I pulled into the small, half-full parking lot and was greeted by a neon sign which boldly proclaimed that the establishment before me served Mexican food. Admittedly, I was a bit confused, but was quickly reassured that I had indeed reached the sought-after Burger Factory when I saw the lighted sign in the corner of the parking lot.
I stepped into the decent sized interior and was greeted by menu boards which stretched clear across the back wall behind the counter and boasted not only burgers and Mexican food, but also gyros, french toast and an 8 oz. ribeye steak dinner. Apparently this factory has quite the diversity in product lines. I made a mental note to stop by at a future date to sample the other fare offerings.
In keeping with the ABT goal of comparing apples to apples, (or should I say burgers to burgers) I ordered a regular cheeseburger and a small side of fries. For the Signature Spotlight, I opted for the massive, 8+ dollar King Kong Super Burger which was prominently advertised by a faded placard standing near the register. I also ordered a couple sides of ranch for a small extra charge. I deem ranch to be nearly obligatory to a satisfactory burger and fries experience.
My order arrived in stages, oddly enough. First the fries, then several minutes later the regular cheeseburger, and lastly the King Kong. Both burgers were served on an ordinary sesame seed bun. Thankfully it was not simply pulled out of the plastic bag and dropped on the plate. The inside was grilled on the flat top to achieve a nice char that I'm sure was an improvement. The pro side is that it was the perfect size for the patty.
The burgers at Burger Factory are made with thin, pre-formed, quarter-pound patties that despite their thinness were not dry, but also not very juicy either. The patty has a large circumference which fit the bun quite nicely. I still would prefer my burgers to be a bit thicker though. The beef is cooked on a flat top grill directly behind the counter and they cook them to well done. Perhaps one could ask for a different level of "doneness", but I was not given an option. By default, all the standard burgers come with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and thousand island dressing. If cheese is added to the burger, they automatically give you American though I later found out that they also have cheddar and Swiss and it would have been nice have been offered a choice.
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| Standard Cheeseburger |
The cheese is just your average, pre-sliced cheese product that you might find at a chain burger joint so obviously there was nothing special about it. The burger was served with a generous amount of shredded iceberg lettuce and two thick slices of a pretty large tomato, possibly of the Beefsteak variety. Hidden under the mound of lettuce was a small amount of fresh chopped white onion. All of the produce seemed to be quite fresh and of good quality. The thousand island dressing is made in-house (as is the ranch) and was very tasty; I only wished that there had been more on the burger. But since other condiments were available in squeeze bottles on the table I simply added a generous dollop of ketchup instead.
To sum it up, the regular cheeseburger at Burger Factory is not a bad burger, but it's not a spectacular burger either. The patty was a bit too thin for my liking and coupling that with the average bun and cheese slice makes for an underwhelming experience. The saving grace is the fact that the bun-to-burger ratio is spot on, the toppings are of good quality and not added sparingly. Perhaps if a double burger was ordered, that would rectify the thickness issue. Unfortunately this "factory" is more of an assembly line, but they do a pretty decent job of building a burger. My verdict is that this is a slightly above-average burger, but feel free to try it for yourself and let me know if you think I'm wrong.
Final Score: 5.75
Side Notes
The french fries were very, very good. Fried to the perfect crispness, they are thicker than what you might find at many fast food chains. I got a small order and the portion size was huge! The plate was piled high with potato-ey goodness. The ranch is made in-house and was delicious! It had a bit of a garlicky flavor which was unexpected, but I really liked it. Burger Factory also has lots of other sides, such as onion rings and mozzarella sticks.
Signature Spotlight
The King Kong Super Burger is a meat extravaganza! In addition to the standard toppings of lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and thousand island, it also features a generous helping of pastrami and several slices of ham on top of two 1/4 pound beef patties and two cheese slices. I ordered mine without the veggies and it was still about 3 inches thick! This burger is delicious; and is quite possibly one of the tastiest burgers I've ever had especially when dipped in the ranch. Charles, the very friendly and helpful staff member, informed me that it is quite a popular choice for patrons and that they usually sell into the double digits of this burger each day. He also said another favorite for many guests is the bacon and avocado burger. I preferred the King Kong over the standard burger by far and would definitely be up for visiting Burger Factory again just for this burger. |
| The King Kong Super Burger |
