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When you just want a good burger.

Overall quality of dining out has slipped considerably in the last few years, as prices increase for everything. Fast food being the worst of all possibilities.

When we were vacationing in Maine we saw plenty of Sisco trucks at all the restaurants. Makes you wonder if restaurants do anything other than take it from the truck to the deep fryer.

They're all hurting now financially. It's a sign of the times we live in.

Sweet corn is showing up at the markets, stuff from FL most likely. Running about twice what it cost 2 years ago...around $8 dozen now.

Been by a car dealership lately ? All the lots are full of inventory and nobody buying. After sticking it to us during covid, it appears that they're gonna keep that attitude and keep increasing.
Remember when $100,000 vehicle would have been a Maserati or something else exotic and cool ? Now it buys a Ford or Dodge pickup truck. No thank you.

Anyway, back to burgers.
There's a farm stand near me that has the best ground beef at $7 lb. Much better product than the supermarkets.
 
I don't if it was seeing this thread yesterday or washing/vacuuming our vehicles yesterday and working up an appetite for red meat, but I had a serious burger hankering myself.

We have the usual fast food fare nearby and a local chain, Dick's Drive-In, but about ten years ago a place called Coastline opened up and it's the go-to for burgers, fries and shakes. Slightly cheaper than McDonald's which is ridiculous. This is made fresh with local beef. Grilled buns, utterly customizable and made to order. Yelp pic:

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BillyTheKid said:
When we were vacationing in Maine we saw plenty of Sisco trucks at all the restaurants. Makes you wonder if restaurants do anything other than take it from the truck to the deep fryer.
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Knowing someone in the restaurant business I was invited to attend a restaurant supplier expo at the Atlantic City Convention Center some years back. I was very surprised at the quality and flavor of the food that Sisco and the other vendors like them can provide to restaurants. Am sure they offer foods at all levels, but the prepared frozen seafoods & meats I tried were a very pleasant surprise. I'll guess what one eats in a restaurant today is pretty much a "you get what you pay for" thing. Cheap restaurant feeds you the food to match (not that better restaurants will necessarily feed you better). Beef prices are way up and are predicted to continue to rise for the next year or two. Supply (down) and demand (up).
 
Bill Ferris said:
We used to frequent and enjoy our local 5 Guys for around 12 yrs. until around 5 yrs. back and with the same order/type of burger, the quality became unacceptably degraded along with the jacked up price increase, so my B-I-L and I decided to boycott them and have my long suffering housekeeper/caregiver prepare ones for us instead, buying freshly ground ground 1lb. of chuck, or sirloin from the nearby Fresh Market with no pink slime mixed into the meat.

We get a 1/4 ~1/2 lb. burger with melted Tillamook brand sharp cheddar cheese, red onion, tomato, Romaine lettuce, sometimes sauteed mushrooms and of course, several slices of bacon draped over the patty as part of our desired build.

With either quality frozen fries, tater tots, or onion rings choice sides depending on our mood, as all three offerings are always kept available in the freezer, or sometimes Cape Cod brand kettle cooked regular flavored potato chips, if they happen to be BOGO priced.

With Nat. Hamburger day coming up later this month, I`m looking forward to the event, as I don`t eat red as often as I used to, and only have hamburgers on certain hamburger themed, or summer type holiday events over the yr.

Sadly, Dairy Queen used to offer what I thought was a very good quality "Brazier burger" decades back, but haven`t had one since the late seventies ~early eighties, and the nearest one is located ~ 8 miles away, if, in fact, still open .
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And a after thought, just occurred to me after typing this we tried Long Horns take out hamburger shortly after we started boycotting 5 Guys, and it was over priced for the quality received.

Nearly 15 yrs. ago I was in that same Long Horns and decided to try their, at that time, $ 10.00 hamburger, mostly out of curiosity for the justification of a $10.00 priced friggin single patty with all the fixings hamburger & fries !
It was a damn good fresh hamburger/bun, as I remember, cooked perfectly, but not $10.00 worth + tip, back at that time frame !
I found LH`s regular meal offers like their tasty Salmon with 2 sides and a garden salad to be a much, much better value !
 
