(Guest post by The Boyfriend)
Julie doesn’t normally review chain restaurants here on wine me, dine me. But this is a general guideline, not a hard-and-fast rule. She does make exceptions for local chains, small chains, and chains that are just moving into the Cincinnati area. (Ed. note: isn’t it nice to have your own blog? I love my own rules.)
It is under that last caveat that I proudly and enthusiastically present this mini-review of Fatburger, which opened recently on Madison Road in Oakley.
My life is a quest for the perfect cheeseburger. I may have just found it.
With Julie out of town on a business trip, I was looking for a place to treat myself to lunch today. I remembered that I had driven past the new Fatburger location earlier in the week, and the place seemed to be open for business. Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped in.
At 12:30 p.m. on a Saturday, the parking lot was virtually full. This is a good sign.
When I walked in, the line extended from the counter to the door. This, too, is a good sign.
A prominently-displayed sign boasts “Voted Best Burger in Los Angeles and Las Vegas”. Further good news.
Burgers are not made until they are ordered, and they are delivered to the table fresh off the grill. It just gets better and better.
I had the Kingburger (the Fatburger’s bigger cousin), an order of skinny fries (standard shoestring fries…steak fries are also available), and a soda.
My God.
I moaned and groaned with each bite of the burger. This was one of those meals that I was actually sad when it was over.
There is no real secret here. Fresh ground beef, fresh bun, fresh toppings.
Fatburger has been around more than fifty years. The chain has fewer than eighty-five locations nationwide, and about fifty of those are in California and Nevada. The Oakley location is the first in the Cincinnati area. There are two other locations in Ohio, both in the Cleveland area.
I might still give the overall nod to Terry’s Turf Club, but Fatburger has just supplanted Steak & Shake as my favorite semi-fast-food, sit-down hamburger chain.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
One of my favs too – love the steak fries.
I’ve never been, but it sounds like a good place to have dinner
Guess we’ll have to try this one when we’re in the mood for some beef!
Some friends and I also recently visited Fatburger as a part of our quest to find the best burger in Cincinnati. I loved it, but some of my friends weren’t as thrilled. Check out our thoughts on Fatburger, Terry’s and others at http://www.cirquedusavory.com
I agree that it really is a pretty good burger. However, in my humble opinion, it is no where near the quality of Terry’s Turf Club. My main problem there was with the “disconnectedness” of the staff. Other than to take your order, they really didn’t acknowledge you were there. I had to wait at least 5 minutes while the person taking the orders was in the back room. No one else even looked my way.
yum. i went to fatburger when it first opened and i was less than impressed (we watched our food sit on the counter for 20 minutes before being brought to us, and then my friend’s burger went to someone else and she had to wait another 10 minutes). maybe it was good hot but we had no idea. i will have to give it another shot though, i’m thinking they have tightened up their customer service skills by now.
Hound Dog, I think that’s the difference between a chain and a locally owned place. Terry (restaurant, not boyfriend) really cares that you’re there and he and his staff try their best to treat you as guests. A place like Fatburger probably doesn’t care nearly as much– I mean, it really is a Steak-n-Shake level of restaurant. Nevertheless, I’ll try it out– but on general principle it can’t rise above Terry’s in my book.
We live close by Fat Burger, but we have never been. Whenever in search of a good burger for me and fish sandwich for my husband we head to Terry’s! Haven’t seen a menu. Fish sandwiches?
Marge,
They do have a fish sandwich, but I believe that it’s only a lenten special. I doubt they’ll have it after Easter. They do have three or four chicken sandwiches (fried, fried-spicy, grilled, etc.) and a turkeyburger.