By Ian Camacho Cendejas
Staff Writer
Burgers and fries are very popular foods in our areacounty. Many fast-food burger chains provide various different experiences. Fast food chains such as McDonald’s, located near our school, are packed once school gets out each day. This shows the popularity among students who want a tasty, affordable burger. Although McDonald’s is well-loved, other popular local burger joints are just as good, if not better. But which is the best?
McDonald’s is loved by many high schoolers at Santa Rosa High School. It has a large array of food options. “McDonald’s is okay as a quick meal to have, but otherwise not the greatest,” said junior Aranza Reyes. We ordered a burger with lettuce, onions and pickles but found that they messed up our order. One had a single patty with only small chopped onions. Some may argue that McDonald’s is good, but the burger was bland and the highlight of the whole meal was the fries because they were crisp and well-salted. We rated this restaurant a 6 out of 10.
Habit Burger and Grill, located near the Coddingtown Mall, is also popular among students. It has a broad menu with a variety of burgers, unlike most fast-food restaurants. The classic “charburger” is very tasty and contains cheese, beef, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, caramelized onions and mayonnaise. One issue was that there was an excessive amount of mayonnaise which overpowered the burger. The fries were decent but also somewhat hit-or-miss due to the large amount of salt on them. We rated this restaurant a 7 out of 10.
Five Guys is a fast-food chain that has been around for years and it is located on Mendocino Avenue. A few blocks down from Santa Rosa High School, students seem to love it. We got simple cheeseburgers with added onions and bacon. The simple tin foil wrapping kept the burger warm for a surprisingly decently long time. As soon as we opened the wrapping, the burger looked very appetizing and was a rather good size for the price. The fries came in a cup and were extremely salty but tasted amazing. The burger was rather messy, but it was so tasty. We rated this restaurant an 8 out of 10.
In-N-Out is a popular fast-food restaurant chain across California. The menu was simple with only three burgers: a double-double, a cheeseburger and a hamburger. The double-double burger is a delicious two-patty burger with “secret sauce” (Thousand Island dressing), tomatoes, lettuce, onions and cheese. Students always seem to be in a disagreement about the fries. Whether it be Animal Fries or regular potato fries, they arealways seem incredibly dry. The friesy are very inconsistent, sometimes being perfect but usually rather bad. Overall, we rate this restaurant an 8 out of 10.
Finally, Acme Burger has some of the best burgers in Santa Rosa. Located on West College Avenue, this small American burger joint has been around for only five years. We got a burger with bacon, avocado, Thousand Island dressing, two patties and cheese. We also got very garlic fries along with it. The burger was nearly perfect; the only issue was that the bacon was a little chewy. The fries were amazing, with garlic and ranch slightly overpowering the burger’s aftertaste. We rated this restaurant a 9 out of 10.
After eating these burgers, Acme Burger was the best out of all of the restaurants we tried. Ultimately, however, everyone has their own favorite burger place, and there isn’t just one place that’s number one.
