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San Jose, CA
"I had no idea what to expect coming to this restaurant. It's location is a bit funky near the Greyhound station and between the Caravan and…" read more »
This place is in serious need of a remodel and a visit from the health department. It is filthy and the chairs at the tables dig into your legs. Not comfortable at all.
It is expensive for what you get. $22 for 2 burgers with cheese, one order of large regular steak cut french fries and one soft drink. I do like the fact that you get to put your own toppings on but the place overall makes me leary of the food quality so I won't be back.
I kinda like the place, I don't know why. Maybe it's because I used to go here when I was a kid. The place brings back memories of my youth.
That being said, the place is pretty dirty and way too expensive. The burgers are just average at their best. Stay away from the chili, lord knows how long it has been sitting in the caldron!
Every time I go here I say to myself this is the last time, but like a magnet I'll find myself drawn into the place about every six months, hoping somehow it will get better. But alas it never does.....
Umm...Kirk...not even close.
So, I decide not to be a pig and order a 1/3lb "Steakburger." With the $5.95 price tag, you'd expect fries with that. Nope. My dainty little girlfriend wanted the kid's burger, which happened to be the 1/3lb "Steakburger" cut in half (more like a third). That ran $3.60. Medium fries for us to share was nearly $3.
I'm hopeful that this exorbitant price tag will equate to quality. My hopes are shattered as soon as I realize the setup here. My biggest pet pieve in a burger place: veggies and condiments on the side. Why do I have to do your work for you? I'm paying $18.00 per pound for you burger, and you can't even put the stuff on for me? Rude. Burgers should come with everything unless you ask specifically not for something. I don't want to fumble for my tomato under a sneeze guard. That sucks. Also, they close your burger, so the cheese sticks to the nude bun. Amateur.
Another hope of mine was to get some steaming hot crispy steakfries. Didn't happen. Calling these fries steakfries is a misnomer. They are more like potato wedges dipped in that awful batter, like the ones they have at Safeway or KFC. More mushy than crispy.
Beside the cost, condiment bar, and crappy fries, they also managed to cook my 1/3lb burger to a dry hockey puck. Yes, I ordered it cooked medium, but I shouldn't have to eat a rare burger to get some juice. Especially from some random shanty off Bascom that I don't trust.
What exactly is a "Steakburger" anyways? Steak is a piece of meat cooked. A burger is ground meat cooked. So they take some steaks and grind them up? Why do you need to do that? Just get a shitload of chuck and grind that up for me, thank you very much. I wonder what supposed cut of "steak" they are using anyway. Stupid name.
I don't need a "Steakburger" I just need a damn burger, and there's no way in hell I'm coming back here to pay for this crap.
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I have been here once and I will never be going back. Let me tell you why. I go there with my buddy for lunch one day about a year ago. We order up our lunch, a 1/3 steakburger with fries and shakes, then seat ourselves at a table. We are about half way into our meal when I notice a cockroach (yes, a friggin' cockroach) scurry across the top of the table to our immediate left and find a home under the napkin dispenser. My buddy then proceeded to squash the roach and brought it to the gal at the register. We got out money back at least and were offered free meals. Needless to say I did not accept the free meal. Nasty, dirty place.
Um....
Ok, it's more like a 1 star place, but I somehow feel bad for it, I'm not sure why.
We wanted to try a new burger place and have driven by Kirk's so many times we thought we'd give it a spin. I'm sad to say that I'm racking my brain to try and find a positive about it.
I like to order off of kids menus at places like this, because the portion is usually more appropriate for me, unless I want to feel like hot garbage after. Since when is a kid's burger a slice of a regular size burger? What the F? Don't they sell little baby buns? Actually, I know they do because I've had many a kid's cheeseburger in my time.
The fries were odd. I saw steak fries on the menu and said, "yesssss". Then these gnarly looking things were put in front of me and I said "wha?" They looked like they needed to be exfoliated. I like my fries smooth and delicious. These looked like they could cut my throat going down, they were all messy and funky, like steak fries ugly cousin.
I'd suggest going down the street to the Garrett for a good burger, and better ambiance. Kirk's felt a little like a dirty trailer (a little too "rustic" for my taste).
