While I'm only down with having a hamburger once in a blue moon, I was excited when a new Fatburger restaurant opened just down the street from where I work in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. It is the first Ohio location for this California-based franchise, and on Friday I rounded up some equally excited co-workers and headed out there.

The inside is setup sort of like a diner, though the big exception is that you go up to the cashier and place your order, and then you're given a number on a stand which you take to your seat and wait the 10-15 minutes for your order to arrive. So I guess you can say it's not-so-fast fast food.

The first thing that struck everyone I was with was the prices. I was not in the mood for red meat, so I opted for the "Turkey Deal", which consisted of a 1/3 lb turkey burger, "skinny" fries and a "skinny" drink. This meal ran just under $9. I upgraded my fries to onion rings for $1 more, which pushed my meal over $10 (with tax). The "Chicken Deal" and "King Deal" (1/2 lb "king" burger) were priced the same, while the "Fat Deal" (1/3 lb "fat" burger) was a dollar less. Seems like they brought their California prices with them.

The food arrived in about 10 minutes, on a plastic tray and wrapped just like any fast food meal. The turkey burger was fairly good, and the onion rings were really good. But for $10, I can't really say I felt like I got my money's worth. Everyone else I was with felt the same. Good food, but too expensive. My friend ordered a chili dog that was $4! That was pretty outrageous.

So while the food is pretty good fast food fare, the environment is nothing to boast about and the prices are far from justifiable. Those prices might be OK in California, but Ohio is certainly no California. I can only hope that they drop the prices or my next review will likely be the restaurant that opens next in the space that will be vacated by Fatburger.

This entry was posted by Brad, on Sunday, July 02, 2006. You can leave your response.