Fuddruckers

Directly following my trip to Peru, I left on a research trip to the West Coast for two weeks.  What was I researching?  Glad you asked: a book on Stadium Eats!  Um, yeah, without a deal in sight currently (hint, hint, anyone reading this who is interested!), I went to preemptively scout out the 6 West Coast stadiums and eat my way up and down the West Coast at the same time, starting in San Francisco, working my way down to Los Angeles, then San Diego, back up to San Francisco and then to Seattle!  Phew!  Tune in at 4:15 EST (or 1:15 PST, lunchtime on the West Coast) for the next 6 weeks to see what I ate and where I ate it… and how I gained 10 lbs in two weeks!

On my last day staying outside LA (near Disneyland), I decided to bite the bullet and eat at Fuddruckers.  I’d actually never set foot inside a Fuddruckers before, though I’ve driven past them in New Jersey and a few times, people have mentioned their mile-high-mud-pie to me… 

This one was also apparently a Korean BBQ place.  Just kidding.  I just thought the sign was funny. 

When I walked in, I was greeted by the deals menu.  I was incredibly surprised that it was more fast food than I thought – I actually originally thought it was more like a Friday’s or Applebee’s, but apparently, it’s a walk-up counter and you order your burger, then it gets cooked, and blah blah. 

But apparently, the real draw is the amazing ‘buffet’ of goodies that awaits you.  What I mean is… it’s pretty much this amazing “build your own” toppins bar.  Holy crap!  Hot sauce, malt vinegar, tobasco, A1, etc… but also

Fairly normal ketchup, mustards, mayo, bbq sauce and two kinds of liquid cheese for your fries!  ALL FRIES can be cheese fries for no extra charge!  *happy tear

but also, look! 

Lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles,

pico de gallo (which was actually pretty damn good, perfectly mixed), pickle relish, banana peppers, pickled jalapeno peppers,

NOMMY. 

Okay, I got excited and took tons of pictures of that section.  I was very happy, even though I don’t really put much on my burgers. 

While waiting for my food, I also snapped a quick pic of someone’s nachos waiting to be picked up.  The heat lamps screw up the lighting, but doesn’t that look good???  Mmm! 

I’d wanted a salad to offset everything else I was eating – not necessarily to help me lose weight or anything silly, but rather, just something green to get in my belly.  I was a little disappointed that it was all iceberg lettuce, but at least it was a real salad… but there was no meatless option so I had to get fried chicken on top of it.  Hahaha.  The chicken was crispy and properly cooked, and of course went nicely dipped into the dressing.  Funny, though: at one point it occurred to me I could “refresh” my salad by going to the toppings bar… I did not, but I bet many people do.  Or get a burger and then make a ‘salad’ of sorts on the side. 

My salad also came with a piece of garlic? bread, but as I approached my table carrying too much stuff, it threw itself off my plate and landed on the floor.  I took a picture just so everyone can see what kind of bread comes with the salad, but I didn’t eat it. 

My plain burger – I got one of the smaller sizes, so 1/3 lb, I think.  The fries were good dipped in the cheese sauce (I tried both; jalapeno wasn’t spicy).  I want one of those cheese dispensers for my home…  heh heh heh…  But on their own, the fries are slightly bigger than I prefer, though they did fry them pretty crisp around the edges. 

I went up to get my toppings – tomatoes, mayo, pickles, pico de gallo (just to try, not to top my burger with).  I generally put just a bit of mayo and tomato slices on my burger; the juices of the burger run out into the mayo and mix with the tomatoes to make its own ‘ketchup’ and I love that.  The pico de gallo I tried was really good – done just right, juicy tomatoes with a lot of onion. 

Requisite cross section of my burger.  Since I’d never been to a Fuddruckers in the past, I ordered it medium, and they did a really good job of hitting medium just right.  I’d hope so, since this is a burger place, but I’ve been to other places that all they do is xx and they don’t get it right when I go.  The burger was pretty big, and tasty by all accounts.  Sure, it’s more about the toppings at this place than it is about the burger, but it’s nice that they let you basically super-customize your burger, and that they cooked it properly.  It wasn’t expensive either.  Nom!  Tasty!

Yvo says: So I have to say, I like the place.  I like that I can customize my burger any which way I want and it doesn’t cost extra money (with what’s out, that is), and that liquid cheese is always available (yum!!!) for my fries, and the overall place, I just dug.  Cute.  And the prices didn’t hurt either. 
recommended (it is what it is and doesn’t try to be anything more)

Click here for a location near you – the one I went to was Buena Park