"Burger City"

Pulling into Burger City, it is difficult to miss the unique, signature crossed palm trees that this restaurant is known for. The drive-thru may be the quickest and easiest route to get food and go, but when I visit Burger City I am sure to sit inside for the whole experience. Pulling open the glass doors scrubbed rigorously every hour by minimum wage employees, the immediate sensation is an attack by sight, then sound, and finally smells. The white tiled walls are showing the first signs of grease stains from the generous supply of steam emitted by four large grills. A neon sign emphasizing quality taste glares from above the kitchen, where one can see employees hard at work preparing the food that is given no more appreciation than the rate at which one introduces it to their stomachs. The common smells of burgers grilling and fries frying approach the customer as he approaches the cash register. “I’ll have a double double animal style with a medium drink”.


Though I hear this order quite often I come to wonder if people truly understand the entirety of their order. The “double double” itself consists of two entire patties and two slices of cheese, not to mention the lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and other toppings that regularly go on burgers. This alone is quite a mass of food for one man to eat but wait, it gets worse. Making it “animal style” means adding a fair amount of caramelized onions to the mix, along with an extra helping of pickles, and to top it all off, both patties are grilled directly with mustard infused. Let’s also say this customer went for a complimentary refill to his Dr. Salt because of course a medium drink is just not enough for the modern American. In total he has consumed two patties infused with mustard, a hearty helping of caramelized onions and pickles, a large slice of tomato, some lettuce, a generous spread of secret sauce, a toasted bun, and two medium Dr. Salts, most of which could have easily fed a homeless family for an entire day. To refrain from feeding myself more than I would ever need, I go simply for a single patty with nearly no additives and never venture back for a refill.


Now content with his order, the customer must decide on a place to sit. Stools, booths, chairs-the possibilities are only limited to the quality and quantity of available seats. Crowds are common for Burger City as it is one of the more popular fast food restaurants, though seats may be very difficult to attain the rare booth may be sacrificed because of the disdainful position in which it is in. It may be that the sweaty jogger is in the chair directly across, or the teenage girl in the seat over is talking about who knows what.
Personally I have experienced both of these and I would much rather wait for a more pleasant seat to open. Once I sit down the sights, smells, and sounds from before tend to reappear much more enhanced. A whirlwind of conversations ranging from “How good is this…” to “It’s funny when the ducks say…” of which I can only hear a short amount before being drowned by the typhoon of words. The common smells of a fast food restaurant become enhanced as the fries become saltier and the burgers juicier. The bright red of the seats opposes the smooth white countertops upon which food is eaten. Cups and trays and straws and condiments and employees and garbage cans all clothed in the same combination of bright pigments that Burger City takes pride in. The entire restaurant appears to be bathed in red and white proven to provide an experience of comfort and enjoyment.


The first bite of a Burger City burger is one of great pleasure-succulent and fresh patty, crisp and clean lettuce, soft and juicy tomato-that is sure to bring one back again soon. Every now and then, this moment of pleasure is interrupted by the shrill voice of an enthusiastic employee bursting through the loudspeaker alerting an unaware customer of the arrival of his order. The next bite is much like the first, as is the next bite, and the next bite, until finally the end of the burger is reached and a flurry of taste devoured. Thus comes my least favorite part of the Burger City experience: leaving. I delay as much as I can by admiring the large windows peering to the end of the drive-thru. I glance to the ceiling and ponder how the placement of the lights aids the midnight snacker and his eating habits, for I myself have never been to Burger City other than the middle of the day.


Burger City is truly a unique restaurant as it reflects modern society in the sense that it appeals to the senses of all age groups. I have seen families with small children occupying a booth together; I have seen old couples generously sharing some fries while enjoying the view of the giant windows together, I have even seen the occasional businessman, clearly favoring Burger City as a quick lunch over other fast food companies. Also unique is the fact that though there are hundreds of Burger City’s around California, every single one of them is designed the exact same way. They have the same cross palm trees, the same windows, all the way down to the same pictures on the wall. With other fast food companies like McNodals, it seems like all I do is come, eat, and leave. With Burger City it becomes more like I came, I ate, I experienced. Burger City will go down as one of the greatest and most unique fast food restaurants ever established in California.

-Tristan