Dishin’: Waisting Our Way to Burgerville
Dishin’ doesn’t typically do fast food, but we did and we offer you a fast review.
A recent road trip to Oregon meant a perfect opportunity to check out the much-heralded Burgerville. We’d been hearing good things about their vegetarian cows, Walla Walla onion rings, and fresh, seasonal shakes. It’s even lauded by Eric Schlosser as the only place he can recommend in our nation of fast food (see the Nightline Online video).
It was too early in the year for the onion rings, but just in time for the start of the strawberry season, so we got a Tillamook cheeseburger basket and upgraded to a shake. At $7.59 plus tax, it’s a higher price than the average place’s adult-like happy meal, but we’re talking higher quality ingredients here. Plus, they give you a number to take to your table and then make the delivery (though they were fast enough to offer a walk-by pick-up of the shake).
Burgerville’s burger was better than most, but the fries were nothing special. The highlight was the shake, full of strawberry chunks and providing drinkability for many miles down the road. Is it worth a road trip from Seattle? No. But we like the “local” aspect of the chain (pushing 40 locations in Washington and Oregon), and we think the quality rivals California’s acclaimed In-N-Out burger – without the secret menu (which we like) and the not-so-secret evangelism (which we despise).