Bill Ferris said:
We used to frequent and enjoy our local 5 Guys for around 12 yrs. until around 5 yrs. back and with the same order/type of burger, the quality became unacceptably degraded along with the jacked up price increase, so my B-I-L and I decided to boycott them and have my long suffering housekeeper/caregiver prepare ones for us instead, buying freshly ground ground 1lb. of chuck, or sirloin from the nearby Fresh Market with no pink slime mixed into the meat.

We get a 1/4 ~1/2 lb. burger with melted Tillamook brand sharp cheddar cheese, red onion, tomato, Romaine lettuce, sometimes sauteed mushrooms and of course, several slices of bacon draped over the patty as part of our desired build.

With either quality frozen fries, tater tots, or onion rings choice sides depending on our mood, as all three offerings are always kept available in the freezer, or sometimes Cape Cod brand kettle cooked regular flavored potato chips, if they happen to be BOGO priced.

With Nat. Hamburger day coming up later this month, I`m looking forward to the event, as I don`t eat red as often as I used to, and only have hamburgers on certain hamburger themed, or summer type holiday events over the yr.

Sadly, Dairy Queen used to offer what I thought was a very good quality "Brazier burger" decades back, but haven`t had one since the late seventies ~early eighties, and the nearest one is located ~ 8 miles away, if, in fact, still open .
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My next move is grinding my own beef. I don't trust the pink slime.....
 
Wendys used to be good, but the prices are too high, and the quality has slipped somewhat. I only go there a couple times a year. Last time I went the time through, the drive-up actually exceeded the jammed-up Burger King across the street. They recently "improved" their spicy chicken, but I thought it was better before. I used to like Burger King but the one near work has some kind of production problem. Once you're trapped in line it can be up to a half hour to get through. Surprisingly, the place that's held pricing and kept quality up near here is McDonalds. The only downside is I don't like their fries. They undercook them and five minutes later they're soggy and ready for the trash. The one I go to is a well-oiled machine. No matter the time or day or how busy they are, you'll be through the line in a few minutes.

We had some great non-chain places for subs and burgers, and a higher end place with soups and fancier lunch fare, but they all went out of business even before Covid hit. Lately we have some new Asian and other start-ups that are good.
 
sanford12 said:
There was a small one off burger place in Lincoln IL. called ShortStop. Sad when they closed. First time for a potato bun. Use to hit that place whenever we in Lincoln.

Another midwest chain burger place that was bought out by Hardees was Sandy's. Their Big Scott burger was was the first burger I ever had that had a slaw topping. Just a great burger. Even have the recipe for the that slaw topping. Sandy's also had great shakes.

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Kroger sends coupons in the mail and one is 2.50 off for Black Label Select. I get the top sirloin. It 12 bucks and very reasonable with the 2.50 off. They had 5 1/2" pork chops for 5 bucks the other day
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I've had that Sandy's burger, loved it.
 
Bill Ferris said:
We used to frequent and enjoy our local 5 Guys for around 12 yrs. until around 5 yrs. back and with the same order/type of burger, the quality became unacceptably degraded along with the jacked up price increase, so my B-I-L and I decided to boycott them and have my long suffering housekeeper/caregiver prepare ones for us instead, buying freshly ground ground 1lb. of chuck, or sirloin from the nearby Fresh Market with no pink slime mixed into the meat.

We get a 1/4 ~1/2 lb. burger with melted Tillamook brand sharp cheddar cheese, red onion, tomato, Romaine lettuce, sometimes sauteed mushrooms and of course, several slices of bacon draped over the patty as part of our desired build.

With either quality frozen fries, tater tots, or onion rings choice sides depending on our mood, as all three offerings are always kept available in the freezer, or sometimes Cape Cod brand kettle cooked regular flavored potato chips, if they happen to be BOGO priced.

With Nat. Hamburger day coming up later this month, I`m looking forward to the event, as I don`t eat red as often as I used to, and only have hamburgers on certain hamburger themed, or summer type holiday events over the yr.

