visit to Fuddruckers. .02-02-09

All of the Fuddrucker's in Cincinnati closed many years ago

HotDogHead


For those of you who take issue with this post being a chain, you shouldn't even be viewing this section
Ellen:  I love all your posts.  You are definitely one of Roadfood's celebrities.
Peace out everybody. 

Your compliments were very touching, HOTDOGHEAD! Thank you so much!
 
GREYMO: I see now that you were actually giving me a backhanded compliment.
               I found Fuddruckers  intriguing, as it was
               not as widespread as Burger Kings or McDonalds
               (I don't report on those major chains, and don't go there often)
                (I almost NEVER go to a Quizno's or Subway, as I've got WAY better
                 sub places in my area)
               Plus, Fuddruckers is not in a lot of regions of the country, like where
               Mr. Chips lives (Portland), and not in Joe Rogo's area (Scranton)...
               It's actually NOT a place where everyone's been, like a McDonald's...
 
               Plus, I had a hunch that this was the kind of chain that was not
               homogenized.....that there would be a lot of inconsistences...
               and I was curious to get feedback on it..
 
               I had not eaten at a Fuddruckers in at least 6 years or so, since I lived
               in L.A., and went to the Buena Park location once...
 
And also, the FUDDRUCKER'S I just to went is a good 45 minute drive away from me...........so , for me, it IS Roadfood, cause I had to drive 40 miles on the road to get it!!  ("roadfood" can be very subjective, IMO)
I know it's not "TRUE" Roadfood, though, in the purest sense of the word
 
STAY WARM tonight, fellow Roadfooders! and keep the peace!
              
              
              

 Have not been to a Fuddruckers in several years. Always liked the food, hated how noisy it was in the place.

$11.74 for that???
1/2 lb ? that must have included the blob of cheese, the onions, the bun, fries & the cookie.
just by your review & pictures reinforces my reluctents to go into a Fudruckers, Red Robin etc.
great review Ellen, Thanks 

I've been giving some thought to these comments.

If the food is good, then the place should get a mention and maybe a photo.  (I've never been to Fuddruckers and wouldn't have a clue what to expect........frankly the same is true of many chains since I'm a real fan of "locals")   And, of course, if the place is bad, help steer the rest of us away!

We all love to hate those out-of-town corporate types and how rapacious they are.  But we should remember that even chains employ local people - some may even pay better wages and have health plans. Having said that, I bet few of us die-hard roadfooders still gas up at an independent gas station, even if they could find one.  And -partly due to insurance reuirements - get our prescriptions at a chain pharmacy (not sure we even have indes here anymore.......and I grew up working in an inde!)

We have a category here for chains.....use it as you want and ignore it if you so desire.  But I wouldn't get on other's case if they decide to.
 
Oh, and Ellen............you are still my hero-ine!  I don't think there are many here who get out as much as you do an report back honestly and with great photos.  I've learned a lot following some of your posts.  Keep it up!

sk bob


$11.74 for that???
1/2 lb ? that must have included the blob of cheese, the onions, the bun, fries & the cookie.

I hear you, sk bob , as it was a weak looking "1/2 pound" !
When my name got called to pick it up my burger, I said to myself "It looks more like the 1/3 pound burger! And they're passing it off as the 1/2 pound size"
 
(by that token, their 1/3 pound size must look like a 1/4 pounder)
 
I'm not as fortunate as YOU to have places like the Brickyard AND the Stonewood Grill (both with EXCELLENT burgers) within 15 minutes of me...
 
Wandering Jew once said to me in a post that he's sure I could find some GREAT burgers right by me....   ......so I gave a few places another try.. 
those places had "fairly good" burgers, but nothing great..!
Places like "Pistol Pete's, that's only about a mile from me
they advertise their food a lot in the freebie "what's happening" guides, then when you go in, almost everyone is just at the bar drinking...
no one's hardly eating......  the burger was "fairly good" (the brioche roll was great both times!! Extra fresh!!)  ...
the steaks are way more expensive then they should be...
 
And the Tilton Inn, which is only about 1/3 mile away from me, within"stumbling home" distance.... their burger is "just okay"....
(their hot roast beef sandwich is real good, though, as is Pistol Pete's)
 
Some posters said Fuddruckers was noisy....  not in my case...
about 5 other tables at almost 2 pm...
nice relaxing meal, and pretty tiffany light fixtures...
Sounds like I got lucky, and stumbled into one of the "good" Fuddrucker's locations....   

FriedClamFanatic, I'm one of those very few die-hard roadfooders who chooses to buy gasoline from an independent. No BP, Shell or Mobil for me; I fill up every week at the Thornton's station in Highland IN. Thornton's is a small ( 100+ stations ) indie chain based in Louisville, and their Highland outlet always charges less than anyone else around. Their gas quality is just as good as the major brands, too. Just as with restaurants, I prefer patronizing small family-owned operations.

