Fast Food You Can Feel Good About: Burger Town

As big-time foodies, we usually cook lots over the weekend, but Monday’s back-to-work-schedule tends to lean heavily on leftovers. And with the miraculous appearance of April sunshine, what was I craving instead of a rewarmed bowl of lentil soup? Quality burgers and fries, my friends.

While we do have McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King, on the whole, Renton doesn’t host a huge boardwalk of burger chain joints. I really respect that. What does that say about us Rentonian’s? We demand quality and prefer to shop local. I used to frequent Skyway's Basket Case Drive-In in my 'hood to get my burger and fry fix, but now I'll go the extra mile for Burger Town. 

At Burger Town, a mere $4.29 gets you the most basic item: the Classic. House-ground (YES!)  one-third-pound beef burger with lettuce, pickles, red onion, and house sauce. How many people grind their own meat these days? Not many. If you’re feeling gluttonous, you can add an extra patty on for $1.50 more. Good lord, that’s a whopping two-third-pound of beef! 

Since I moved to the Renton-area, I’ve sadly seen businesses come and go in this prime location across from theRenton Piazza. With our support, I hope Burger Town is here to stay. Newcastle residents Kuk and Soon Kim owned and sold the 120th Grocery and Deli in Bellevue seven years ago. The story goes that Kuk often ate burgers for lunch instead of the subs and sandwiches he served, because he loves a great burger. When a prime location opened up on S. 3rd Street, he jumped at the chance to serve his passion.

Yelpers frequently compare Burger Town to In-N-Out Burger, the famed California-based chain that also hand grinds their meat. One major difference with Burger Town is that they offer a substantially larger variety of gourmet charbroiled burgers, whereas In-N-Out offers only three types. Burger Town has 12 different beef burgers to choose from along with three chicken burgers, a battered cod and veggie burger option, plus nine varieties of wraps, fish baskets, and a kid's grilled cheese or chicken nugget meal.

I decided to go for the Town Burger ($7.99), their namesake sandwich, which comes with a serving of slender golden fries. This sandwich has love handles...a burger so big it hangs over the sides of the bun. The Town Burger weighs in at an impressive half pound of hand-ground Angus beef, Swiss, Pepper Jack, sauteed mushrooms and onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, house sauce (which reminds me of Thousand Island dressing), and fries to share. Messy and delicious, with tasty charbroiled meat. Son, Jeff Kim, said they are also trying to perfect a recipe for house-made french fries, and will offer them once they can get them crispy enough.

My husband wanted to explore the healthier arena of meat, so we also ordered Burger Town’s Chicken Burger ($5.49). While I was skeptical, two grill-marked moist chicken breasts were stacked onto a soft bun, making this modestly-priced sandwich a mouthful. Factor in melted Swiss, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion and ranch, and you have a $5 winner!!!

(Truth be told, my husband polished off the other half of my burger after finishing his chicken sandwich ... Guess it was too tasty to go in the fridge.)

Beverage-wise, I was torn between getting an Antiox A.P.B. Smoothie ($3.49) which comes with Acai, pomegranate and blueberry with Yerba Mate or one of their hand-blended milk shakes. The Blueberry Milk Shake ($3.49) won. I watched Jeff put 4 scoops of vanilla into the aluminum blending cup. “It’s rBST free,” he volunteered when I asked who made the ice cream. You can choose between 10 flavors, and add extra syrup for 35 cents.

I had heard rumors of kimchi being a possible topping, and so Jeff ducked his head in the kitchen and got me a free side of kimchi (spicy Korean pickled cabbage in pepper paste) from his mother. FIVE STAR kimchi. Please start selling it or consider putting a kimchi burger on the menu? You'll soon have a cult following.

HOURS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Friday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday; closed Sunday

ADDRESS: 601 S. 3rd St., Renton

PHONE: 425-663-9189