After a recent talk thread about where to find great hamburgers, CookOut was mentioned enough times for me to take notice. I love burgers so much my children sometimes refer to me as Cheeseburger Papa (true story), but this burger chain is mostly located in North Carolina and I figured I wouldn't have a chance to taste it anytime soon.
Oh how the burger gods do smile down on me, because to my delight I discovered they have a remote location in the college town of Athens, GA, just 30 miles up the road from my home via Hwy 316.
I know what you're thinking: "SAY WHAAAA? 30 miles for a burger? Is you a fool Richard?"
Yeah, I kinda am, but I like to refer to myself more as a food slut than a fool. If you puttin' out that good food crack then baby, I will happily place it in my mouth. I'll travel just about any distance to get a food fix!!! I have actually planned entire vacations to different cities based on some restaurant I saw on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives, Man vs. Food, Best Food I Ever Ate, Food Wars or even No Reservations. So while you may think that's cray-cray I'm here to tell all you non-adventurous types that we've experienced amazing family adventures to destinations we may have NEVER otherwise traveled had we not been interested in the local food. Sometimes we discover something delicious, other times we don't... but it makes for great memories either way.
THE EXPERIENCE
I use food as a reason for any road trip, especially if it's within just a few hours. So 35 minutes from my home was a no-brainer in my book. CookOut claims to have outdoor style homemade food, I suppose like you would find in an average American backyard cook-out (thus the name).
The building itself looks like a small strip mall. So many neon signs that I thought it was more than one business inside at first glance. The store on the outside is made up of several different building materials and looks kinda like a sample wall you would find at a stone or brick yard. The diversity of materials continues on the inside with stone, metal, tiles and a variety of different shades of wood, including logs (as in log cabin). The furnishings are rustic and tables and benches are shellacked to a awesome shine with 'cook out' burned into the surface.
I've been told this place is always jam packed, however I came on a great day as there was plenty of open tables and no crowd. Whooo hooo!
THE FOOD
Okay, truth be told - this will probably never go down as my favorite fast food burger, nor would it make the top 5. Yet I will say it I enjoyed it very much and the value was most certainly a factor in my star rating. It lived up to being billed as homemade, which I liked a lot!!! Homemade as in the bun was kinda soggy from the juiciness of the burger, it was sort of sloppy with the toppings plus they put a whole HEAP of grilled onions on this bad boy. Probably too many for most people, but I grew up in Chicago where there were nearly as many grilled onions on your burger or hot dog as there was meat. I didn't feel like I was eating a fast food burger and for that reason I was an instant fan.
What really surprised me was the price. $5.45 AFTER tax which included:
* Big Double Tray cheeseburger w/grilled onions, relish, mustard, mayo
* 3 Chicken Nuggets (because you are allowed two sides and yes nuggets are a side)
* Cajun Fries (although I almost went with the onion rings)
* Large Sweet Tea
NOTES: The chicken nuggets were nothing special, same taste as the frozen Tyson nuggets we get for the kids @ the grocery store. The Cajun seasoning on the fries was okay, but I could have lived with or without it.
THE VERDICT
I think this place is going to slowly grow on me. It's been a few hours since I finished my meal and already I'm thinking I'd like to pay them another visit. Maybe next time I'll get one of their famed milkshakes to go with my burger. Although, since I'm lactose intolerant, that might be a long 35 minute drive home for my family :-) read more