French Fry Diary 700: Fatburger

According to their advertising, Fatburger is the last great hamburger stand. And they are. This stuff is addictive, and, important to note, all cooked to order. Started in the 1940s by Lovie Yancy. The original restaurant was in her garage, and it's been franchised since the 1980s. They have become well known for their progressively bigger and bigger burgers, but their French fries are just as famous.

Fatburger has steak fries (Fat Fries) and shoestrings (Skinny Fries), perfectly deep fried 'til crispy on the outside and soft and hot on the inside. And as I said, cooked to order - no heat lamp fries - they don't drop 'em until your burger's done and ready to go with 'em. The same goes with the Homemade Onion Rings. These thin crispy beauties are probably the best of the fast food onion rings, big and thin and crispy - yum!

The Skinny Fries are similar in look to McDonald's French fries, but that's where the similarity ends. These are significantly crispier, excellent dipping into one of Fatburger's awesome thick shakes. The Fat Fries however are the best, vastly superior to many of the standard steak fries out there, very recommended.

The burgers are good, made to order with a variety of ways and patties and toppings, including fried eggs. Always hand formed and cooked medium well at their open grill as you watch. Great burgers with only one complaint from this camp - a bit too much pepper, but you can always ask them to go light on it.

Either of the two kinds of fries, or the onion rings, are good for planking on the burger. And as I said, all of the above are good for dipping in the wonderfully thick shakes that Fatburger makes - also to order. A bonus order when I was there last was a fries and rings combo for half the price of a large order of either. And rumor has it they also have hash browns for morning breakfasts and brunches.

This all goes to show why Fatburger is so big and loved in some parts of the country. Despite there only being a few in this area (the one I frequent is in the Borgata Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, and is always the highlight of any trip to the place), it is still widely unknown around here. It's a secret well worth keeping, after we don't want everyone to know where the good stuff is, right?

The customer service is top notch at the Borgata Fatburger. Tenacity and friendliness of the counterstaff is a great shield against what one might suspect in a late night casino food court filled with possibly loud drunks. And then there's also those pesky rewards cards and discounts that casinos have. They handle it well, and with a smile.

Thumbs up all around for Fatburger, highly recommended.