visit to Fuddruckers. .02-02-09

I took a nice drive today, about 40 miles....needed to get out and about!
(after relaxing all day yesterday at my condo, watching the Super Bowl...)
figured I'd have a burger at Fuddruckers, Turnersville, NJ, (about 10 miles east of Philly), followed by some power shopping at the Super Wal Mart in that same shopping center....  I love that "sensory overload" feeling walking into those
huge stores.... plus, they make for good exercise...
 
I'd been to Fuddrucker's a few times while living in L.A., and I first went to one years back in Union, NJ..., which is now closed down...
 
FUDDRUCKER'S, Turnersville, NJ

My 1/2 pound Fudd Burger ....$10.99 , including fries and a shake..
and it also included a choc. chip cookie)
plus, they got me for 75 cents extra for cheese, and also for grilled onions
 
the fries were real good, but a very CHINTZY portion, huh?!?
Not that I would've eaten them all, anyway...

I think Fuddrucker's is one of those "good chains" !
(although I imagine it can vary , depending on the location....which is so often the case) The meat is fresh ground, and has a nice flavor...
plus, they have a good toppings bar...
 
Here's the other side of my burger. I believe in showing the MEAT!
My PET PEEVE is those cheeseburger pics whereby one just sees a GLOB of cheese! I'm like "where's the beef?!?Flip it over for me!"

 Although it is not charbroiled, (my favorite style) it has a real nice heavily seared flavor...
Hey, your burger looked great from DEVO'S, Joe Rogo, and that was'nt charbroiled , either
so I think a lot has to do with the quality of the meat... 
 
My chocolate shake! Sure looks pretty, huh? I'm big on whipped cream..
I wish it had a richer chocolately taste, though....just my preferences...

 
There was a lunchtime special for $6.95 for a 1/2 pound burger, fries, and a soda...(reg $8.95)....so you won't break the break there...........................     mine was more cause of the shake..
 
My FUDDRUCKER'S BILL

 
Fuddruckers is spread around the country quite nicely....
heavy in Texas, as they are based in Austin....
I noticed there's a lot in VA, as well..
There's 8 in NJ, including one right by one of my top favorite Roadfood gals, Harriet!!!
 
This report is what I call "taking the easy way out" !!
yes, I'm taking SHORTCUTS! I'm doing a quickie report like this one, instead of working on finishing my "8 days in L.A." (from Oct), and starting my 8 days in Vegas....
also my "afternoon in Philly"
and my "NJ burger romping with ellen"...........so stay tuned !!!

At least two Fuddruckers shut down several years ago in the Columbus area. I think there might be one left.
 
The one I went to once was absolutely filthy. The condiment tables were disgusting.

Michael Hoffman


At least two Fuddruckers shut down several years ago in the Columbus area. I think there might be one left.

The one I went to once was absolutely filthy. The condiment tables were disgusting.

Not good!! I'd be almost afraid to see what their bathroom was like!


 

We have one here, the brownies are the thing.

Ellen, I used to eat fairly regularly at the Calumet City IL Fuddruckers, and the food was really good. The burgers had a vivid beefy flavor, and the hot cheddar cheese sauce they used was very tasty. Unfortunately, in the last two or three years, the quality there has gone downhill noticably; the burgers now are almost flavorless, and the cheese sauce ( apparently a different brand ) is rather bland. After a very disappointing visit last fall, I just gave up and wrote them off as hopeless. A complaint e-mail to corporate went unanswered ( surprise, surprise! ), so I'm done with Fuddruckers. A real pity; they had some dynamite burgers.

nocarolina


 After a very disappointing visit last fall, I just gave up and wrote them off as hopeless. A complaint e-mail to corporate went unanswered ( surprise, surprise! ),

Thanks for sharing your double whammy with us......
the Fuddruckers in Calumut City going downhill, combined with no one taking the time to address your letter...
 
My sis and I just had recent experiences with the Golden Corral corp not answering any of our e-mails...(we had each sent a couple of them)
I had been wondering why the one in Audubon, NJ (the only one in NJ!) was not answering their phones....
 
