EDITOR’S NOTE: Drop-In Dining is a restaurant dining report where reporters drop in unannounced and sample the food, on TNT’s dime, then report what the scene and the food were like. Have a suggestion for a Drop-In Dining feature? E-mail us at tntdiner@thenewstribune.com.

By Sue Kidd
sue.kidd@thenewstribune.com

Twelve cheeseburgers in two weeks. It’s not anything I’d recommend to anyone who has any concern for their arteries, or who wants to live to be, say, 40.

But in a burger quest, it must be done.

The impending invasion of Sonic and Burgerville launched my burger mission. The Sonic Drive-In chain is scheduled to open its first South Sound location in late April on Puyallup’s South Hill. Burgerville, announced plans to come to the Tacoma market this year.

My assignment: test the pulse of our smaller, independently operated burger joints. I hit pavement and visited eight burger joints. I also detoured to three high-end restaurants with decadent interpretations of the classic American burger. Finally, I pointed the car eastward to mull a restaurant with a commanding view and 50 burgers on the menu.

Did I miss your favorite? Want me to write about it? Comment here or e-mail to tntdiner@thenewstribune.com.

I might need some time to purge my arteries, but I’ll be back on the burger trail soon enough.

Pictured here: The El Gaucho burger. Photo by Peter Haley/The News Tribune

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Note: All restaurants listed here accept credit cards except Pick Quick, which only accepts cash.

DRIVE-IN RESTAURANTS

Pick Quick Drive In
Where: 4306 Pacific Highway E., Fife;
Phone: 253-922-5599
Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays

I judge all burger joints by key standards: patties should taste beefy and leak burger juice when squeezed, and fries should have a crispy exterior yin to a creamy interior yang. Veggies should be crisp counterparts to a sturdy bun and meaty patty, and condiments should be complimentary, not overpowering.
That being established, Pick Quick nails it. The cheeseburger ($2.70) was burger perfection with a quarter-pound fresh, juicy patty, melted American cheese, a grilled bun slathered with sweet relish, mustard and mayo and stuffed with crisp, sliced fresh onions, shredded lettuce and a thick, juicy slice of tomato. The burgers skew sweet with sweet relish, sliced pickles and onions giving it a taste unlike any other burger produced at the places I visited. The fries ($1.95) were fresh-cut. Although more limp than I typically like my fries, they had the unmistakable flavor of fresh potatoes. When smothered with chili, shredded cheddar cheese and diced onions ($3.55), the limp fries become magical. Pick Quick has a 1950s sensibility to it – from cash-only payment to the trash-free picnic table area (extra Mom points for cleanliness).

Little Holland Drive-In
Where: 5008 Center St., Tacoma;
Phone: 253-564-8661
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays

It’s the crunch that makes Little Holland’s burgers better. Extra love from the grill gives the bun a toasted texture that provides a sturdier base and better texture than what I ate at other burger places for this story.
The Little Holland cheeseburger ($2.95) came with a beefy, fresh patty that played meaty against the crunchy, toasted bun, the crisp shredded lettuce, thick-sliced tomato, diced onions, gooey American cheese and a sweet smear of Mikie sauce. Even the Mighty Mike –a bonanza of triple meat, double Canadian bacon, double Swiss, lettuce, tomato and onions, $5.50 – stayed solid to the final bites. Better buns make sturdy burgers.
Little Holland fries are crispy-creamy but otherwise pretty standard freezer fries. Little Holland will stay put while their site is developed, and they intend to lease a space in the new building there when it’s finished.

Frisko Freeze
Where: 1201 Division Ave., Tacoma;
Phone: 253-272-6843
Hours: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays

If you call yourself a Tacoman, then you’ve huddled outside Frisko Freeze at midnight in the freezing rain waiting for a “beefburger.” It’s the burger joint I fondly remember from my youth, although the quality seemed better then.
There was nothing bad about the cheeseburger ($2.70) I sampled, but it wasn’t memorable. The quarter-pound fresh, all-beef patty was tasty, but it lacked juice. Too much mustard overwhelmed my palate, but I appreciated the crispy lettuce and onions (no tomatoes, though). Maybe I imagined this, but didn’t they serve fresh-cut fries when we were kids?
If so, those have been replaced by freezer bag fries ($2.20). And the fries tasted like chicken, fish and old oil. Despite my beefs, this is the place I will keep returning to for two reasons: the killer chocolate malt shakes ($3.15) and nostalgia.

