Fatburger
- February 1st, 2010
- Posted in Fast Food
- By KP
- Write comment
Fatburger is about as close to fast food as we get, but there are a few key points which make it rateable for us. These burgers are cooked to order with what they claim to be the ’100% pure lean beef and only the freshest ingredients’, and frankly, they were the only place open when I was out marauding for a burger late on a Friday night. Does their reputation for being a cut above the other fast food titans hold up to legit scrutiny?
Let’s start with the beef. It tastes awful. It’s “seasoned” with salt and pepper, from what I could discern, but the ratio is off and it takes away from what I consider to be okay beef. Credit where it’s due: the beef was cooked to medium-well and had a good texture and sear on the outside. It just tasted bad, is all.
The bun was mediocre, of course not toasted, and you’ll be glad they wrapped it with wax paper by the time you get to the end, as grease saturates the bun and becomes a condiment for your fries. The bacon was a little thin and fatty, but tasted alright. The cheddar cheese tasted more like American and the melt could use a little work.
The lettuce was limp, bland, wet; it was everything that’s wrong with shredded lettuce. The rest of the veggies were bland and, over time, something about their combination became offensive. They throw some mayo and mustard on there as well. I didn’t care for that either but couldn’t tell if it was just tainted by the meat seasoning.
This is the kind of food that cuts through you like Drano, however I do acknowledge that Fatburger has a place in the world of burgers. This is one of those burgers that could have been vastly different if I’d been around at a different time of day with a different cook and fresher ingredients during a high-traffic time of day, etc. But the burger before me fell short in so many ways. It’s a step above the big fast food guys, but don’t expect anything more than that or you will be bitterly disappointed.
Unbeef: Open late! Fries taste like death.
+ Good looking beef.
- Beef was seasoned to death. Veggies combine to form the sour megazord. Needs a real burger sauce.
The King Burger at Fat Burger
Rating: 
The Fatburger must be done with an egg. Must.
So what does that say about the burger if it “requires” a fried egg on top? Though I love an egg on a burger, I am cautious when I hear this.
Only must haves for a good burger in my eyes are 1. Bacon, 2. Good Cheese.
Egg is purely optional and I am saying this as a pure generalisation as never had a fatburger myself. Live in US for 10 years but in the midwest.
I really can’t say that a burger could be called “great” if an egg is needed. An egg, in my opinion, kind of invalidates the burger. It is almost like a cop-out, an admission that “our burger needs to have this extra oomph to be good”. Just reminds me of IHOP. Heart-clogging does not equal exceptional, especially when adding it to lean beef…kind of defeats the purpose…
Like I said, just MY opinion. =)
In my opinion the egg is a nice touch to a good burger although the egg must be done correctly. The egg cannot be too runny and cannot be fried to the point that you are chewing into rubber. Each bite should contain a taste of the egg yolk, but not be dripping down your chin.
Good thick sliced bacon adds to the effect also.
Egg… eh. I’ve had it, I’ve liked it, but that’s an experience I think I’ll keep in the breakfast sandwich category.
To Merc’s point, I could see an egg having improved the Fatburger, leaving off everything but that, the bacon and the cheese.
Not to burger nerd it up, but I’m curious what the differences would be between a burger that Requires an egg Vs a burger with an egg.
I enjoy the occasional fried egg on my burger but I kinda grow leery when told that a burger requires what is basically an optional ingredient.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a burger with an egg.