Review: For the No. 1 fast-food cheeseburger in Cache Valley, try the Center Street Grill

By Marie MacKay

November 4, 2005 | There's nothing quite like sinking your teeth into a juicy cheeseburger, loaded with fresh green lettuce, red ripe tomato, red onions, pickles, ketchup, mayonnaise and a slice of cheddar cheese, all in a soft sesame seed bun.

Oh, baby. If your mouth is salivating right now, keep reading.

With the plethora of hamburger joints throughout the not-quite-so-busy metropolis of Cache Valley, the only thing a college student needs to know is where to go to get the best cheeseburger for their buck.

That's where I come in. After tantalizing my taste buds with 10 cheeseburgers from the 10 main fast-food restaurants in Logan, the results are in.

No. 1 -- Center Street Grill, 18 E. Center St. -- $3.21 Coming in at the top of the charts is a cheeseburger with all the fixin's and then some. Don't let the price deter you from taking part in such a blissful moment as eating this cheeseburger. As opposed to its opponents, the Center Street Grill fills each cheeseburger with a big leafy green lettuce leaf, two long slices of a dill pickle, a slice of tomato, red onions and of course a slap of cheddar cheese. I was completely satisfied with my meal. It's the best restaurant-style cheeseburger you can find in Logan that costs just a little more than a fast-food restaurant price.

No. 2 -- Logan Burgers and Sandwiches, 1085 N. Main St. -- $2.58 Our second place contestant deserves a round of applause. This hometown restaurant provides a beefy cheeseburger, lettuce, pickles and onions all on a toasted sesame seed bun. This is also one of only two fast-food restaurants in Logan that graces its cheeseburgers with a slice of tomato as well. Any Logan native, especially our fellow law-enforcement officials, could tell you that this joint is well worth your time.

No. 3 -- Central Park, 870 N. Main St. -- $1.92 When I'm on a tight budget but still want a decent cheeseburger, this is the place to go. This tiny little restaurant hidden among all the other national food-chains along Main has a lot more to offer than people may think. Although the cheeseburger itself could have been a bit bigger for the price, it still included shredded iceburg lettuce, onions, cheddar cheese and pickles -- which is much better than some of its opponents.

No. 4 -- Burger King, 202 N. Main St. and 1080 N. Main St. -- 96 cents The King of Burgers has stepped down from his crown, but is still in the ranks. Eating this cheeseburger takes me back to those cool, summer evenings in the backyard, flippin' some patties and sippin' some Country Time pink lemonade. That hot-off-the-grill taste boosts this burger's ratings although it still could have used a tomato or two.

No. 5 -- Carl's Junior, 255 N. Main St. -- $1.31 If size is what you want, then this is your place. But quality is another story. All those television commercials of supermodels chomping down on a sloppy Carl's Jr. cheeseburger, with ketchup falling all over the place, is a myth. The first bite all the way down to the last is just dry and mediocre. Don't get me wrong, it tasted OK. But that's the problem, it was just... OK.

No. 6 -- Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, 1305 N. Main St. -- 96 cents I hate to disappoint all those Wendy's fans but these cheeseburgers just don't meet up. A plain bun smothered a small slap of meat, slice of cheese and one pickle. However, although small and unimpressive, this cheeseburger was one of the cheapest and would be worth 96 cents because of Wendy's unbeatable Olympic-speed service.

No. 7 -- Arctic Circle, 930 S. State Highway 89 -- $1.17 Now, this dying breed of fast-food restaurants offers cheeseburgers almost identical to Wendy's, except for the few added shreds of lettuce. It was tasty but not tasty enough for $1.17, so it gets bumped down on the charts significantly. But if you ever get the urge to step into the "circle," try out their corn dogs and free kiddie cones instead, it's the only thing they've got going for them.

No. 8 -- A&W Family Restaurant, 701 N. Main St. -- $1.49 This place should probably just stick with rootbeer floats. Maybe I caught them on a bad day, but it looked like someone had sat on my cheeseburger before they slipped it in a bag and handed it to me with a smile. I honestly expected more. More flavor, more toppings, more excitement.

No. 9 -- La Beau's Drive Inn, 165 E. 1400 North -- $1.28 Logan's hometown burger joint deserves a little bit of credit. They've got some great shakes and that's why most people go there. But aside from offering a boring cheeseburger with only a pickle or two to spice it up, my stomach couldn't handle the long brown hair snuggled between the bun and slice of cheese. Need I say more?

No. 10 -- McDonalds, 810 N. Main St. -- $1.01 One word for you: boring. Even La Beau's hairburger isn't worse than this pathetic attempt. And to top it all off, it's not even the cheapest! How did McDonald's become an international franchise? We'll never know.

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MS