Overpriced burger places

[MrMan]

I had never eaten at Johnny Rockets until I ate at one in Jakarta. Compared to local food of the same value, it was expensive, I thought. My wife can stand to eat a hamburger a few times a year. She cooks stir fries, Indonesian food, Indian food, steak, but she really doesn't care much for burgers.

Recently, I have tried a few overpriced burger restaurants. It was just under $13 for a small burger and small fries at Five Guys Burgers. That filled me up with the free peanuts. They have a bunch of newspaper quotes and references to awards all over the walls to justify their outrageous prices. Basically it tastes like a homemade burger with decent ingredients and home fried Russet potatoes-- nothing special really. Way overpriced. No where near as good as a decent well seasoned grilled burger with quality ingredients. And price wise, it wasn't that much cheaper than probably the best burger I ever bought at an Australian pub in Perth that sells steak and make a burger out of Angus steak on a quality bun.

I also tried In-and-Burger. I think a burger was about $2.50, not terribly overpriced, but a little overpriced. And it wasn't ___that___ good, not enough to justify the crazy long line. Sure, it was a decent burger.

I wonder if these places make a living because there are people who have no idea how to cook who cannot fry a home made burger in a pan.

I'll also throw in the Thurman burger from years ago. It's in Columbus Ohio. I tried it out. There was someone with a card of burger places throughout the country who was driving around trying them all. For me, the Thurman burger wasn't good. It was just big-- with lots of under seasoned hamburger grease flavor. Definitely nothing special in my opinion. I think it was a little expensive, too.

[Voyager1]

I just made burgers on the bbq the other day. They were some of the best burgers I've had in my life. Better than I've had in any fast food places or restaurants.

If to choose a fast food place for burgers I guess it would be BK. They have that flame broiled taste.

[MrMan]

I just made burgers on the bbq the other day. They were some of the best burgers I've had in my life. Better than I've had in any fast food places or restaurants.

If to choose a fast food place for burgers I guess it would be BK. They have that flame broiled taste.

Aside from the Angus steak done up like a burger in Australia, I don't think I've ever had a restaurant burger that was as good as the ones my dad would grill. That was just about all the cooking he did except when my mom was in the hospital for a minor procedure, that I can recall, growing up. But he made good burgers and steak on the grill. I think one of my daughter's steaks is better than restaurant steaks, too, and she's a teenager.

It may be that what keeps these places in business is either customers just not caring how much they spend or the fact that there are some people who just eat out all the time and do not know how to cook at all. I remember hearing about that at the beginning of Covid, that they had to keep take-out going because some people in the cities did not cook at all.

But I would say that In-and-Out and Five guys make good burgers. Five Guy's burgers clearly are not worth the money, and in-and-out isn't worth the long wait and all the hoopla over a burger you can make yourself at home in about the amount of time you have to wait for them to cook it.

[fdiv]

I had never eaten at Johnny Rockets until I ate at one in Jakarta. Compared to local food of the same value, it was expensive, I thought. My wife can stand to eat a hamburger a few times a year. She cooks stir fries, Indonesian food, Indian food, steak, but she really doesn't care much for burgers.

Recently, I have tried a few overpriced burger restaurants. It was just under $13 for a small burger and small fries at Five Guys Burgers. That filled me up with the free peanuts. They have a bunch of newspaper quotes and references to awards all over the walls to justify their outrageous prices. Basically it tastes like a homemade burger with decent ingredients and home fried Russet potatoes-- nothing special really. Way overpriced. No where near as good as a decent well seasoned grilled burger with quality ingredients. And price wise, it wasn't that much cheaper than probably the best burger I ever bought at an Australian pub in Perth that sells steak and make a burger out of Angus steak on a quality bun.

I also tried In-and-Burger. I think a burger was about $2.50, not terribly overpriced, but a little overpriced. And it wasn't ___that___ good, not enough to justify the crazy long line. Sure, it was a decent burger.

I wonder if these places make a living because there are people who have no idea how to cook who cannot fry a home made burger in a pan.

I'll also throw in the Thurman burger from years ago. It's in Columbus Ohio. I tried it out. There was someone with a card of burger places throughout the country who was driving around trying them all. For me, the Thurman burger wasn't good. It was just big-- with lots of under seasoned hamburger grease flavor. Definitely nothing special in my opinion. I think it was a little expensive, too.

I used to stop at Whataburger and In-N-Out burger sometimes when I ran out west. Whataburger is pretty decent, and In-N-Out was excellent quality for the price. Basically McDonald's prices but Hardee's+ quality. Their fries sucked though. I bet prices have gone up and quality has gone way down though. I really only eat fast food now and then and usually eat in the truck, because it's healthier. I know what you mean about the In-N-Outs being super busy. Even the one way out in the middle of nowhere near Grapevine, CA stays slammed. I'm not big on stopping for burgers though, it's not worth it. I can grill a steak in my truck. The exception is the In-N-Out across from the Knight terminal in North Las Vegas. There are cute Filipinas staffing it. Also there's a huge Filipino community there in Vegas for some reason. Probably because there's lots of them with hospitality degrees. Pretty easy to hook up or just talk and flirt in between my trips to the Philippines, LOL. The other great thing about being out west is the presence of Jollibees. Way better than any burger. EDIT: BTW, if you are in Columbus, check out Bonafacio in Grandview, where the Wendy's used to be. Across from Gentile's Wine and Spirits. Pretty good Filipino food