Monday, June 13, 2011

Teddy's Bigger Burgers

Teddy's Bigger Burgers is an award-winning burger establishment, with several locations in Hawaii. I went to their Aiea location, near Pearlridge Shopping Center.





Teddy's burgers come in three sizes: a 5 oz. patty ("Big"), a 7 oz. patty ("Bigger"), and a 9 oz. patty ("Biggest"). Teddy's has several burgers on the menu, including a few featured burgers. Don't care for a burger that day? Not to fear, as Teddy's does chicken burgers and veggie burgers as well.

I decided to try their Big-sized (5 oz.) Volcano burger, which has pepperjack cheese, jalapenos, Kilauea fire sauce, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles ($7.08 with tax). I left out the secret sauce (which has mayonnaise in it) just so I could at least save a few calories on this one.

Of course, you can make your burger a combo meal as well, but I passed on that this time around.



Nice cross-section here folks. I love those layers.
I really liked my burger. First off, it was made to order, which means you're getting a fresh product. While I could always handle more heat than this, I enjoyed the pleasant kick from the jalapenos and the fire sauce. The vegetable toppings brought a nice freshness to the dish and the cheese was nicely melted. The cooks did a fine job of adding a healthy amount of fire sauce -- but it wasn't too much to be a messy burger experience.

The Aiea location was packed with happy customers at peak lunch hour (I arrived around noon). Despite the large amounts of people, the Teddy's I went to had a very orderly system. I liked their vibrating pager device that the staff gives you to let you know your food is ready.

I'm also a fan of Teddy's because they have their healthier menu options, such as a salad, a veggie burger, or a grilled chicken sandwich. Teddy's even has menu options for the kids, which is awesome.

The woman who took my order was either new or not paying attention. She apparently did not catch the first time that I wanted no secret sauce and no combo meal. A bit of nitpicking, yes, but everything counts here. I will say she was very friendly and professional.

The burger was heavier and not as juicy as the steamed cheeseburger I had in Oregon. Yes, I realize the Oregon burger was steamed, while Teddy's charbroils their burgers, so it's really comparing apples to oranges. But hey, I'm a sucker for super juicy cheeseburgers. Sue me.

And yes, I do wish I didn't have to pay $7 for a real good burger. But apparently that's the way things generally work these days. Even at the food carts in Portland, $6 to $7 is about what you'd pay for a "gourmet" burger.

Overall, I had a very nice experience at Teddy's, and if you want a good, 100% ground chuck, hand-pattied, charbroiled burger, this is where you go. I'm definitely a fan of Teddy's! 8/10


(NOTE: Yes, I gave the same rating to Spice & Ice Restaurant, where I got the steamed cheeseburger. But there, it was about a 9.5 for the burger, with the salad and mess-ups on my order bringing it down a bit.)

1 comment:

  1. I'll probably go to that restaurant. The food they serve there looks delicious, especially the different kinds of burgers.

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