Around Our Towns
THE HAMBURGER by Eileen Teufel
Ah! Summer time, when the grillin’ is easy. But what’s even easier is finding a great hamburger place and enjoying someone else’s grillin’ efforts, especially if you bar-b-que like me – not a pretty sight or a tasty meal! We are lucky to have many great restaurants Around Our Towns and in the next couple of issues, I’m going to highlight some of my favorites starting with places for great burgers and fries. The first one is just south of us, in the land of traffic jams and large box stores called Smokey Point. Five Guys is a chain with several restaurants around this area, including this one and another in Bellingham. The menu is limited to mostly hamburgers and hot dogs, but the burgers are great with lots of topping options and the French fries are outstanding with enough to share, but they are so good, you won’t want to. Speaking of fries – one of my favorite food groups — food cooked by anyone else but me – I recently tried the sweet potato fries at Leatherheads. Oh my gosh, were they good and so different from regular fries! I will be back there again soon. Back to burgers, Islanders on Camano Island has my all time favorite burger – Swiss cheese and mushrooms. It’s one of the best I’ve had. You need plenty of napkins with this one (always the sign of a good burger) and eat the tomato and lettuce separately and just enjoy the flavors of the cheese and mushrooms. I usually go with the onion rings – big and tasty and not heavily crusted with batter. Two other well known burger joints are the Conway Pub and its new location in Stanwood, the Box Car. Their blue cheese burger is the best and I love how they do onions on the burgers. This is another multi -napkin treat. If you are traveling south or north, stop and try the burgers at Bob’s Burgers and Brews (at Tualip or north Burlington), since a place with burger in its name has to be good. I’ve tried several of their combinations and all have been worth ordering. The French fries are plentiful — maybe a little too plentiful, I never finish mine and they could be a little crispier. And don’t miss Johnny’s Burger Stop at the exit from I-5 and 532. Burgers are great and the shakes are outstanding! Hamburgers and fries are a really personal taste. Why not let us know your favorite burgers and toppings and the best place for fries and onion rings. I am always looking for new places to try Around Our Towns.
Next issue — Breakfast, the most important meal of the day.