Legendz Burgers
Where: 1201 S. Sprague Ave., Tacoma;
Phone: 253-572-2510
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays

This is just an OK burger joint, but not in the same league as local favorites Pick Quick and Little Holland. The half-pound double cheeseburger ($3.99) came with two quarter-pound freezer patties with a miniscule amount of burger juice each, American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and too many condiments made it super sloppy. The freezer-bag fries ($1.55) were crispy and quite similar to those served at McDonalds, but the fries had a shelf life of just a few minutes before they went limp.

SIT-DOWN BURGER JOINTS

Mary’s Burger Bistro
Where: 2301 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
Phone: 253-779-0777
Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays

The burgers at Mary’s are good, but it’s the fresh fries that keep me coming back. The cook grilled the ª-pound freezer patty to just the right degree of doneness. I also liked that I got to pick my cheese for my burger ($4.99) and that burgers here come on sturdy, toasted Kaiser buns. I was not charged extra for the two pieces of hair with my burger (ahem). Be sure to grab a bottle of fry sauce to go with the deliciously crispy fries ($2.29, large). The fresh-cut fries are crispy and delicious, but they have a short shelf life.

Flip-N-Out Burgers
Where: 4008 S. 12th St., Tacoma;
Phone: 253-267-7002
Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Fridays- Saturdays

This small burger joint had obvious growing pains on my opening-day visit – the credit card machine wasn’t working, the staff disorganized and my order took too long. Despite that (it was their first day, after all), this place has its heart in the right place: fresh meat ground on site and fresh-cut fries. My burger was a thick, juicy patty with identifiable chunks of meat, which I really appreciated. I liked the free upgrades: grilled onions, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, pickles, green peppers and grilled mushrooms. Fries are fresh, hand-cut and crispy-fried but get a chewy texture upon cooling.

Wally’s
Where: 282 Highway 410, Buckley;
Phone: 360-829-0871
Hours: 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays

For kitsch, Wally’s delivers. It’s one of the last drive-in joints where you can pull up, order into a crackly box and wait for car service. But even someplace that’s kitschy and fun is not worth a trip if the burgers and fries are average.
The patty on the cheese charburger ($4.29) was, indeed, charred – so much so that there was no juice left. Fries are of the freezer variety.
My advice: Order a shake and the dynamite fish and chips ($10.99 for two pieces).

Friesenburgers
Where: 308 E. 26th St., Tacoma;
Phone: 253-203-6753
Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays

This is a no-frills place with a fun name and a penchant for deep-frying hot dogs and Twinkies. My cheeseburger ($4.48) was decent but nothing more than what I can do at home with a freezer patty (they use prefab patties).
Where Friesenburgers does well by diners is choices. Cheese choices include American, pepper jack, blue, cheddar or Swiss, and upgrades include mushrooms, bacon and egg (between 48 cents to $1.18 each) and a choice of grilled onions or fresh. The steak fries came out of a brown freezer bag. The fry cook did them justice with a prefect balance of crispy-creamy. They were a good vessel for the fry sauce with a peppery/horseradish bite.

HIGH END BURGERS

Until this week, I called it the Pacific Avenue burger trifecta. Along a seven-block stretch of Pacific Avenue, three high-end restaurants – Pacific Grill, Sea Grill and El Gaucho – make decadent burgers. Or did. Sea Grill announced this week it plans to close Sunday.

While diners will miss Sea Grill’s prosciutto Gorgonzola burger, there still are great burgers to be had on Pacific.

And here’s the tip diners can savor: These burgers are just a few bucks more than what you’d pay for burgers and fries at a drive-in. The catch (and there always is one): The burgers are bargain-priced only during happy hour.

