Trapped at Berkeley

I’ll admit it: When Carl’s Jr. introduced their Six-Dollar Hamburger and advertised it as a better tasting and affordable substitute for expensive restaurant hamburgers, I was at a loss. Restaurants sold hamburgers? Junk food seemed too plebeian for my concept of a restaurant. Of course, my concept has since changed after discovering “upper-class fast food” restaurants like Red Robin.

Yesterday, my concept of restaurant fare was further refined after visiting Taylor’s Automatic Refresher. I’d read about the restaurant in the New York Times and various blogs, and I had been looking for an opportunity to try it out. My cousin and her boyfriend were visiting San Francisco, so I thought Taylor’s Automatic Refresher would be a great place to grab lunch.

The restaurant was a simply styled, modern-industrial, diner. Large, red, neon letters spelled out “EAT” above the counter. Customers placed orders as they entered — the line moved quickly — and were handed electronic devices that buzzed when their order was ready for pickup. Recycle bins and tin trash bins were located at the corners of the restaurant, reinforcing the industrial aesthetic.

I ordered the Ahi Burger. The menu described it as “fresh ahi tuna seared rare with ginger wasabi mayo and asian slaw on a toasted egg bun,” and it was as delicious as it sounds. However, I was disappointed by the size of the burger considering its price: $14. Of course, that could just be because I was dying for more.

My cousin ordered the Chinese Chicken Salad, which she said was good, but had too many of those “fried wonton thingys.” Her boyfriend ordered the Texas Burger, which he described simply as “damn good.” It looked rather tasty to me too, and I’d call it a somewhat more refined version of Carl’s Jr.’s Six-Dollar Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger.

All in all, I was pleased with the experience. The food was good, and I liked the atmosphere. My only gripe is that it was rather expensive; as a college student, I would have been just as pleased eating one of Carl’s Jr.’s more affordable Six-Dollar hamburgers. Nevertheless, the unique fusion of ahi tuna and a hamburger is not something I’m going to forget for a long time.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 3rd, 2006 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Cool, Food-American. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.