If you are of a certain age, you may know the rest of the quote started in the title to this blog and you will definitely know to whom the quote is attributable.
J. Wellington Wimpy would go batshit crazy here in Allen, Texas.
At some point in the early '70s, there was a rumor floating around that Chillicothe, Ohio had more fast-food outlets per capita than anywhere else in the world. A cruise up and down North Bridge Street would have confirmed that little nugget of information. Well, just counting places where one can get a hamburger in Allen, it would seem that Chillicothe would be relegated to a distant second place. Without thinking hard, I can think of at least 20 places within Allen city limits where one can get a hamburger in a hamburger restaraunt.
McDonald's has 3 stores, beaten only by the drive-in chain Sonic, with 4. Sonic is a southern chain and they encourage their carhops to roller-skate. We have a pair of Wendy's (a shame, because supposedly Wendy Thomas lives in nearby Plano), as well as a pair of Braum's. Braum's is a chain from Oklahoma which is primarily a dairy. I suppose that when "Old Bossy" goes dry, it's off to the abbetoire! Four year old Stuart once loudly ordered a beer to go with his kid's meal at one point... I can't say that I've taken him there many times since.
Burger King and Whataburger have only one store each. I'll usually pass on Burger King because of that creepy guy on their commercials. Whataburger is a Texas thing. Once upon a time they had Mel Tillis doing their commercials for them. They must have edited out his stuttering. And speaking of having clever commercials, there are two Jack in the Boxes here. The chain has a man with a styrofoam head as their spokesman... it works. Believe me.
Let's see. That brings up the total to 15 so far.
There's Mooyah!, a place which seems to go for the original limited hamburger menu in a rather spartan box. It's a chain, too, but I can't tell from where. Scotty P's is another chain, but is limited to just a few places here in Collin County, their location in Allen being one of their first two. J.C.'s Burger House, next to one of the barbecue places (and I can only think of three barbecue places here in Allen) is owned by an ex-telecom guy who happened to be in Lowe's the other day. I talked with him for a bit about the hamburger business, and believe it or not, he says that business is pretty good for him despite the competition.
New in town are Burger Island, and I believe that the other place is called Jim's. Our resident burgerholic at Lowe's was literally first in line for Jim's (ordering lunch to go on their first day of business... about 5 minutes before they opened their doors for the first time) and he is a big fan of Burger Island. The only thing he does not like about Burger Island is that their hamburgers are just too darn big to eat at one sitting.
There. There's 20. I'm not counting IHOP, The Allen Cafe, or at least another dozen places where a hamburger can be found on the menu along with more varied fare, nor am I counting a couple of specialty places within a short drive of here, like Culver's from Wisconsin (same dairy tie-in as Braum's), Steak and Shake out of Indianapolis, and a place called the Purple Cow which is just over the border in Fairview. I like Purple Cow for its Club Sandwiches. Never tried the burgers.
The one other burger place which is said to be coming to the metroplex, but not to Allen, yet, is a California cult called In and Out. Hardly a Saturday goes by at work when at least one soul is not seen in the store wearing an In and Out burger T-shirt. There's In and Out, the cache over by Lake Lavon and any number of apostles of the chain willing to spread the gospel about a place which, at the moment, is only as close as Arizona. In and Out is supposedly building a place in Garland (rhymes with Arlen). There's no doubt in my mind that there are fans who go by the site daily to check on the progress, perhaps even to lend a hand so it will get built faster.
Before you get the idea that Allen is exclusively dedicated to the hamburger, be assured that there are a few other cuisines available here, too. Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Barbecue, Cajun, Italian and a couple of brew pubs... all offering hamburgers for the persnickity youngster.
I don't know about you, but my cholesterol level just went up another 20 points just now.
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