Next time maybe I WILL have a salad for lunch.
An excellent burger. I have only been here once and it was fabulous. I will definitely be back again.
My top favorite burger spot in the area. Between slider's and Kirk's there's not too much competition other than them. The only thing I cringe about Kirk's is the price. Slider's is a little cheaper but either way I am contempt.
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My hubby was raving about this place, so we finally made it there.
I thought the burgers were very juicy and tasty. They do have a condiment bar, so you can dress your burger to your liking.
With green checked plastic tablecloths and a hodgepodge of booths and lawn furniture - the inside is nothing to write home about. They also have a very loud (and unnecessary) loudspeaker so you're hearing them loudly calling out numbers as you eat. The wedge fries were mediocre and disappointing. The condiment bar seemed tired and most of the ketchups we picked up were close to empty.
I felt like the prices were steep for a very casual burger joint too. Overall - yes the burgers were great - but I'm not in love with this place.
3 1/2 stars
Love everything about Kirks! Fash, exceptionally fresh, tons of great choices. Their fries with cheese and bacon are worth every calorie! So good! Prices are reasonable, and the service is nice and quick. Good spot for lunch, or dinners.
Ok, so it's better than McLaboratory Burger, but so what? I got a burger and fries to go and ran out the door only to later find that I got soggy fries (why put them in an expensive clamshell foam container when all they do is steam to death?) and a naked burger with the wrong kind of cheese.
Stripping a burger of condiments and produce no doubt saves them money, but I felt totally ripped off and to make matters worse the lack of said condiments and produce should make or break a burger. Here it is broken. The burgers aren't even seasoned and the meat is neither juicy or very flavorful. They don't even have a decent chargrill flavor (which is bizarre as you get within 20 feet of the place and it smells amazing). Just bland.
And seriously. If I'm going to pay $17 and change for a small burger, small fries and a shake, it better rock. Which it didn't. SF prices without the SF quality.
Damn I miss Busters.
I work down the street and come here fairly often for lunch! I generally order the steak burger and a side of fries (wedges) and it is consistently GREAT. They do a good job delivering on how the consumer wants it cooked too. Once you put your order in it takes about 5 min for it to be grilled. You pick the meat/bun up and add the lettuce, tomato, onions etc at their min-bar area. The result is a thick juicy burger.
The ambiance is great too...it's very simple,basic...with more focus on the food than the decor.
The only negative is the price...which is about $10 for the burger+fries...but you are getting a good burger with fresh meat...and not the crap at McDonald's...so the price is worth it. Be sure to get the Kirk's loyalty card...eat like 10...get the 11th free.
No real expectations - I was hungry and it was on the correct side of the road. It is pretty funky inside - somewhat uncomfortable chairs, rather messy and some quite tired looking toppings.
However the burger was fantastic! I ordered it medium and was worried when this charred hockey puck showed up. However on breaking through the outside - it was perfectly medium inside. I could customize it from the range of fixins, but they were pretty dried out. So just a little tomato, yellow onion and jalapeno. Big plus you don't habe to have lettuce!!
Fries were OK, tasted like they had been dipped in cornstarch to dry the outside before being fried. At least they were thick/chunky. I bet they would have been great with the cheese and bacon.
All in all decent value - lacking in ambience, but who needs ambience at a burger joint. At least it isn't Red Robin!
Got the burger craving? This was a good choice for today. I had not been to Kirk's in a long time. We had a coupon for $5 off the purchase of two burgers, two sides and two beverages.
Hard to grill burgers at home on a rainy day but Kirk's is just like homemade! They were making the meat patties by hand as we walked in the door. We fell into line, placed our orders, got seated and in no time our meal was ready. I had a Torani flavored banana shake to go with mine. This was thick and very filling. I also tried the garlic onion strings as my side. They were good, but a tad on the salty side. I tried Larry's steak cut fries and they would be a better choice for next time.
The burger was cooked to my liking and the condiments bar offered up plenty of good fixins to top it off with. I definitely got to have it my way here. TV had the PGA golf tour on and we got to see Tiger Woods hit some incredible shots!
