Burger Brittany Takes on Seattle's Dick's

Dick's- the burger place.. you sick-o. 

On my winter break, I ventured to the Pacific Northwest where Christmas trees litter each block and exhibitionists find a place to fit in. I went to visit my burger boy-toy, Christopher, who lives only a couple blocks from the well-known (to Capitol Hill, at least) Dick's Burgers. He even got me an orange Dick's t-shirt! 

Dick's is a fast food, walk up and order type place. They have one table/steel counter where you can stand and eat, or you can just take it home. You can't go indoors. This seems strange in a place that gets about the most rain in the nation, but if there's one thing I've learned about Seattle, it's that they don't give a flying french 

fry about rain. At Dick's you have to just go up and order. Don't be picky or take too long, since there's probably a line behind. The menu is short, the basic burger, fries and shakes. Their standard burger just comes with ketchup and mustard already on it, which wasn't a problem because they hardly put any on. The problem/annoyance was having to buy extra ketchup or sauce because they charge 5 cents each. A petty thing to charge, in my opinion. The burgers were good. One time, we took them back to boy-toy's apartment and fried an egg to put on top. Delicious! I was not, however, a fan of their fries. Mostly soggy, but boy-toy likes them a lot, so you be the judge. At Dick's, you get what you pay for and it's easy when you want something quick. Just watch out for the burger beggars!

Thank you, Burger Buddy Casagrand... 7/10 sesame seeds!

Burger Rage!!!

This woman makes a stand for her burger. Just an everyday hero.

The Counter

I know, I rave about every other burger. But The Counter impressed me. This fancy little place offers CUSTOM burgers. Did you hear me?... Custom! You're saying, "Burger Brittany, c'mon, when can't you customize your burger?". Well, friend, when can you order a burger with grilled pineapple, grilled onion, lettuce, tomato, sharp provolone and BBQ sauce?! This puppy was messy AND delicious. Burger Buddy Andrew introduced me to this little delight in the heart of Walnut Creek, CA. Inside is decorated to imitate a diner, but at the same time, a classier, up-to-date bar. An interesting angle surely, but I am most impressed to see a purely burger restaurant that is not, in any way, fast food. Yes, there's the Burger Bar, but it was pretty measly and overpriced for the type of burger I ate. Trust me, those toppings weren't offered in that fancy little "burger bar". Just look at the Build-Your-Own-Burger menu shown above! Look at those options. First, you pick your amount of beef (I went with the 1/3 pounder, to keep my lady-like figure, you know). Then the cheese, I was torn between Imported Swiss or Sharp Provolone, but do not fear, you have 10 different cheeses to choose from. And then, you pick 4 out of the 18 toppings to choose from. If you choose to pay the dollar extra, you can choose out of 28 different toppings! Top it off with whichever bun you like, and you have a quality, custom-made burger for about $8. 

Burger Buddy Andrew chose this monster of a burger shown below. If I recall correctly, it is a mountain of grilled onions, bacon, guacamole, beef and perhaps BBQ sauce. I'm not sure how you even begin to tackle this beast, but he tackled and even tamed her. We paired our burgers with a side a half french fries and half onion strings. Yes, onion strings, not onion rings. They 

were unique and delicious, but very heavy. Come to this classy diner with an appetite. Andrew and I were both nearly incapacitated after this hefty meal. Also, a picture of him enjoying his beastly beef can be viewed in the post of burger buddies eating burgers. Check it out!

I give the counter a 9.5/10, because they didn't bring our fries and strings before the meal, like we hungry hooligans requested!

Christmas Eve Inspiration

Hello Burger Buddies,

My deep and sincere apologies for my month long hiatus. Between finals, traveling and painting, I have neglected my blog and this is unacceptable. Luckily, I watched Julie & Julia tonight and was inspired . Just so my readers know, while I may have neglected my blog, I have certainly not neglected burgers. In fact, there have been burgers galore, including both Culver's and In-N-Out. As far as new burger joints, there have plenty of those as well. You must check out my burger boy toy having his very first In-N-Out burger.. how cute!
First and foremost, Jack's Brewing Company, a nice bar and grill in San Ramon, CA, right off of Crow Canyon. My parents took me to this friendly little joint on my first night back home in November. First, I ordered the beer sampler, because what could be better than beer and burgers? I challenge you to find better burger bliss. For you Columbians in Missouri, I would liken this place to Flat Branch (which happens to be the birthplace of the Burger Brittany persona, but this is another story for another blog post). At Jack's, I ordered the Blackjack burger- a burger "loaded with Cajun spices, grilled onions, jack cheese and bleu cheese dressing" (copied from menu). The Blackjack was amaZING. All that gooey, dripping cheese with the tangy grilled onions... my mouth is watering in rememberance and reverence of the unabashedly topped burger. Whether it was the beer or the burger, I left with an afterglow of satisfaction that lasted for hours. I give this burger a 10/10 and you know what put it over the top?.. The helpful, friendly service that chatted with my family and smiled every time they stopped by. Even the owner paused at our table for some bouyant conversation!
The Burger Bar in San Francisco. Now, I do not believe San Francisco is the appropriate place for burger cuisine and I think the Burger Bar kind of proved it. San Francisco is liberal, environmentally conscious and perhaps make an excellent veggie burger.. somewhere.. But beef, fat and frying may not be this city's thing. In fact, I should probably pursue the best veggie burger while I'm here in the Bay Area. Bottom line, this particular burger was mediocre, overpriced and not worth choosing over the Cheesecake Factory, which happens to also be in the same building (Macy's!). Luckily for the Burger Bar, I was in a good mood that day. On this particular day, I was with my ruggedly handsome burger boy toy. He came all the way from Washington to visit me for my birthday, which also happened to be on this day. I know what you're thinking, how dare the Burger Bar serve Burger Brittany a mediocre burger on her burger birthday?! It's OK, french fried friends, I was happy regardless. I give the restaurant a 6/10, but I give their sexy milkshake advertising a perfect 10!

