don't think I've ever had a warm fry there! They're always cold! But the burgers are great AND they have gardenburgers for your veg head friends. Their veggie burgers aren't as good as the ones at Red Mill in Seattle, but they'll suffice. Ketchup costs extra. This place offers true curb service and also serves inside.

A & W Kent Drive-In, Kent

421 S. Central, 253-852-4280

This isn't my favorite joint, but it's close to my Kent office and they have some killer rootbeer there. They do have remarkable onion rings, though. That's my favorite part of the visit. They offer walk-in and car service.

Mountain High Burger, Kent

1605 W. Meeker St., 253-854-4315

This place was way better under the last ownership. I think they might have even changed the name of the place. I knew I should be suspicious once I saw the "teriyaki and burgers" sign go up. That's never a good thing. But they do have decent fresh-cut fries and they always have the TV on at lunch AND they have a drive-through window. It's great for a quick trip. The onion rings are frozen and extremely mediocre. NOTE: They recently changed their menu, I heard. I may have to axe them off my short list of good burger joints.

The Family Drive-In, Kent

1124 W. Meeker St., 253-854-0837

It's greasy and quick. The fries are frozen, but they have terrific battered mushrooms and other greasy things that kids love. Their shakes are amazingly thick (made with real ice cream) AND they come with those big straws that make them so much easier to suck down. Plus, it's really close to the Oberto outlet, the Mexican grocery store and the Wonder bread outlet.. which makes for some good shopping afterwards if you're having a summer cookout.

Burgerville, Centralia

Ok, this is WAY out of the metro Seattle area, but if you ever have to make a drive from Seattle to Portland (or the other way around), Centralia is about the perfect place to stop for lunch (provided you're not one of those people who never makes stops). Burgerville has fantastic burgers, awesome shakes (with seasonal fruit flavors) and just about the freshest and best fries you can find. PLUS, their special sauce is incredible. AND there is a huge outlet shopping complex nearby.

edits: MASSIVE typos and a menu update! My bad!

Edited February 7, 2003 by girl chow (log)

[Coop]

I used to get burgers from the U district Burgermaster. It was cool, and the burgers were saucy. Is it still there? Also the U village Safeway used to have a wine section to rival all wine sections is it still worth visiting?

[Schielke]

The U-dist burgermaster has gone way downhill. Not worthwhile anymore.

Bellevue and Aurora (about 100th) are your best bets.

Ben

[MsRamsey]

If you've had them and feel comfortable, can you comment on the quality of the shakes at the places where you didn't specifically note the shakes?

[girl chow]

I can say with authority that the shakes at Ghorm's or the All-Family are fantastic: made with real ice cream, served with big straws and taste like a good shake should: sweet, rich and sinful.

The shakes at Big Daddy's are thin and taste like they're made from a mix. I can only remember having a shake there one and it was years ago.

Never had a shake at XXX in Issaquah and I don't remember ever ordering a shake at Burgermaster.

Hey, that's a great start for a new thread: Best Shakes.

[SeattleGrrl]

Ohmigosh, Wally's! I love that place. I grew up in Enumclaw, and in high school we would "cross the river" to Buckley to load up on Wally's burgers and buy beer at the corner store down the road. Their fries are my favorite (I should say were, I haven't been there in five years.) and MsRamsey, I remember their shakes being wonderful - thick, creamy, and dairy, but not so thick you get a aneurysm trying to drink with a straw.

We also used to eat at Big Daddy's all the time, but honestly I was always concentrating on those hip, edgy Auburn boys.

Thank you for bringing about such great memories!!

[MsRamsey]

Welcome, SeattleGrrl!!

[Coop]

What else is on the menu at the XXX?

[girl chow]

Welcome SeattleGrrl!

Hey Coop, on the menu at XXX is basically just burgers. If memory serves, there are corndogs or hotdogs too (I'm sure I got one for my rugrat).

Basically, they've got burgers, cheeseburgers and bacon cheeseburgers and the usual offerings at Triple XXX -- but they all have cutesy name like the 57 Chevy or the 48 Buick Skylark (or something nutty like that).

[tsquare]

and XXX got written up in today's PI! Hmm, coincidence?

[malarkey]

Add to the list Zeek's on Hwy 2, past Monroe, but before the pass. Great stuff. Dine in your car, or eat outside on a nice day. No inside seating. At least I think so.

[Schielke]

I think that xxx has their own root beer, but I am not sure. I remember liking the root beer there at least. I remember the burgers being pretty big and dense in the meat/cheese dept. Think 'gut bomb'.

Ben

[tsquare]

and XXX got written up in today's PI! Hmm, coincidence?

oops, again,

It was in the Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/rest...531_deal07.html

[girl chow]

and XXX got written up in today's PI! Hmm, coincidence?

We should start keeping track of how many of our post topics wind up being reviewed supiciously soon after said posts ... I too found that very very strange..... hahahaha