  To believe that there is something inately inferior about chains is a conceit no truly serious food lover can afford.

I regularly frequent the Fuddruckers in Bridgewater, N.J., for their expertly prepared ostrich burger.

  The place is immaculate, the service great and the food always good.

   The Bear

Greymo

ellen4641

tkitna


People need to lighten up some. Good lord, somebody stopped at a chain restaurant and posted their opinion and experience in the,,,,,get this,,,,chain restaurant section. What a crime.

It saddens me that people get so worked up over chain restaurants but yet continue to read and post in that particular section. Unreal.

 
GREYMO: Don't feel SAD for me that I posted Fuddruckers. I figured it would get more discussion going than if I posted a pic of my tuna sub from Vic's..
(besides, tuna does not photograph well!)
 
STAY TUNED for my "afternoon in Philly" report.... NO CHAINS will be mentioned!

 
Ellen, you go to so many places and take so much time giving good reports on Roadfood places that I just cannot understand why you bother with pictures of chain food.   We have all been to these places and know what the food is...........I just think it is not worthy of your time.

ELLEN4641: No more ChainFood reports until you catch up on your ROADFOOD reports!!! 

nocarolina


FriedClamFanatic, I'm one of those very few die-hard roadfooders who chooses to buy gasoline from an independent. No BP, Shell or Mobil for me; I fill up every week at the Thornton's station in Highland IN. Thornton's is a small ( 100+ stations ) indie chain based in Louisville, and their Highland outlet always charges less than anyone else around. Their gas quality is just as good as the major brands, too. Just as with restaurants, I prefer patronizing small family-owned operations.

My local Sunoco station has been family owned and operated for over 25 years.  Still it is Sunoco on the signs, but the family was still pumping the gas up until 2 years ago when they went self-service.  They do all our repairs and every Christmas hold a thank-you party. They get competition from a well-run convenience chain here in PA as well as a Sunoco owned(i think) station just a mile further down the road.  But the folks at my station are pleasant, neighbors, and I always use them

FCF, I'm curious as to who that PA convenience chain is. My guess is either Sheetz or Wawa. Do I win a prize?

I'm confused.  This section is titled "fast food franchises and non-roadfood chains" yet people object when someone posts about a chain.  What exactly would they expect to find here?
 
ELLEN;  I enjoy all of your reports and your photo's.  Feel free to do one on McD's, I'm sure it would be good.
 
Chris
 
 

nocarolina


FCF, I'm curious as to who that PA convenience chain is. My guess is either Sheetz or Wawa. Do I win a prize?

It would be the latter.  Their Hdqts is about 3 miles from me, so you can imagine that the local ones are spotless and perfectly run!  I have to admit, they do a decent sandwhich, their price for gas is almost always the lowest, as is their price on cigarettes.  From 11-2 you can barely move in their parking lots.
 
PS...your prize, should you decide to collect it, is about 6 inches of snow from my front walk.  Who knows? Clean water may be getting scarce! 

ellen4641

Some posters said Fuddruckers was noisy....  not in my case...
about 5 other tables at almost 2 pm...
nice relaxing meal, and pretty tiffany light fixtures...
Sounds like I got lucky, and stumbled into one of the "good" Fuddrucker's locations....   

 
 You hit the right hour. I've been once at 2 pm, it was great. Stay away during the dinner hours, full of kids.

You know, looking back over this thread, particularly Page 1, it seems that despite Fuddruckers' status as a chain, there appears to be wide variation in the way they're run, cleaned, decorated, cooked (medium being the rarest or whatever), serviced, noisy, and attended.

Would this information not be of value to a foodie?

I submit that Ellen's post is of great value to us, and properly placed in the "Fast Food Francises & Non-Roadfood Chains" forum.

Now, it may very well be true that the Roadfood community should be encouraged to go out and seek ye more Roadfood places and post thereon! But is slamming Ellen's efforts in the process really necessary?

My local Fuddruckers in Annapolis is fairly noisy, but well run and clean. I don't remember, unfortunately, if they had a "no rare" rule. (I know Cheeburger Cheeburger does.) The cool thing about the Annapolis one is that they have lots of nifty old Naval Academy stuff on the walls.  

