It's about three hours into a four-hour road trip, so I'm finally hitting the home stretch, but I can't wait another hour to get home and eat. So I pull off the Florida Turnpike into the Lake Worth Rest Stop (mile marker 94 for those deranged enough to follow along my gastro-journeys) and see a couple of the coolest names I've ever seen at a rest stop. Gone are the Sbarros and Burger Kings I'm used to seeing in rest areas. They've been replaced by the likes of Earl of Sandwich (which claims to have the best hot sandwiches ever, by the way) and Cheeburger Cheeburger. I've never had a Cheeburger, but I've heard plenty about them. So many people who've visited the chain sing its praises and call it among the best fast-food burger you can get. I decide to give it a shot. I order the Classic 5.5-ounce burger with banana peppers (one of about 30 toppings they offer on every burger) and an order of fries.

Now, I'm keeping in mind that I'm at a rest stop along an

interstate, so this isn't exactly the greatest example of what a true

Cheeburger Cheeburger has to offer, although seeing that it's fast

food, it can't be too far off. The menu has been pared down from the

typical franchise, as there is no Pounder (20-ounce burger) on the

menu, nor is there even the Delirious (14-ounce burger). Instead, it's

the Serious (10 ounce), Semi-Serious (7 ounce), or Classic (5.5 ounce).

I notice they proudly announce they're now serving Naturewell Natural

Angus Beef: no additives, no antibiotics, no hormones, 100% Angus, 100%

American, 100% vegetarian fed, and 100% fresh, never frozen.

The

order takes longer than most fast-food places I'm used to (about five

minutes), but when I open the wrapper, I understand why. This

Cheeburger (which is the smallest on the menu) is more than an inch

thick. It's easy to cook a quarter-inch-thick patty in just a few

minutes, but if this thing would have come across the counter any

sooner, I'd have been concerned it was either WAY undercooked or

sitting under a heat lamp for the past couple of hours. It's served on

a warm kaiser roll, another nice touch, and the toppings are neatly

piled on the burger. It's nice to see an aesthetically pleasing burger

served at a fast-food joint.

It's even nicer to be surprised by

the quality of a rest-stop fast-food burger. Although the burger is

clearly well done, it's so juicy that it drips onto the wrapper, and it

has that "backyard burger" taste. It's not that it tastes like charcoal

or gas; it just doesn't taste nearly as processed and preserved as most

other fast-food burgers. That's as much a compliment as it is a

detriment, though, as the beef could have certainly used more

seasoning. The cheese and banana peppers mostly covered for the lack of

proper seasoning, but it could be a problem for those people who don't

cover their burgers in vinegary peppers and melted Swiss cheese. To go

along with the burger, an enormous basket of thick-cut French fries

cooked perfectly (not too soggy, not too crunchy) in peanut oil.

There's not much to say about those except all French fries should be

cooked in peanut oil.

I left the rest stop shocked at the

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quality of the burger I'd just devoured. Although I wouldn't put it up

there with Five Guys, it's a clear shot above the Burger Kings and

McDonalds of the world, and I'd wager most people would prefer it to

Wendy's.

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