Fat Burger: A Burger Joint with a Sense of Humor

Billing themselves as "the last great hamburger stand," Fatburger has just started creeping their way onto the East coast, although those out West have been enjoying them for awhile now. Not really a restaurant, but not really fast food, it falls somewhere in between. When I saw this sign outside their location, I laughed out loud and knew we were in for a treat. How can you not love a restaurant with a sense of humor?

Decorated in 1950s retro style, complete with chrome and red leather, it features a nifty jukebox that is web-based and holds 200,000 songs - pretty cool! I, for one, love jukeboxes. The chain has been around since 1952 and was the brainchild of Lovie Yancey. Serving big juicy burgers that are cooked-to-order from fresh lean beef (nothing frozen here), the only thing that Lovie fancied more than delicious burgers was music; hence, the jukeboxes pumping out rock 'n roll, hip-hop and classic soul to keep the joint jumpin'.

The fries, which are 100% cholesterol free (we chose the skinny ones; they also have fat fries, which looked good) and onion rings did nothing for me, but the burger ... amazingly delicious! Really, really well seasoned, I got it topped with melted cheese and a fried egg and ate every last bite. I asked the manager what seasonings they used to make their burgers so darn good, and they keep it real with just salt and pepper. Their burgers, particularly after I pile the ketchup on it, are the kind where the bun can barely contain it, and everything just oozes through your fingers as you wolf it down. That's my kind of burger, and just on their own merit, the burgers will bring us back.

If burgers and fries aren't your thing, although the menu isn't bulging, there are plenty of other things to entice you ... chili, turkey burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and thick, you'll-lose-your-mind-sucking-so-hard milk shakes made with hand-scooped ice cream.

At Fatburger, you can watch the crew as they make everyone's meals, diner style, with the order-takers shouting out different items and the kitchen crew shouting the items back, marine style.

They squeezed 10 employees in the small galley kitchen, yet they worked amazingly well together. All around the restaurant, they have humorous quotes and sayings on their tabletop signs, and posters, and you can see their entire archive here. I love the sense of humor the chain has.

Yup, we'll be back.