ChrisOC, you're absolutely correct. The griping about this forum doesn't make any sense. It is clearly labled as being devoted to fast-food and chains, so why would anyone access this forum if they weren't interested in the subject matter. Like it or not, chain restaurants are a major part of the American scene, and I feel that discussions of them serve a purpose. After all, there's a relatively small number of chains that serve pretty decent food ( Hoss's Steakhouses in PA for example ) and I feel that roadfooders should be aware of those chains that try a little harder than the others. Sometimes roadfood can be found in the least likely places, IMHO.   :-)             

Hey, El. Good report. My experience with Fuddruckers goes way back to when my daughter was in a little "carrying basket" and we'd put her up on the tabletop and she'd watch the fans whir on the ceiling. This was obviously at the Voorhees, NJ location, and they were considered new and exciting then. We ate there several times over the years. Fast-forward to when my daughter and I were both on Weight Watchers about five years ago when she was 15, and I had a mini-panic attack in there because they didn't have fat-free dressing for the side salad I ordered. Somehow, I got around it. I just wanted to be able to enjoy any sort of place while losing weight (and it worked...back then). Used to go to the one you went to, El, in Turnersville, on a Friday night with Bill in the summertime, when all the classic and souped-up cars would be parked/displayed in the parking lot with their hoods up and the owners sitting on chairs watching the people watch their cars.
 
Yes, I did enjoy their burgers once upon a time, used to LOVE using what I called the "pump" cheese, filling all the little cups with all the different sauces and trying them all (sound familiar?), and enjoying their iced tea that I could sweeten any way I wanted. So I do have lots of memories of it dating back 20 years.
 
Fast forward to now, and for me, Fuddruckers has lost its lustre and I just don't really think about the place anymore. But your report was good!
 
 

Hey, Harriet, gal pal!!
Miss you, gal!
Glad I helped stir up some redeeming memories of Fuddrucker's and your ex-Bill....

See you over on Facebook, okay?!?
I'll send you some personal messages, as well...
some stuff is just too HOT and private for our "walls"!!

Ellen,

Love this report.  I find nothing wrong with reporting on a chain restaurant in the chain food section.  We all know that not all chain restaurant locations are the same.  The Fuddruckers in Turnersville may be better than the one in New Brunswick, etc. 

Also, these are tough economic times for everyone.  Last time I checked, chain restaurants employ local people, just the same as mom and pop restaurants.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for supporting local mom and pop places, considering my mother owns one, but chains are important to the economy of areas as well.  The better restaurants will remain regardless of being a chain or mom and pop.  I have actually had a ruby tuesdays and pizza hut both shut down this past year in my town simply because they were not very good. 

Back to the report.  Do you happen to know how long that one in Turnersville has been there?  I went to Rowan in Glassboro and I'll be sorely disappointed if it was there when I was in college,  98-02, and I missed it. 

The one on Route 22 in Union is a Hooters and that Hooters is still open.  I have not been there in awhile, but that Hooters used to get mobbed all the time.  The closest Fuddruckers to me is the one on Route 22 in Bridgewater.  It isn't bad, but if you go at the wrong time that place is OVERRUN with little kids.  It can be quite a madhouse. 

I should have done a trip report about Chuck E. Cheese when I took my nephew awhile back.  Talk about a chain that should be shut down.  Nothing worse than dozens of kids running wild while their parents ignore them and eating crappy overpriced pizza.  I believe Chuck E. Cheese is the 9th circle of hell!!!!!

Oh...funny note about Fuddruckers.  First time I ever went to one I was young. Couldn't have been more than 7 years old.  Probably even younger.  My grandmother took me.  I absolutely loved the place.  I was so excited I went home and told my parents that grandma had taken me to Fudd*uckers.  Put an F in the place of the *.  Of course my parents wondered where exactly my grandmother was taking their little Angel to.  My grandmother was laughing so hard she couldn't tell them where we had actually gone. 

fattybomatty, I love yourFudd*uckers story! Reminds me of the dumb things I used to say as a kid ( a bad case of "foot-in-mouth" disease that I've never totally recovered from. ) You have my deepest sympathy for having to endure the terrors of a visit to Chuck E. Cheese. I've never been ( no kids ), but I've heard horror stories about it from other people.  

I also enjoyed reading your Fudd*ucker comments, fattybomatty!
plus you made a good point regarding chains employing local people....
and since that goes all the way up to employing managers, chains due seem to serve some purposes, even to the naysayers!!

Fuddruckers when it first opened was amazing. I remember when the first one I went to in San  Diego opened 24 years ago. They had full slabs of beef in a butcher area. You could order steaks. Fresh ground beef on site with butchers in white smocks. The lines went around the building to get in. The place today is a mess. The last 3 times at different locations 2 were to dirty to even eat in....Russ

My daughter in law receives a lot of gift  certificates as gifts from clients.  We roll our eyes at what people think is a great gift.  We suffered through  The  Cheesecake  Factory a couple of weeks ago  (but that is another story)

The only gift certificate that she has no plans on using ,and is giving  to a friend, is the one for Fuddruckers.  I have been lucky enough to just have to go there once and that was once too much for me.