Mmmm, see that? That's delicious guacamole, chipotle mayo and pepperjack cheese conglomerated between two buns and a medium-well patty. It's called The Freethrow and it's just one of many specialty burgers that you can find at the new Stadium Bar & Grill in Columbia, MO. They have an extensive, and rather exhausting, list of different, imaginative burgers. You can also order your burger in amounts of a 1/3 lb, 1/2lb or 1lb. Burgers range from your traditional bacon and cheddar to burgers topped with chili and a fried egg. I requested jalepenos to accompany my burger and GUESS WHAT?! they're freshly chopped to ensure extra spiciness. I dug in with vigor. My burger buddies did too.
I ordered the 1/3lb burger with fries and a Long Island Iced Tea (shout-out to Bar Buddy Jordan!). I was stuffed. I know what you're thinking, that's it?! Burger Brittany's a wuss! And perhaps I was that fateful night, but friends, that meal did me in. I had to go home and lie down while my buddies continued their festivities.You can clearly see I attacked this burger with the ferocity of drunken cat fight, but in the end, the burger beat Brittany. I waved my white flag as a food comatose paralyzed my mind and body. Truly, I could no have been beaten by a more worthy opponent. Burger lovers, I command you to get your burger butts to this restaurant STAT!
My rating is out of ten now, FYI and I give it 10/10!

Burger Buddies and Brethren

Burger Candid Shots!

Burger Buddy Andrew closes his eyes and sinks his fangs into a luscious Counter burger, making a mess of the monster. Clearly, he has experienced a tiny piece of heaven.

Burger Buddy Noelle rips into the seared flesh with a ravenous look in her eye. Although holding the burger upside down, she knows exactly what she's doing. Single-mindedly, she devours her meal before I've even arranged the condiments on my own.

Burger Buddy Stuart reminds us that eating a burger isn't alway as sexy as Paris makes it

Burger Buddy Charles munches down while Burger Buddy Jordan looks on in shock. What an 'aggressive' burger!

I love this: Dad and burger are happiness

Burger Snoopy!

Burger Boy-Toy does not think he is a handsome burger eater, but he is!.. Well he should at least look happier when he is about to eat a burger, I suppose. IT'S A BURGER!, after all.

Like this, my brother is so excited for his burger!

And my mom also looks happy to partake in a burger!

I got my paws on a Juicy Lucy!

Ok faithful Burger Buddies, I know you must love food or why else would you be wasting your time on a burger blog? And any fan of food is a fan of a little show called Man vs. Food. Do you know how jealous I am of that man?? Anyways, I'm actually going to refer to a specific episode where Adam Richman goes to Minneapolis, MN and has a cultural favorite: The Juicy Lucy. Now, there are two restaurants who claim to be the original creators of this bewitching beefy treat: Matt's and The 5-8 Club. They are located across the street from each other and are fierce competitors. If you want the whole scoop, watch the Minneapolis episode! Unfortunately, I was not able to go to either of these places, for they were not conveniently placed near the airport; HOWEVER, I went to the other 5-8 Club aka The 5-8 Tavern and Grill in St. Paul. Friends, I got as close to the real thing as I could manage in my recent, short visit to Minnesota and I knew I had to take advantage as best as I could!

Now, for those of you food lovers living under a damn rock, let me introduce you to the Juicy Lucy. She's luscious, bold, daring and delicious. Inside her buxom beefy build lies a center of

molten cheese just waiting to burst and singe your tongue. Although it is not the clearest picture, you can see the cheese spilling out of the patty! Traditionally, it is served with American cheese, but The 5-8 Club also gives the option of Bleu, Swiss or Pepper-jack... I went with pepper-jack for I love a little spice! My mom (who shared with my Aunt... why two grown women need to share a quarter pound burger is beyond me) and brother chose Bleu, mom and aunt liked it, brother not so much. I say, stick with tradition or try the pepper-jack. I was fearful that bleu would be too strong and swiss too bland. Another great thing about having the cheese in the middle was that the burger stayed juicier and hotter, thus providing optimum flavor in every bite. They happen to also serve it with pickles, Culver's style (under the patty as opposed to on top). I picked out those pesky round crinkle-cut pickles. I still swear they do not taste the same as the spears. I just can't stomach them. If you order the basket, you also get lots of fries and cole slaw. I'm not too fond of the slaw either, so I gave it to my dad. He's one of the only people I know that loves cole slaw.

As you can see, I polished off that baby, no problem. It's a quarter pound, so just the right size for me. For the heftier eaters, they offer a third pound burger called the Saucy Sally in which they fill with their "special sauce" (which I can only assume is simply Thousand Island dressing). I also think they dropped the ball in not calling it the Saucy Suzie, but I can ignore their lapse in judgement.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience and the burger was well worth the late arrival to the airport!

I give it 9.5/10 Fries! Better than Sesame Seeds, no?.. *Hear ye, hear ye* I think I'd like some input on my rating system. If you have the best idea and I use it, you'll win a $5 Culver's gift certificate! Get creative, people!