Fatburger flashback

Going to the new Lynnwood Fatburger location, I got flashbacks.

It was a mild, sunny winter’s day, more reminiscent of a Las Vegas December than a gray Puget Sound day. Like Vegas roads, the streets around Alderwood Mall were packed with cars — only these were filled with shoppers looking for last-minute holiday gifts.

My friend Al and I used to visit a Fatburger near his house in Vegas at times to get chow before watching Sunday night football. Seeing that this past Monday I was still euphoric over the New York Jets’ easy win over the Seahawks the day prior, it almost felt like Al was in my truck’s passenger seat griping about how the Detroit Lions blew it against Minnesota.

The new Lynnwood location actually is an improvement over the Vegas Fatburger Al and I used to go to. The service at the Lynnwood location is outstanding, friendly and personal. The restaurant itself, located in a strip mall across from the mall, has floor-to-ceiling windows that let in plenty of natural light, a nice contrast from all the walls of most eateries.

Designed to resemble a ’50s diner, the restaurant has the requisite chrome table and chair legs and a jukebox with a variety of selections from the past, from ’60s Motown to ’80s New Wave.

As for the menu itself, it’s standard fare for a burger place. In addition to burgers, Fatburger serves chili dogs, chicken sandwiches and turkey burgers. It has either skinny fries (thin ones) and fat fries (think Red Robin), chili cheese fries and onion rings. In addition to a standard range of sodas, it has root beer floats and three kinds of ice cream milkshakes: vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

All burgers are made when you order them and you have a choice of mustard, tomato, lettuce, relish and pickles as free toppings. You can also get bacon, cheese, egg, chili, ranch dressing or tartar sauce for an additional charge.

I opted for a 1/3 pound Fatburger with mustard, tomato and lettuce. I also got an order of fat fries and a 16 oz. strawberry shake. All meals are brought to your table.

The shake came with whipped cream on the top, and it was as tasty as any of the other ones available in the region. The burger and fries were more than satisfactory, although I seemed to recall the burgers Al and I used to get as being bigger (apparently, we opted for bigger burgers).

The Lynnwood location is the first in Snohomish County for the Santa Monica, Calif.,-based chain. It already has locations in Bellevue, Issaquah and Redmond.