Not quite a "grand slam"...

The Classic Cheeseburger
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

But hey, let's say maybe a ground roll double? Okay, enough with the bad baseball analogies. I usually don't come to Denny's much, and to that extent I really didn't have much in terms of expectations. My general experience with Denny's has mostly been with brunch/breakfast type deals, and overall I wasn't very impressed, well as much so as a chain of American style diner type deals that are open super almost 24 hours a day can be. My experience, not with Denny's specifically but with establishments much like it was that the burgers weren't great, passable, but nothing to really write about, well here I am now, writing about a Denny's burger. I have to say, it's pretty good. I'm not going to tell you that it's the "best burger ever" and I'm not going to guarantee that every Denny's is going to be the same, this could as well easily be an outlier as not.

Anyways, this thing was on their 2,4,6,8 value menu thing at $6 and they add a drink for 99 cents, so I figure, "Hey, why not?" When you think about it reasonably, for a comparable burger type meal at a fast food joint, the price is pretty comparable, really it kind of is, especially for some of those fast food places you see out there. Okay, so it's a very simple burger, literally just meat, lettuce, tomatoes, I think some onions, and cheese. When I first saw the burger I was a little disappointed... At this point in time when I see the patty it's almost like falling apart, I'm pretty sure it probably did during the cooking of the burger and they tried to keep it together, and it... kind of worked? At the very least I knew that it was kinda hand pressed, but it didn't look very good. When I bit into the burger though, it was really quite a pleasant surprise.

The quality of the meat was actually quite good, it was beefy, not overly greasy, though I kind of like it a little juicier, but overall it was good. The patty itself, though disheveled for lack of a better word, was actually fairly substantial. The bun was a normal sesame seed bun, well done, and the cheese well melted. Now I know people that prefer it this way, but shredded lettuce to me just never seems as fresh, the tomato was pretty good though. The down side that I realized after the first bite was that they don't put condiments on the burger. Of course they give you ketchup, mustard, Cholula hot sauce, and Tobasco, but you have to apply yourself, a word of warning. I mean, I like this stuff, but the application of it yourself kind of makes it feel like it doesn't count.

As a final side note, the fries were okay, I don't know what's special about the kringle-cut fries deal was, except maybe the functional purpose of greater surface area for frying, making it extra crispy. They're nothing to rave about, but its a good compliment to the burger.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: B+
Bun: B+
Fixings: B-
Condiments: C
Sides: B
Price: $6-$12
Overall Grade: B
Recommended Burger: Mushroom and Swiss Burger