Restaurant Review: Ugly Burger

Ugly Burger 19939 Ballinger Way NE

Story & Photos by David Carlos

Dinner for tonight had to be a juicy burger.

No thanks to dry, cardboard burgers.

It had to be a highly caloric, guilt-inducing type of messiness that you don't tell your doctor at your checkup.

I asked Google what burger places were nearby. Google listed "Ugly Burger" at 19939 Ballinger Way NE as a possibility.

It was worth a visit.

A crew of three worked there. One cashier and two cooks in the kitchen.

Ugly Burger menu

I ordered two mushroom burgers, fries, and onion rings.

The cashier gave me a restaurant pager that buzzed when your order was ready. I could've sat in my car and waited.

Instead, I decided to sit at one of their clean, pine-colored tables.

Right after, three sets of customers came in. One of them was a large family. "This place must be popular," I thought to myself.

The man who took my order passed by to clean the tables. I asked, "Did this place used to be a teriyaki place?"

"Yeah, that's what I heard," he said. I asked him how long they'd been in business. "Seven months," he said.

Background music played. "Ain’t nobody gonna break my stride." Followed by "Jack and Diane."

By the third song, my order was ready.

Mushroom Burger

I rushed home to place the food on plates and take pictures. No matter how many I took, I couldn't make the burger look...presentable. "That's what you wanted," said my wife, "ugly burgers."

As soon as the picture-taking was done, I dug in. The burger was so messy I had to keep the wrapper around it.

Verdict: Ugly, but beautifully made. A hearty patty accompanied with "Ugly sauce," mushrooms, red onion, lettuce, tomato, and gooey melted Swiss cheese.

The ugly sauce? It's a blend of mayo, ketchup, mustard, garlic, onion powder, dill pickle, and other spices.

The fries and onion rings were also good. But they were pretty much ignored; the burgers filled us fast.

My wife said, "This is the best burger I’ve had in…I don't know how long."

There will be time to hit the treadmill. At that moment, I enjoyed dinner to my heart's content.