It’s amazingly difficult to find a ‘good, honest burger’ in Belltown. Two Bells Tavern has a tasty burger, but it’s incredibly messy (‘greasy’ or ‘juicy’, depending on your POV) and they serve it on a French roll. Buckley’s over on 2nd also has a good burger. The Blarney Stone has a pretty-good burger, but it’s not my go-to place. And then there’s McDonalds. Well, it turns out that Noodle Ranch (2nd Ave, near The Crocodile) closed down. In its place is…
It has some good reviews. I went there Friday and had the Dope Delux. I’ve gotta say, I’ll be going back. I didn’t have any sides, and I’ll have to see if they can make malts as well as shakes. I did see someone’s onion rings on the way out, and I wish I’d ordered some. They looked good.
Went back today, and went for the Surfer on Avocado. I substituted bacon for the egg. Pretty good, but I like the Dope Delux. I also tried the onion rings. I was taken aback when I opened the box back at my desk, and there were five rings. For $3.75. Five. They were very good (I ate them with mustard), but not worth 75¢ each. I called to ask them if there had been a mistake. They said they’d give me a free order next time I came in. But I didn’t get an answer as to whether they really give five rings for $3.75.
Also, no malts. Just shakes.
But the burgers are good, so I’ll be going there for my burger fixes.
The onion rings are hand-battered and nicely cut. They’re very nice. I like onion rings with mustard.
I went to Dope Burger for lunch yesterday. They gave me my complimentary rings, and there were more of them this time. I didn’t count them. At $3.75, they’re still pricey. Apparently they make up the reasonable prices of the burgers by boosting the prices of the sides. But still, if the quantity is the same then I wouldn’t balk at getting them occasionally. I do want to try their avocado fries.
I had the Dope Delux again yesterday. I think I know what I like about it: Salt. Actually, it was pushing the line. Any more and it would have been too salty. But I do tend to like saltier burgers. Maybe that’s why I like Big Macs, and I know it’s why I prefer Fatburger to In-N-Out (not that I can get either of those up here). The Dope Delux reminds me of the burgers I’d have at a long-gone little place called Joy’s, which was outside of Barstow when I was a kid. (Dad was stationed at Daggett.) Those were the best burgers I’ve ever had. The Dope Delux isn’t quite as good as Joy’s was, but it’s in the same style. Much better than fast-food places, and not as ‘gourmet’ as other places try to make burgers. And it’s big (two 1/4-pound patties), so you don’t really need an expensive side-order.
Joy’s had a mac’n’cheese salad that was great. Chunks of cheese in it. It would be nice if Dope Burger could duplicate it. Of course, they don’t know about it. What they really need is two things: Grilled hot dogs, and malts.
Handmade onion rings are labor intensive and is why so many burger joints opt for the frozen kind. Most anyplace that has handmade rings charges quite a bit for them.
Just got an email from a cow-orker. She was suspicious when I told her about Dope Burger. ‘“Dope Burger”? It’s not something weird, is it? Like lamb or something?’ (I get that a lot. ‘Is it weird?’ ‘Is it spicy?’) She loved the burger, and highly recommends the fries.
I tried the avocado fries today. Interesting. Finger slices of avocado, battered, and deep-fried. Pretty good. I don’t think I’ll get them again (they weren’t ‘amazing’), but I’m glad I tried them.
