I'm SumDumGuy, and I'm a burger-holic......

Food has never been an enemy of mine. In fact, I'd have to say food is way too good of a friend; food could back off a bit.... off my waistline mainly. :)

One of my all time favorite foods are hamburgers. Of course I've had all of the major chains (Micky D's, BK, Wendy's, Hardee's, Sonic, White Castle, Krystal, et al). However, I've found that the best burgers are made in local chain places, and stand-alone places that appear somewhat dumpy/greasy-spoonish. By local chains, I mean chains that only exist in a metro-area or a small part of a state. Usually they have less than 20 locations.

To that end, comes another of the things about Seattle that I truly love; Kidd Valley, Dick's, & Red Mill burgers. Those of you who live here probably already know about all or most of them.

My move to the Queen Anne/Interbay/Magnolia area has put me less than 2 blocks from one of two Red Mills in the entire Seattle area. I've been here only two weeks and I've already had 4 different sandwiches from Red Mill. All have been great too. I actually have to stop myself from eating there every evening when I get off the bus from work. Some days, it's about all I can do to make myself turn right & walk up the hill to have a bowl of soup instead of first turning left & going to the Mill. My hope is that I can keep it to a minimum & work off more of this gut. :)

I can't describe why I think each place is so good; it's just something you have to experience, I think.

It used to really bug my Dad that I'd eat a hamburger for every meal with no problem. The day I got a part-time job at Sonic Drive-In while in high school, he was sure that I'd soon be sick of 'burgers. How wrong he was. It was actually like letting a junkie loose in a field of poppies; I loved it, and I fed my crave every day I was at work.

I think if I had to pick my all-time Top 5 burger places/burgers they would be (in no order)....

• Sonic
• Krystal/White Castle (both the same style of burgers, Krystal is in the south, White Castle in the north)
• Big Springs Cafe (used to be on Govenor's Drive in Huntsville, AL, but I don't think it's there anymore)
• Red Mill (Seattle chain)
• Jack's (a north Alabama chain)

My family can back up the fact that one of the things I make sure to do when I visit my Mom is eat at Krystal, Jack's, & Sonic since none of them exist here in Seattle. Hey, I have my priorities. :)

So what about you folks out there? What are your favorites? Holla back! :)