One star off for the slightly dingy interior which really needs some new carpeting and an upgrade. Other than that, the place was clean, the staff prompt and friendly. Looks like they have an outdoor patio too. I'll certainly come back again when I want that home cooked burger and I don't feel like making it myself.
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A co-worker who lives in Portland insists on visiting Kirk's every time she travels south. I have been eating at this location since I was 8 years old, and I still believe that it has the best hamburgers in the Bay Area.
Make sure you get a milk shake and try the onion strings!
Best burger place ever.
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Great burgers. Food was delicious. Pretty much says it all
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY KIRK'S??? gawd, this place used to have THE BEST burgers...I went there today...the prices were up but that's only to be expected...they have bills to pay...no problem there...ordered a regular burger and small steak fries...medium well...no cheese...they have a great little fixin's bar...out comes my burger...looks pretty good...plump...nice char-grill...load it up with onions/lettuce/katsup etc...take a bite...CRAP...it is soooo FATTY it feels like slimy grit in my mouth...what happen to the STEAKburger of old?? this thing just fell APART...WHAT ARE THEY BUYING FOR BEEF??? whatever it was it sure wasn't any grade of meat I would buy to make a decent burger, let me tell you...I was born the same year as Kirk's: 1948 and have been buying burgers from them since the 60's...I lived out of the bay area for a couple decades but would visit family here alot and snag a KirkBurger or 2 in the process...but let me say that the Kirk's of just a couple years ago is GONE...toooo bad...I'll never go back after the crap burger they are trying to pass off as anything USDA approved...HAPPY HOUND just up S. Bascom in Los Gatos is better...FORGET KIRK's!! tooo bad...
This Is The Best Place To Get A Burger on EARTH...the classic tripler with fries..OMG I want 2...I highly recommend it..all of the kirks are awesome...even if the toilet is a little cold in cupertino..lol
So tonight was my first time going to Kirks, My BF was feeling like a good burger after watching Guy on Food Network that show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and Kirks is close to our house so we decided to try it out. We got there around 8pm but when we came in the lady working there was stacking all of the chairs in the dining area and wiping all the tables clean, I figured they might be closing soon so my BF asked when they closed and she said 9pm- she had an hour left I thought it was kind of weird she was stacking all the chairs especially since there was still about 8 people there. Anyways, my BF asked her for a recommendation and she said "There all the same, you just pick a burger" she was really rude about it. And then her cell phone starts going off so she walks over to it and ignores the call. So she takes our order we go to find a both [all the other tables had no chairs by then] and we waited. She continued to clean all the tables and then she started cleaning out the condiment bar they have. I just thought it was weird and pretty rude that she was stacking chairs and clearing the condiments when they didn't close for another hour and there were still people coming in. Her cell phone rang again and she picked it up and starting walking around the seating area talking on her cell about how she was still at work and complaining. We got our food about 15 min later and I was pretty disappointed the burgers were small and EXPENSIVE. My BF paid extra for bacon and got two tiny slices. The burgers tasted OK nothing special. Overall it cost us $27 for small crappy burgers and rude customer service.
If your thinking about coming here.. Don't (IMO). Go to Carls Jr get a $6 burger and a milkshake there instead, it tastes better and its cheaper. And sadly enough their customer service is better.
----------------Update 3/10/08
Received an email from "Kirk", got two gift certificates for the bad experience. So I will be going back to give it a second chance. The staff may be extremely rude but at least I got a response.
Update 3/31/08----------------------
Went here for dinner last week. Boyfriend and I both got chicken sandwiches since we didn't really like the burger last time and the chicken sandwiches were pretty good. Round up to 2 stars but definitely not 3 stars -1 star for being expensive, I can get a good chicken sandwich from Carl's Jr for less. -1 star for having crappy burgers and -1 star for rude service and bad milkshakes.
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Best burgers in the Bay Area; hands down. Cooked to order over a charcoal grill. Pretty big portions.
And best french fries on the planet. Though it's not really fair to use them as the barometer to which all other fries will be measured; because they're really in a league of their own. Not the ordinary stick-shaped fry, nor the crinkle-cut or even the curly fry. No, these are giant crescent-shaped wedges of yummy. Not frozen either- you can watch them cut the fresh potatoes in this medieval-looking torture device that's right behind the counter. Top them with chilli cheese and you can die happily.
