Day 35 - Arizona-Sonoma Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park (West), Fuddruckers

Day 35 - Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park (West)

Fuddruckers

I finally did it!  On the way back to camp, I went a little out of my way to eat at a Fuddruckers.  Many people had recommended it, so I had reasonably high expectations.

I walked in around 9:00 pm, noting they had a closing time of 10:00.  This could definitely have an impact on the quality of service and food, but I figured I might as well try it.  I ordered my burger, electing for the 1/2 lb burger and onion rings.

As I waited for my order, I went to fill up my drink cup, and found the most interesting part of the place.  While I think I've seen them elsewhere, they are rare, but shouldn't be.  A soda fountain that allows you to select from about 30 different base drinks via touch screen, then add your choice of a number of flavorings to it.  Pretty groovy!

After sampling a few different things, and settling on just plain diet Dr. Pepper, I inspected the second coolest thing Fuddruckers has going for it - their toppings bar.  There are a number of different things to choose from - mostly the usual fixins for a burger - 2 different lettuces, tomatoes, onion, 3 different pickle options, banana peppers, jalapenos, pico de gallo, and maybe one or two other toppings.  They also had a number of different sauces, including jalapeno and plain hot cheddar cheese, and a decent honey mustard. 

At a restaurant where the buns are baked there, and the burger is cooked to order, walking in late, you'd expect the most likely drawback in the food quality would be this toppings bar.  All of it that I tried was in very a acceptable state.  So, I've got my drink from a remarkable soda dispensing smart machine, and I'm satisfied with my topping bar options, then the buzzer goes off.  I walk over and grab the basket containing the burger and the onion rings.  I add a number of toppings to it, then find a table.  The bread sandwiching the patty was good.  It had the crisp crust you want in a fresh bun, but was soft and strong enough to support the toppings I put on.  What I failed to mention, which was a give-away about what comes next, is that when I looked at the naked patty, it had pools of grease sitting on it.

Some people like fatty patties.  It's common for a restaurant to serve only an 80/20 ground beef, because the 20% fat mostly melts down, keeping the burger juicy and imparting flavor.  I am not very particular when I eat out about this, though I do prefer a leaner mix, and proper seasoning of the meat (easiest, simplest, and fully acceptable method is S&P - preferably more of the P than the S).  What I am particular about is that the fat is mostly rendered in cooking, and that the juiciness of the meat be in the patty, not sitting on top of it.

While I ate my burger, it tasted fine overall, but I could still taste the greasiness.  The toppings held their own, though, and the bread, as described, was also very good.  The onion rings were decent, though they failed the test of a truly great onion ring - the onions came out of the breading as I ate.  Perhaps I should have tried their fries instead, but given the choice, I usually don't eat fries.  The service wasn't much of a factor, though it was good.  The service you receive is pretty much exclusively while placing your order, as you fill your own glass when you empty it.  I don't have a problem with this - I make sure I'm happy with the service I give my table, and I have no obligation to tip someone who doesn't keep my glass full.

The Verdict: Overall, I think it was a decent meal.  Given the quality of the toppings and the bread so close to closing, they're doing some stuff very right.  Unfortunately, the most critical part of a good burger let them down a bit.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great, and with the reputation that was built up for me, I was let down, and would have been let down just the same without the recommendations I'd gotten from other people (As an aside - Five Guys was the exact same for me - touted by many people, but greasy patties, and overall, too high a price for what you get).