Cuisine Review

It is quite trendy in the other LA and New York City for the in-crowd to hit greasy burger joints these days. And now we have our own in our LA, although the greasy part is pretty much not present.

The Big Time Diner is my favorite blue plate special restaurant in town along with having superior milkshakes. The owners tried a deli-style restaurant that did not work, but their new venture I predict will take off soaring. At the corner of International Drive and Cottage Hill, just west of I-65 is the Big Time Burger. LA Subs bit the dust there some time ago and the Big Time Burger has jazzed it up a bit. The dining area has that ‘50s diner element to it, with the same red and black booths and same silver sparkly chairs, a pinball machine and oldies playing in the background.

You are greeted by an upbeat staff and a big board menu. Ordering at the counter, you then get a number and your food is served to you. A large soda section gives options of all the sugary drinks you could want. The menu is quite simple: burgers, chicken fingers, fries and shakes. Like I said, the shakes are the bomb, prepared exactly to the superior quality as found at the Big Time Diner.

Viscous chocolate, strawberry or vanilla shakes ($2.70) are the first things out to your table. I am a traditionalist and typically like vanilla but I chose the strawberry on a recent visit. You need to let it melt a bit before sipping or siphoning through your straw. Mine had lots of thick strawberry pieces that can get stuck at the bottom of the straw, but I used a spoon to plunge into them. I did want to save some of this to go along with my burger, anticipating a burger bite followed by a strawberry slurp.

As stated, the menu is simple. You can order a la carte or as combo meals. Burgers come with or without cheese and with single or double patty. My son and I choose the double cheeseburger combo with fries and a drink ($6.90). The burger combo and the single combos are slightly less. I think that it is a bargain for what you get, light years above any fast food combo. My daughter chose the chicken finger snack – two fingers with fries, slaw and drink. They have a four-basket as well.

Everything is prepared to order. The smell of burgers wafts through the room, and they come fully dressed. I ordered mine without onion or tomato. A Whataburger-sized burger triumphantly came out to the dining area first. A simple, not-too-heavy bun is toasted on the grill and dressed with shredded lettuce and plenty of pickle.

My only disappointment is that I do not like cheese that is heavily melted on my burger; I like a slightly warm slice. Just my taste, but believe me, it did not severely get in my way. The burgers are not thick, so prepare yourself, and I would suggest getting the double. They are seasoned traditionally with a bit of salt and pepper and come out about medium, and hot. I loved the fries, but ask for them how you like them. Mine had been out awhile, but my son’s were hot and crispy. They are dusted with a bit of seasoning.

The chicken fingers are enormous slabs of the highest quality breast meat. They are not crunchy, more like the outer shell of Foosackly’s. The sauce selections are nice in number – honey mustard, ranch, bbq, wing sauce and their special sauce. My daughter’s honey mustard was very good, while I did not like the special sauce. It is similar to Thousand Island dressing. Her slaw was rough cut, not heavy on the mayonnaise and full of pepper. You have a choice of slaw or Texas toast. She barely ate one finger, and I somehow managed to stuff one down. My stomach hurt all night from eating so much.

There was a steady stream of people coming in with an equal mix of take-out and dine-in. The dining room had several small families and couples of various ages. The area is quite open and kids could run around without being a bother. My son liked playing on one of the two pinball machines, the Simpson’s one.

They are still working out the kinks in service a bit. The staff consists mostly of teens, likely in their first job. The kitchen got confused somewhat, forgetting my son’s combo, coming out to apologize and confirm. But we waited and waited, and my daughter and I finished our meal practically before I had to go into the kitchen and ask again. Alas, they had forgotten. In addition it appeared to me that some baskets were coming out twice, the second time with no one to eat them. This is just a warning that in these early days to be on the lookout for your meal and that it may not come out all at once.

My idea is that this is a perfect place for Saturday lunch-a great hangover meal or after your child’s soccer or football game. Our total cost for all that we ate came to about $23. That is affordable for anyone. I would not rank their burger as the best when put against Butch’s or Callaghan’s, but they do not aspire to this.

The Big Time Burger is higher quality, fast-food-style-cooked and prepared by locals. And this is another step forward for our area, a fresh concept that can encourage others to stretch themselves.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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