Milkshakes are good (though definitely not the best I ever had). What they lack in quality they more than make up for in quantity of flavor selections.
Kinda pricey; but it's worth it.
Holy steakburger Batman!! Probably the BEST burger place in the south bay! The burgers are huge, jucy, and... burgertastic? The food here will test the capacity of your heart to pump vast amounts of cholesterol through your body. If I was a cardiologist, I would have my business cards readily available in this place. But don't let that divert you from coming here--come here every once in a while and have the burger of your LIFE!
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My friend had invited me to dinner one night on a whim, and here's the internal dialogue that was going on in my mind throughout dinner:
- this guy never invites me out to dinner, he must have something to tell me
- dear God, please not another coming out, not now anyway. Wait he already did that a few years back
- he's gonna tell me he has a boyfriend
- ooo, steak burgers!
- ooo, garlic fries!
- wow, it's only me and 2 other asian people in here
- ooo, onion rings!
- ooo, condiment bar!
- what? they have horseradish and A1 sauce for a burger?
- damn, French roll and a slab of steakburger ... I gotta cut down on carbs here!
- what's with that lady's hair? why is it super man red AND permed?
- oh, it all makes sense ... her and her husband are still stuck in the 60's
Overall good burger, albeit pricey. However, it's well worth it because it will be one of the best burgers you've ever had! Restaurant seemed, overall, to be pretty clean. It was a Friday night, so the condiments seemed to pretty fresh. I'd be back ... but with a coupon.
STEAKBURGERS MAN~!! I'm never disappointed when i go here. Nice thick burgers charred to perfection however you want it. Decent prices for hearty burgers. You can add your own condiments so thats great for all you picky peoples. STEAKBURGER with STEAKSAUCE though and you're set! Their garlic fries are good too. They use thick STEAK fries. Its all about STEAK here. anyways, the onion strings are ehhhh because they're really thin so tend to burn easily and not taste very goos.
*note* i'm not 100% sure its ground steak but eh whatever it taste goods.
i just went tonite with my budddy and we had 10$ gift certificates...we got the triple burger or watever its called with the three cheeeses and fries and onion strings....all i have to say is if u want a good classic burger with good flavor go here. very good and worth it
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I LOVE a good burger!!
JULES
Hamburgers. The cornerstone of any
nutritious breakfast. What kinda
hamburgers?
BRETT
Cheeseburgers!
JULES
No, I mean where did you get'em?
MacDonald's, Wendy's, Jack-in-the-
Box, where?
BRETT
Kirk's Steakburgers.
JULES
Kirk's Steakburgers. That's that
charcoal burger joint. I heard
they got some tasty burgers. I
ain't never had one myself, how are
they?
BRETT
They're good.
JULES
Mind if I try one of yours?
BRETT
No.
JULES
Yours is this one, right?
BRETT
Yeah.
Jules grabs the burger and take a bite of it.
JULES
Uuummmm, that's a tasty burger.
(to Vincent)
Vince, you ever try a Kirk's Steakburger?
VINCENT
No.
Jules holds out the Kirk's Steakburger.
JULES
You wanna bite, they're real good.
VINCENT
I ain't hungry.
JULES
Well, if you like hamburgers give
'em a try sometime. Me, I can't
usually eat 'em 'cause my
girlfriend's a vegetarian. Which
more or less makes me a vegetarian,
but I sure love the taste of a good
burger.
(to Brett)
You know what they call a Quarter
Pounder with Cheese in France?
BRETT
No.
JULES
Tell 'em, Vincent.
VINCENT
Royale with Cheese.
JULES
Royale with Cheese, you know why
they call it that?
BRETT
Because of the metric system?
JULES
Check out the big brain on Brett.
You'a smart motherfucker, that's
right. The metric system.
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AWESOME burgers and fries. A++++ highly recommend, great seller.
Best. Burgers. Ever.
I havn't found a better hamburger anywhere. The place itself kinda sucks, it's really dirty most of the time, but the burgers are worth it!
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Holy grail! Sweet mother of Angus! These burgers are outstanding! The burgers are thick, juicy, and cooked to order. I eat mine with lettuce, tomato, pickles, swine and cheddar. Kirks does a burger good!
