I’ve given the obligatory test run of Five Guys Burgers and Fries – the first South Sound stores of the national chain opened in Lakewood last week and in Puyallup in November. I realized as I was eating at Five Guys that I had not collectively written much about our home-grown burger stands since my burger-stand manifesto in 2009. So I hit the pavement and revisited some of my favorites, along with two new burger stands you may not yet know. Click “read more” to see my top five South Sound burger stand picks. Read more »

It took months and three bottles of Tums to recover from last December’s bar burger series. Remember that? I wrote about the 20 burgers you have to eat before you die (or die trying).

This time, I took a considerably smaller bite out of Tacoma’s bar burger footprint: Five more bar burgers you should add to your list of must-try-or-die burgers around town.

Just don’t tell your doctor before you embark on your eating project. Click “read more” to see my top five bar burgers of the moment. Read more »

Look out Pick Quick, you have some competition.

That Fife drive-in burger stand long has been my go-to fast food burger of choice. Burgers with a from-scratch edict that extends to delicious hand-cut fries is the lure. But I always have had one quibble: The burger patty is too small.

Now enters the quarter-pound, juicy, meaty burgers at Lefty’s Burger Shack, opened July 23 by first-time restaurant owner Pam Hubert in a partially vacant University Place shopping center in need of crowds. And the crowds did come. Like the lines at Pick Quick, the 20-minute wait is worth it. Read more »

Burgers with fries. Anyone who follows this blog knows how much I’ve written about that combo in the last year. If not, just click here, here, here, here, here and here (did that make you dizzy?)

The last few months, I’ve encountered a few burgers served with house-made chips worth a mention. I was starting to suffer from fry fatigue, so the burgers at Hop Jack’s and the Spar, both served with crisply fried, thinly cut potato chips, found a fan in me. Read more »

For six months, Pam Hubert has told curious passersby that she’ll be opening Lefty’s Burger Shack in “two weeks.”

This time, she means it.

The University Place burger restaurant has been Hubert’s working dream for two years, and all she needs now is health department approval to open. She expects that will come this week or next. The burger restaurant will serve Read more »

One is a bar, the other is a burger shack. Both make decidedly upscale burgers with value in mind. Certified Angus beef, fresh-cut fries – magic words for burger and fries lovers. They sucked me in, and I left impressed. Dirty Oscar’s Annex on Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue and the Gourmet Burger Shop in Gig Harbor both opened in recent months. Both should be on your burger radar. Click “more” to read about them.

NEXT WEEK: I’ll tell you about four more burgers you should put on your burger radar. I’m out of the office on leave next week (I advance wrote the blog posts just for you!), but will return June 13. Until then, if you have rumors to check out, or restaurant tips to give, post ‘em here. Read more »

Bar noshing doesn’t get any better than a big, cheesy gut bomb of a burger. It’s the anytime accompaniment to a cold pint at your favorite watering hole.

I’ve spent the past six months touring South Sound bars, taverns and pubs in search of perfect bar burgers. (Yeah, I know it’s a tough gig I’ve got here.) What follows today through Friday is my report of the top 20 bar burgers I wrapped my hands around.

I compiled this report largely based on recommendations from TNT Diner blog readers. Other recommendations came from chefs and foodies about town.

Here are the bars I’ll be writing about:
Tuesday: Powerhouse Brewery, Cliff House, Matador, Blazing Onion and Beach Tavern.
Wednesday: Engine House No. 9, El Gaucho, Katie Downs, The Parkway, Ram
Thursday: Crown Bar, Harmon, Bite Restaurant, West End Pub, Cheers South Hill
Friday: Asado, Maxwell’s, Pacific Grill, The Hub, The Right Spot

I set up a burger mission statement from the beginning. Read more »

I just got this email alert from Crown Bar:

“Join us at the Crown this Wednesday (Nov. 24, 2010) night to unwind before the family gathers on the day of thanks. Dino will be mixing ‘The Waddle’ made with Wild Turkey, Wild Turkey Honey liquor, fresh cranberry juice and fresh apple cider. We’ll be serving all of your favorite street food and for blue plate special, it’s burger-rama.”

Click “more” to read about the stellar Wednesday night burger discounts (aka burger-rama), my love for the Crown’s mushroom-Swiss burger and to read about a Pimm’s rosemary cocktail and a fresh blackberry Sidecar I recently enjoyed at Crown. Read more »