I decided to wrap up the burger reviews today and had no intentions of visiting The Shake Shack, here’s why. After perusing the website for Twin Peaks recently, I was impressed with some of their pictures….and the food looked good too! 🤓 Believe it or not they actually get pretty good reviews for their food and there were 3 locations not far from me. I’d read several reviews that praised their burger they call The Hangover. It has bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onions and is topped with a fried egg. Their seasoned French fries also got rave reviews. I pulled in the parking lot and went inside to the hostess stand. There were 3 ladies 
standing there and one of them led me to my table, then turned and walked away. I “assumed” someone else would be by soon to give me a menu and take my order. I waited, and waited, and waited. I started looking around and all 3 girls plus a guy were just standing there at the hostess stand shootin’ the breeze…🤬 They weren’t any more than 15’ away and within easy eyesight of me. There was another 3-4 girls/waitresses all around…and I was the only MF’r in the place! After a good 4-5 minutes I just got up and left. I could understand if the place was packed but I was the only customer there at that point! I sat in the parking lot and Googled hamburger joints near me, I wanted to find another burger chain that I could include in the reviews. Luckily, or not, there was a Shake Shack less than 5 minutes away.
Service here was a no show for me today…😡
After the debacle at Twin Peaks I pulled into the parking lot of The Shake Shack and was greeted with this…..🙄 Great, I get to pay even more money, yahoo! 🙄 The neighborhood I was in is an area called Rice Village, it’s an upscale neighborhood packed with businesses and parking is hard to find and at a premium. $1.70 to park for 30 minutes, well, not too bad I guess.
Shake Shack
I ordered the Black Truffle Burger, fries and a Dr. Pepper
Note the size of the drink lid and the burger…🙄
After placing my own order through a fairly hard to use kiosk of theirs, which also asks for a tip!…🙄 I took a seat with my number placard. After a few minutes, my order was brought to the table….I tipped 10% at the kiosk, so I at least got a little bit of service for my money. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the burger I was given! This was easily the puniest burger of all the places I’ve been! It looked more like a little slider than a full size burger. For comparisons sake, the lid of the small drink I ordered was the same size as the burger. If I’d have known how little it was going to be, I’d have ordered a double meat. The burger itself was pretty good, I did like the taste of it, and it was served hot and juicy……juicy for as little as it was. 🙄 The krinkle cut fries were pretty decent, nothing to write home about, but not bad. My puny ass burger was $9.99, the fries were $3.99 and the drink was $3.49. With tax and a $1.75 tip the meal came to $20.66!…..plus $1.35 to park…. NOT a good value for this meal, all things considered. Next stop is……..
Applebees
I ordered the Whiskey bacon burger…
This was actually one of my favorites so far. The burger was good sized with a large pattie of meat…juicy and flavorful! It came with the standard veggies plus 2 slices of pepper jack cheese and 2 strips of bacon. It was topped with some crispy onions that added a nice crunch to the burger! Mayo was served on the side for me. The meat is infused with a “Fireball whiskey steak sauce.”…. I could actually taste it, but couldn’t really tell if I liked it or not. Anyway, the burger was pretty darn good. The fries?…..I’ve had better but they weren’t bad I guess, pretty standard fare. It helped a lot dipping them in my side of mayo instead of ketchup! Mayo and French fries go well together. Burger, fries and a soft drink with tax came to $20.12 before tip. Next stop…….
Culver’s
I ordered the Mushroom and Swiss Value Basket…
Based on a recommendation from willxfmr and STEbbq I decided to try Culver’s. If I’ve heard of them before, I don’t remember. There was one about 25 minutes away near Katy, in a little town called Fulshear. I took a leisurely Sunday morning drive a few weeks ago to check em out. The place looked brand new, only open for about 6 months they said. I ordered at the counter and a few minutes later my food was brought to me at the table….no tipping required! 🤓 The double meat burger was served hot, juicy, and pretty darn good! There was ample mushrooms and the 2 slices of Swiss cheese made for a really good burger. The fries were also pretty good as well! They were a krinkle cut style, which is a welcome change from the fries served at most places. If there was any salt on em, I couldn’t taste it…no biggie, I just added my own. These fries and the ones from 5 Guys were my favorites of all the fries I tried. Gotta say, Culver’s was the best bang for your buck of all the 10 places I’ve visited in the last few months! [I’m including a visit to In-N-Out Burger I made a few months ago and did a separate review for it.] In fact, I’m awarding Culver’s a much sought after….”PJ’s Best Burger Value” designation!
A lot of folks compare it to winning a James Beard Award. 
Any who, enough of the 🐂💩.
My double meat mushroom and Swiss burger, fries and a soft drink came to ONLY $10.99 and with tax was a measly $11.90! For this price, I could eat 2 of these meals for $1. LESS than ONE of the same at 5 Guys!
MY GRADES FOR THE BURGERS AND FRIES….