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This place is great for burgers...but the best part is their GARLIC FRIES. Now, I am a Giants fan and love going to AT&T Park to eat some REALLY good Garlic Fries. The fries at Kirk's put up a good fight since they serve STEAK FRIES with garlic seasoning. SOOOOO GOOOOOOD!
Use to be great. The burgers can still be good occasionally. I would love to take over this place and run it the way it should be. I would fire every employee and hire people who actually care. I would make sure the place is cleaned and mopped consistently and that the burgers were cooked as ordered. I would drop the prices a little and I bet the place would triple it's business. Too bad it probably won't happen. :(
This is like the ugly stepchild of the Kirk's Steakburgers chain.
Recently, my friend and I walked into the restaurant and looked at the menu. Even though we had only been there for 10 seconds, the cashier asked us if we were ready to order. We asked for more time, and he disappeared. Literally, ten minutes later, he pulled himself away from the TV to take our order. He said it may be a little bit for the food, so we slipped off to a table to wait. While waiting, I saw that no one was handling the grill and that the entire staff was watching some show on TV. During commerical breaks, someone walked back into the kitchen to start preparing our food.
20 minutes later, the food came out. My burger was well prepared and all, but the condiment bar had old veggies and there were lots of flies around the area. As I walked back to our booth from the condiment area, I noticed that my sneakers were getting stuck to the floor - it appeared someone spilled something sticky there earlier, and no one cleaned it up. As I trudged my way through the sludge, I noticed that very few of the tables were clean, and that no one had refilled the napkin dispensers in a while.
As I was eating, I watched as new customers came in. Each one was rushed into ordering and if they weren't ready, the cashier would disappear to watch TV for a few minutes before going back to the register.
Against my better judgment, I used their restroom. It was as scuzzy and disgusting as the rest of the restaurant.
I've been to the Kirk's in Palo Alto and it was definitely not this grotesque. The only reason I'm giving this place two stars is that despite the bad experience, the burger was actually still pretty good. I'm just not going to think about what might have landed in it or the conditions it was prepared in, but I would highly recommend that you do so before eating here.
This place is not sanitary at ALL. There were flies buzzing around the booths and the whole place just seemed dirty. Definitely not a good atmosphere whenever beef is being cooked...
Anyways, the burgers are not that good at all. The lettuce at the condiment bar seemed old. Didn't have the garlic fries but I'm pretty sure I'm not coming back to try them.
Being very new to the area I am anxious to try all the local chains. Getting a coupon in the free Sunday paper was a great place to start, so my betrothed and I decided to try it out.
First Impression (exterior): The sign, new as it may be, was not that easy to see: black background - nice on paper, not on a sign. The parking lot was relatively full - good sign.
Intermediate Impression (inside). The inside was OK looking it had the feel of an older establishment that had seen a lot of use, but was kept up by the minimal standards.
We take a gander at the menu and decide on the single patty w/ cheese: a double just seemed like too much and too expensive along with an order of fries and onion strings. A nice surprise when ordering we were asked how we wanted out burgers cooked. Thought to self: this seems like it might be one of those great placed to eat with relatively cheap food, but great quality and taste. We placed out order and found a seat to wait.
While waiting and sipping our sodas we notice, as we are seated by a window, that there are quite a number of flies by this window and they're fat and slugging. They buzz annoyingly around and a mini battle ensues: 2 humans versus the 4 flies by the window. Casualties: 3-flies 0-humans. After this slightly disgusting episode we continue waiting.
Finally our order is ready, we make our way 'round the fixin' station and then sit down to enjoy a presumably good burger. Before I even get a bite in my mouth I taste very burnt charred meat and and something chemically and unpleasant, I forge ahead thinking that my taste buds are just playing tricks on me. I take another bite and that same taste is there and lingers throughout the entire bite. I consult my betrothed and he does take the extra charriness. He also notes that my burger is charred and cooked way past well-done; adding insult to injury also not medium-rare like I had ordered it. I take one more bite and am a bit nauseous at this point. I decided that enough was enough and I take my burger back upfront and see if they can redo it. The cashier is nice and states that it is no problem to redo mine and continued by asking whether my betrothed's burger was cooked medium-rare. I state that it was not. I wait again; go back to the fixin's bar again and go back to my table, again. I take a bite and low and behold that same darn nasty burnt taste is there again/still, but only slightly less. I stomach my way through 3/4's of the burger and call it quits; I'm feeling a bit nauseous.