Sadly, Dairy Queen used to offer what I thought was a very good quality "Brazier burger" decades back, but haven`t had one since the late seventies ~early eighties, and the nearest one is located ~ 8 miles away, if, in fact, still open .
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Yes, I think the Covid 19 pandemic/supply chain issues had a lot to do with Five Guys quality going into the dumpster, unfortunately they are now close to disgusting...
I feel for all the people who don't have access to a Whataburger (Texas chain that is mostly in the Southwest) you don't know what you're missing.

Freddie's Steak Burger is also decent- you can get Tater Tots (their fries suck) and frozen custard to go along with your burger .
 
MX117.MC7150 said:
We are fortunate that we have both a good Burger King and McDonald's. We go to BK for the Wednesday deal on Whoppers once a month and I enjoy a quarter pounder occasionally at McDonald's, but the last one I had as a meal was $10.89, so no longer a good deal.

We spend a couple of months in France most years. The French have adopted the burger and they do it so much better than most places in the USA. A large hand-formed pattie cooked exactly the way you request, large, fat fries without any coating, lots of fresh veggies (as ordered) on the burger and generally a small salad on your plate, as well. The one at Bistro Le Sandra in Cannes in the pic has avocado, lettuce, tomato, pickle & onion and a bun made that morning.

View attachment 3759373
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The French can make anything taste good :)
 
krautmaster said:
Yes, I think the Covid 19 pandemic/supply chain issues had a lot to do with Five Guys quality going into the dumpster, unfortunately they are now close to disgusting...
I feel for all the people who don't have access to a Whataburger (Texas chain that is mostly in the Southwest) you don't know what you're missing.

Freddie's Steak Burger is also decent- you can get Tater Tots (their fries suck) and frozen custard to go along with your burger .
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The nearby Whataburger boarded up shortly around Covid-19, surprisingly for whatever reason, as every time I was in that area prior, where it was located from opening to closing, there was always a good amount of cars in the parking lot and cars lined up in the drive through lane ever since they opened up !
Sadly I never had an opportunity to try their hamburgers, though quite a few of my friends had, and all spoke highly of their hamburger`s quality, I guess that is just as well, as I would have gotten into the habit of getting my occasional hamburger satisfaction and they would have not been able to provide my infrequent hamburger fixes desire !

Moot point for me now, as nothing like carefully selected quality controlled ingredients, well prepared homemade hamburgers, if one has the time, & desired effort.
Mine are perfectly cooked on my medium sized Pinni Press by a woman who really, really likes to cook, and is an excellent cook across the board, as I`m so fortunate to be blessed with.
 
krautmaster said:
The French can make anything taste good :)
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That's the reason we like spending so much time there. Every facet of a meal is to be enjoyed. From the neighborhood bistro to the fanciest dining establishment it is a very similar attitude towards having a most enjoyable experience/meal.
 
devnull said:
If I want a good burger there are a number of bars very close with excellent burgers.
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Why is it that bars have the best burgers ?

We have so many fast food burger places within a few miles of our house, BK, Five guys, Freddys, McDonald’s, Whataburger, Chester’s, Burger Boy and a Sonic Drive in. But I still really like the burgers from the bars, even though I don’t drink. Lol.
 
Braum's has decent burgers at decent prices.. I know they aren't everywhere, but we have 4 of them here in my little city..

Cost a bit more, but when I want a good burger, we have a place called Red Boot Grill.. it used to be a bar.. Screenshot_20260510_145312_Chrome.jpg
Awesome little place, I like the John Wayne burger, and it comes with alot of homemade fries..

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We have a local burger place, the Olympic Flame. It’s a 60s type diner. But not a pretend 60s place. It opened in the 60s. And while prices have gone up lately, it’s the best place in town.
Real charbroiled burgers. Massive orders of onion rings and fries. Fast food all over town, but the Olympic Flame has more business than they can handle.
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Real onion rings. No factory formed onion rings. They’re amazing.
 
Pioneered said:
I make it myself seeing Big Boy's is gone.
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Got food poisoning twice there and I was done. There's a reason they're gone. Sounds like you had a good one but their reputation the last few years was pretty bad.

usedto said:
We have a food (Cooking and Spirits) forum. :) :thumbsup:
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It never would have seen this number of replies that's why I didn't post it there.
 
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