El Gaucho
Where: 2119 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
Contact: 253-882-0009, www.elgaucho.com.cq
Happy hour: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close Monday through Friday; 10 p.m. to close Saturday and 4:30 p.m. to close Sunday.

El Gaucho Burger ($8): This towering bacon cheeseburger might make you swoon with its height and list of ingredients. A juicy half-pound ground sirloin patty – certified Angus beef – comes on a substantial roll. Your server will ask you how you like yours (for me, “medium” – a little pink in the center).
Toppings are peppery and smoky – thick-cut bacon, pepper jack cheese and chipotle aioli that delivers a mild tongue sting. Red onions, tomato and iceberg lettuce add crunch between layers of gooey cheese and smoky goodness.

It comes paired with crispy fries that taste exactly like they’re supposed to – potatoes. I would have liked some kind of dipping sauce or even ketchup for my fries, but none was offered, and I was nearly done with my meal before my server returned. (Priced $16 on the regular menu.)

Pacific Grill
Where: 1502 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
Contact: 253-627-3535, www.pacificgrilltacoma.com.
Happy hour: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., 9 p.m. to close Monday through Friday; 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., 9 p.m. to close on Saturdays.

Pacific Grill’s cheeseburger sliders ($5.50): The sliders are smaller and not quite the meal that the El Gaucho burger is, but they are a delicious value. Two small rolls are stuffed with juicy sirloin patties, aged white cheddar and a smear of house sauce similar in flavor to a tangy-sweet Russian dressing.
While the sliders skew small, you’ll forget about that because of the perfect accompaniment that comes with them – Pacific Grill’s garlic herb fries. If french fry nirvana can be achieved, these are it: thinly cut, crispy fried potatoes served in a tasty, salty pile with whole cloves of golden-brown, fried garlic and sage and rosemary leaves that become crispy, crunchy and delicious in the fryer. (Priced $11 on the regular menu).

Sea Grill
Where: 1498 Pacific Ave., Tacoma
Contact: 253-272-5656, www.the-seagrill.com.
Hours: Call for hours. Restaurant closes this Sunday.

Sea Grill Burger ($7): Rest in peace to one of my favorite burgers. The half-pound, juicy burger came nestled between two things I really like – a big dollop of Gorgonzola cheese and two salty slices of prosciutto. This burger will be missed, as will Sea Grill.

ONE PLACE, 50 BURGERS

International Burgers & Pizzaria
Where: 17136 Highway 410, Bonney Lake
Contact: 253-863-1633
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Fifty burgers on the menu means big variety. International Burgers & Pizzaria in between Sumner and Bonney Lake takes a simple concept –the humble burger–to the extreme with a menu that offers everything from a meaty American cheeseburger to an American Kobe burger, a black bear burger, kangaroo burger, lamb burger, llama burger, yak burger and even a calamari steak burger. The list goes on and on and on.

The exotic meats are a holdover from the previous incarnation of the restaurant, which was called the Baron Manfred von Vierthaler Winery and Restaurant. It specialized in unusual meats, and so does International Burgers. And menu items that are previous nods to the winery’s menu still are on the menu – just in burger form (think schnitzel burger and bratwurst burger).

The impressive menu takes serious time to peruse, and the sweeping views of the valley and nicely decorated dining room make this an experience, rather than a mere burger excursion. The prices skew higher than an average burger restaurant, but the ingredients and quality command it.

I went simple with a deluxe burger ($7.95). The beefy ª-pound Angus beef patty was juicy and arrived medium, just as requested. The cheese choices are impressive –American (white or yellow), brie, blue, cheddar, Gouda, mozzarella, pepper jack, provolone or Swiss – but I stuck with cheddar. The lettuce, tomato, dill pickle and tangy-sweet house sauce were delicious ornaments. I upgraded my fries to sweet potato fries for a surcharge and was rewarded with sweet, crunchy treats.

My dining partner opted for the American style Kobe beef burger ($14.95). The recommended provolone cheese was a solid flavor companion. The burger was delightful to the last juicy bite. I’d go back again and again for this burger.