Final Impression: Why don't people understand that charred burned meat is not healthy, nor is it tasty; it does not add any dimension to the flavor. It is just DISGUSTING. On a slightly more positive note: the fried and onion strings are good; this is the only reason that I am giving this place 2 stars. Needless to say I will not be coming to this establishment again; I'll be going to In-n-Out Burger.
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The rating is strictly for the burgers, certainly among the best in town. The staff is adequate at best and the place itself kind of tacky. I've been eating here since the late sixties and they really should have left the place alone, every attempt at a remodel made the place look worse. This used to be a big cop hangout but I haven't seen them much lately. Lots of parking, easy to find, good burgers and fries, the fried onion thing can be tasty.
I really hate giving 2 stars but lately that's all they've been. We have been going here for a few years and it's grown into a bit of a tradition that is sadly about to end. it used to be fantastic....it's a burger joint. But a tasty burger joint.
Of late though..I dunno if they have turned over management or what but their service is terrible and whoever they have cooking basically chars everything. They ask "How would you like that cooked?" I say medium and yet it comes out literally charred. My last 3 visits have been like this.
Cleanliness has also suffered ALOT. Flies buzz the condiment area , the floor is sticky, and the tables have been a bit nasty as well.
Service.....well....(again I'm only using my last 3 trips there as refereence) The service is really bad. I hope someone from the resturaunt actually reads this. The guy at the cash register in each trip has messed up my order...once he just plain forgot my burger, we only ordered 2 and another he charged me $30 for 2 burgers and shakes...basically EXTREMELY un-attentive. He also sprayed window cleaner all over the condiments as he was half assed trying to wipe the sneeze guard. My sentiments seem to mirror alot of the others I've read from here...especially about the watching tv and not serving. Hah!!
I hate to say I won't be back because it brings an end to the family tradition but until things shape up I won't be.
Food: 3 stars
Staff/Service: 0 stars
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Alright folks... I can respect that taste is in the stomach of the beholder, and maybe I am burger naive, but PLEASE tell me where there is a better burger because I have never had one!
Kirk's is the pinnacle of the burger art! Juicy, perfectly cooked to order, insanely tender beef (do they triple grind it or something?). Get a side of the onion strings and a milkshake (unless you are a sissy looking for a halfway dining experience). The sides bar is well stocked too! Toss some A1 on that baby to truly get the steak out of your steakburger.
The gauntlet has been thrown down! If anyone can chime in with a better place for a kickbutt burger within 100 miles of the south bay than you have glimpsed Shangri-la (and I, for one, want the address).
The burgers here are just ok but the main attraction is their yummy garlic fries.
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Tasty juicy meat char-grilled and sandwiched in bread and cheese (if you must). There's a line from a David Mamet movie, "It's about purity."
It seems mandatory to order a chocolate malted as well, but be warned, if you order to go, refrain from giving yourself a continuous supply of piped in frozen chocolatey goodness, lest you get full before consuming the main attraction.
I used to love this place way back then....The last time I went there the garlic fries were greasy and soggy and burger was pretty much raw in the middle..with no charcoal taste. It was pretty disappointing. One thing that they still do good is their banana milkshakes. Sure, they use torani syrup and not real bananas, but I don't care...I still like it!
If you live or work around Campbell, this is a great place for burger and fries. The main reason I drop by for lunch is for it's awesome garlic fries, which are basically garlic steak fries (potato wedges.) The burgers are quite good as well. All food items are served on disposable diningware. There is a condiment bar where you can add anything or everything to your burger.
The burger joint is very informal and has some booths by the windows and tables in the middle. Don't expect much from the ambiance and interior decoration.
Update on 10/5/2006: Now, during my visit today, I noticed something that I didn't like about the place....flies pestering you as you dine. I still love the garlic fries, but I wonder where else the flies have been on...