SHAKE SHACK Burger for taste B+ ….for size D. Fries B-
APPLEBEES Burger A Fries C+
Culver’s Burger A- Fries A Value A++
And there ya go, I’m done with the burger reviews. I’m in the mood for some wings now! I’ve eaten out more in the last couple of months than I have in years. I found out it ain’t cheap going out for just a plain ol burger these days. Except for the fast food places, almost every one of these meals was between $20-$25 for one person….burger, fries and a drink. If I had to choose a favorite place, it was very close between Chili’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebees. All 3 places served me a very good burger but…for an overall meal, I’d still go with Buffalo Wild Wings, not just because of the unique hatch chili burger, but adding in the wonderful onion rings I had, made it a slight favorite over the others. Without a doubt though, the worst fries I’ve ever had were from In-N-Out….they sucked!
standing there and one of them led me to my table, then turned and walked away. I “assumed” someone else would be by soon to give me a menu and take my order. I waited, and waited, and waited. I started looking around and all 3 girls plus a guy were just standing there at the hostess stand shootin’ the breeze…🤬 They weren’t any more than 15’ away and within easy eyesight of me. There was another 3-4 girls/waitresses all around…and I was the only MF’r in the place! After a good 4-5 minutes I just got up and left. I could understand if the place was packed but I was the only customer there at that point! I sat in the parking lot and Googled hamburger joints near me, I wanted to find another burger chain that I could include in the reviews. Luckily, or not, there was a Shake Shack less than 5 minutes away.Service here was a no show for me today…😡
After the debacle at Twin Peaks I pulled into the parking lot of The Shake Shack and was greeted with this…..🙄 Great, I get to pay even more money, yahoo! 🙄 The neighborhood I was in is an area called Rice Village, it’s an upscale neighborhood packed with businesses and parking is hard to find and at a premium. $1.70 to park for 30 minutes, well, not too bad I guess.
Shake Shack
I ordered the Black Truffle Burger, fries and a Dr. Pepper
Note the size of the drink lid and the burger…🙄
After placing my own order through a fairly hard to use kiosk of theirs, which also asks for a tip!…🙄 I took a seat with my number placard. After a few minutes, my order was brought to the table….I tipped 10% at the kiosk, so I at least got a little bit of service for my money. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the burger I was given! This was easily the puniest burger of all the places I’ve been! It looked more like a little slider than a full size burger. For comparisons sake, the lid of the small drink I ordered was the same size as the burger. If I’d have known how little it was going to be, I’d have ordered a double meat. The burger itself was pretty good, I did like the taste of it, and it was served hot and juicy……juicy for as little as it was. 🙄 The krinkle cut fries were pretty decent, nothing to write home about, but not bad. My puny ass burger was $9.99, the fries were $3.99 and the drink was $3.49. With tax and a $1.75 tip the meal came to $20.66!…..plus $1.35 to park…. NOT a good value for this meal, all things considered. Next stop is……..
Applebees
I ordered the Whiskey bacon burger…
This was actually one of my favorites so far. The burger was good sized with a large pattie of meat…juicy and flavorful! It came with the standard veggies plus 2 slices of pepper jack cheese and 2 strips of bacon. It was topped with some crispy onions that added a nice crunch to the burger! Mayo was served on the side for me. The meat is infused with a “Fireball whiskey steak sauce.”…. I could actually taste it, but couldn’t really tell if I liked it or not. Anyway, the burger was pretty darn good. The fries?…..I’ve had better but they weren’t bad I guess, pretty standard fare. It helped a lot dipping them in my side of mayo instead of ketchup! Mayo and French fries go well together. Burger, fries and a soft drink with tax came to $20.12 before tip. Next stop…….
Culver’s
I ordered the Mushroom and Swiss Value Basket…
Based on a recommendation from willxfmr and STEbbq I decided to try Culver’s. If I’ve heard of them before, I don’t remember. There was one about 25 minutes away near Katy, in a little town called Fulshear. I took a leisurely Sunday morning drive a few weeks ago to check em out. The place looked brand new, only open for about 6 months they said. I ordered at the counter and a few minutes later my food was brought to me at the table….no tipping required! 🤓 The double meat burger was served hot, juicy, and pretty darn good! There was ample mushrooms and the 2 slices of Swiss cheese made for a really good burger. The fries were also pretty good as well! They were a krinkle cut style, which is a welcome change from the fries served at most places. If there was any salt on em, I couldn’t taste it…no biggie, I just added my own. These fries and the ones from 5 Guys were my favorites of all the fries I tried. Gotta say, Culver’s was the best bang for your buck of all the 10 places I’ve visited in the last few months! [I’m including a visit to In-N-Out Burger I made a few months ago and did a separate review for it.] In fact, I’m awarding Culver’s a much sought after….”PJ’s Best Burger Value” designation!
A lot of folks compare it to winning a James Beard Award. Any who, enough of the 🐂💩.My double meat mushroom and Swiss burger, fries and a soft drink came to ONLY $10.99 and with tax was a measly $11.90! For this price, I could eat 2 of these meals for $1. LESS than ONE of the same at 5 Guys!
MY GRADES FOR THE BURGERS AND FRIES….
SHAKE SHACK Burger for taste B+ ….for size D. Fries B-
APPLEBEES Burger A Fries C+
Culver’s Burger A- Fries A Value A++
And there ya go, I’m done with the burger reviews. I’m in the mood for some wings now! I’ve eaten out more in the last couple of months than I have in years. I found out it ain’t cheap going out for just a plain ol burger these days. Except for the fast food places, almost every one of these meals was between $20-$25 for one person….burger, fries and a drink. If I had to choose a favorite place, it was very close between Chili’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebees. All 3 places served me a very good burger but…for an overall meal, I’d still go with Buffalo Wild Wings, not just because of the unique hatch chili burger, but adding in the wonderful onion rings I had, made it a slight favorite over the others. Without a doubt though, the worst fries I’ve ever had were from In-N-Out….they sucked!
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