Fast food is great. Sometimes there is nothing better than stopping off and picking up a burger and fries. I especially like when a chain restaurant can blend profit with fresh, well-made food. While there are very few national chains that I believe can fall in to this category, there is at least one in the Seattle area that fits the bill. Red Mill Burgers, while having only two locations, may not technically qualify it as a chain, is close enough in my book.

My friend C and I stop at the Interbay location for dinner, before heading off to a movie. Now having been to the Phinney Ridge location several times before I know that you can sometimes run into problems with long waits, this is a popular place after all. But that was not the case this night. We walked in with only two people ahead of us and were quickly at the counter to place our orders. Being her first time to Red Mill, C was torn between the Bacon Deluxe with Cheese ($4.39) and the Blue Cheese N’ Bacon Burger ($4.95). My suggestion was that she order the one and I the other and we’d split them, as I had yet to try the Blue Cheese version. Having placed our burger orders, along with Fries ($1.39) and Babe’s Onion Rings ($1.79), we found a seat and waited for our names to be called.

We didn’t have long to wait. With our trays in front of us we dug in. I’ve always held the opinion that Red Mill serves one of the tastiest burgers in town. My Bacon Deluxe was big with big, beefy flavor to the hamburger patty. Juicy and flavorful are two adjectives you want to think of when you eat a burger and that’s what was on my mind. Melted American cheese fused with their special “Mill Sauce”, a smoky, spicy sauce that gives the burger just a little kick, as it oozed from the sides. A fresh leaf of lettuce, cool tomato and briny pickle (hold the onion) added a nice “light” contrast to the meat and cheese. Speaking of meat, the final crowning touch were the peppery bacon strips that were cooked to shattering crispness. All this was served on a fluffy sesame seed bun.

While C’s Blue Cheese burger held similar charms it didn’t have quite the same reaction as mine. The bleu cheese, while nice and slightly salty, was piled a little too thickly near the center of the meat and the nice sesame seed bun that was present with my burger was notably missing with this one. Instead opting for a plain style roll.

I always think of Red Mill when I think of a fast food chain making a hamburger right. What I don’t think of when I think Red Mill are out-of-this-world fries. Fairly generic fare, neither C nor I felt they really wowed us. Being the first time ordering the onion rings I had high hopes that maybe they could redeem themselves as the side to get. Was I ever to face disappointment. Large slices of onion were coated in a slightly peppery batter and quickly fried but not quickly enough. The first ring or two, while still hot, hid the fact that underneath the coat was a slightly greasy onion. This fact made itself clear as the rest of the onions cooled and slowly formed little pools of grease in the paper tray.

With so-so fries and slightly greasy onion rings you may be asking how I can say this is a chain that does things right. Well, I judge a chain on its burgers, after all this is Red Mill Burgers, not Red Mill Fries. I’ve found that I get a consistently good burger from a chain that treats its employees well and its customers even better, a chain that strives to put fresh ingredients into their sandwiches. That’ll keep me coming back any day.