This burger spot, with outposts in Renton and Kirkland, is all about being fresh and local. It grinds beef to order and the locally sourced, thick-cut bacon is heavenly on a B.L.A.T.
I have a hard time making it to some of my favorite restaurants in my own neighborhood. Drive to Kirkland to try a new burger joint? Not going to happen. Then I heard about Burger Addict. It’s the second location of this restaurant, owned by Washington-native chef Marcus Olson and his business partner Harry Teasley, with a focus on keeping things local.
This translates into sourcing Washington beef and grinding it fresh, sourcing Washington pork bellies and bacon. They even make a top-secret cheese blend simply called “Burger Addict Cheese.” What’s most addictive at Burger Addict? Here are the highlights.
Scruffy setting: The first outpost of Burger Addict opened in 2015 in Renton. A food truck was added shortly after, and this Kirkland spot — located in a strip mall just off busy Northeast 85th Street — opened in December. (Note: This is the second iteration of their Kirkland location. Months before, they ran just a food truck in the front parking lot for a stint, so if you see a Yelp page for Burger Addict in Kirkland that says it’s closed, that’s why. Here’s the new, and correct, Yelp page.) The Kirkland location was a former retail spot and, according to Teasley, is scheduled to be demolished for a mixed-used development sometime in the next six years. Because of this, they didn’t want to go to the expense of building out a kitchen, so all menu items are cooked in the food truck, parked just behind the restaurant.
“We would like to be part of the new building that will replace the shopping center, but there’s nothing formal agreed yet. We’ve gotten a great response from our customers in Kirkland, and would love to continue there,” noted Teasley via email.
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Its uncertain future could explain the scruffy feel of Burger Addict’s interior in Kirkland: ketchup-red walls set against industrial blue carpeting and a few tables strewn throughout; and a pair of flat-screen televisions showing old movies and sports. It’s also quiet, save for the near-constant dings announcing new Grub Hub orders.
Fresh takes time: Nearly everything at Burger Addict is fresh (minus the frozen, prepackaged sweet potato fries) and cooked to order, so things take a little while. The bacon is also cooked to order, meaning there is no giant pan in back where meager strips get reheated and slapped on your burger just before it makes its way to the table.
It’s clear the focus is on the food. There’s a skeleton crew, with one person manning the truck and another taking orders, running food, bussing tables and kindly checking in with every customer.
What’s most addictive: Burgers get top billing — and there’s everything from a classic cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and onion to the Pastrawesome, a burger with the addition of a slab of pastrami. Burgers come in 5-ounce patties, but they can be upgraded to 10 ounces or even 12 ounces and are cooked to order. The Addict Burger ($7) packs a heavy punch, topped with caramelized onions and a rich garlic aioli. The burger itself tastes a bit under-seasoned, but the toppings more than make up for flavor. The top-secret cheese blend is wonderfully gooey, almost like white-cheddar nacho-cheese sauce.
Chicken sandwiches, mac ‘n’ cheese topped with truffles and mushrooms or smoked brisket; and cauliflower tacos are also on offer, as well as fries, tater tots, sweet-potato fries and onion rings.
Fries ($3) are hand cut and double fried. They were unevenly crispy, but even the floppy ones were good, especially when dipped in the Portland Ketchup that they have available.
A bacon lover’s dream: About the bacon: Available on many of the burgers or as a $4.25 add-on, it’s unevenly thick-cut — but here that means the thinnest parts of the bacon are what would be considered thick anywhere else and the thickest part is a hunk of smoked pork. I’ve seen tacos with less pork than the thick-cut bacon at Burger Addict.
It’s heavenly on the B.L.A.T. ($13), which pairs freshly ground beef with bacon, a generous portion of avocado and a thick-sliced tomato. (There’s a reason every burger comes skewered by a steak knife.)
There are shakes, but as of now there is no ice machine or fountain drinks. The only water available is bottled; sodas are canned.
Is it worth a drive? Maybe — especially if you are a bacon lover.
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Burger Addict, 12016 N.E. 85th St., Kirkland; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 425-970-4100, burgeraddict.com. Also 2439 Maple Valley Highway, Renton; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday (closed Mondays), 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 425-970-3950.