I had to actually call the Wal Mart in that same shopping center to try and find out what was going on!! 
I was told it was boarded up....and there was a sign on the door that said "closed. Employees will have their checks mailed to them at the address on their application"...
(that was a new Golden Corral, open only a year or so)
Now their phone number says "temporarily disconnected"
 
This was all about 3 weeks or so ago. And what really gets me annoyed is that the Golden Corral website is still listing the AUDUBON location, complete with that non existent phone number!!
They should have someone who's job it is to monitor that stuff...
a website coordinator, whatever...
 
North Carolina, it's sure sounding like Fuddruckers is inconsistent as a chain,
huh?!?  Michael Hoffman voiced the fact that Columbus , Ohio had filthy condiment stands. 
The Fudd's I went to had their A-1 sauces lined up so neatly (about 20 of them!)
that I almost took a pic of them...
and also  their topping area was spotless....  and this was at 1:30 pm, after their presumed major lunch rush...
It is sad when you have to stop going somewhere that you previously enjoyed, and no one seems to care...        well, at least I care!


 

I cannot speak for any Fuddruckers except the one in Knoxville and it is very nice.  Everything is cooked to order and the condiment area is beautiful.
 
I have never had a bad experience there.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I enjoy Fuddruckers on occasion. The pic of your burger, Ellen, really captured how good they are

Fuddruckers isn't the only chain that makes a habit of ignoring complaint e-mails. Back in November, I had a very disappointing experience at the Arby's in Munster IN, and I sent the company an e-mail letting them know just how fed-up I am with their chain ( another one that I used to love, and is now beyond hope. ) More than two months later and still no response of any kind. I'm not really surprised, though. These big chains don't give a damn about their customers; they say they do but they couldn't care less. If they cared, then they wouldn't serve the crap that they do. I'm getting really disillustioned with the whole chain restaurant industry.  

I lived across the street from the Fuddrucker's a half mile south of Dadeland about 20 years ago.  I enjoyed the burgers back then.  They used to do their own butchering there, and for a dollar one could get a BIG bag of bones for one's dogs.  I also used to buy their baked-on-premises rolls for my own cookouts.

It closed as a Fuddrucker's, and is now privately owned.  I went back the other month, and found that it had not been renovated in the quarter century since it was built.   I did not like the food, either. 

I checked on line, and there still is a genuine one in Doral.

So, have you joined the Fudds Club yet? 

http://www.fuddsclub.com/

Did they have free peanuts?  The one by me in CA did, but when I recently tried the one by me now in TX they didn't.  So I walked out since I was in the mood more for peanuts than their food.

Sundancer7


I cannot speak for any Fuddruckers except the one in Knoxville and it is very nice.  Everything is cooked to order and the condiment area is beautiful.
 
I have never had a bad experience there.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Paul, does this Fuddruckers have a minimum doneness level?  I ate at one in Janesville WI a couple of years ago and was told that my burger had to be cooked to at least "medium".
 
Brad

Nice report Ellen, I wasn't aware that the one near me in Union NJ had closed, not that I would miss it. My only experience there was several years ago, my wife and I decided to try it out and had some sort of "2 for 1" coupon with a lot of fine print from the local paper.

When we got the bill it appeared we were overcharged. It turned out that the "rules" of applying the "2 for 1" were incomprehensible.  Part of my job is to analyze our compensation contracts, so I know my way around fine print, and I was 99% sure I was right as to my interpretation of what the rules were.

The manager simply insisted I was wrong without offering any clear explanation as to why, and his attitude was that he was the Manager and was therefore right and I was the customer and therefore was wrong.
 
We've never been back, the bugers were pretty good, but there's many other places with good burgers and without the hassle and attitude.

That's brutal red tape you had to go for on those "2 for 1" coupon, Ken...
I hate when dinner has to be a negotiation , right?!?
and you even lost that negotiation, on top of everything...
I guess the coupon had to be used up between "2 pm and 2:01 pm", in fine print, or something...

I believe that Union Fuddrucker's was where the Hooter's is now..
if that Hooter's is still even there..  change can happen fast..

And like I said before , guys, the GOLDEN CORRAL IGNORES customer e-mails, tool

and the G.C. that closed was about an hour from me (by Camden)
so it was'nt like I could just go check it out real fast ....
I had to call the nearby Wal Mart to find out why Golden Corral was'nt answering their phones! I was suspicious!
and sure enough....

Ellen,
 
Nice report and pics, as usual.  Good looking burger.
 
Can't comment, no Fuddrucker's in my area.

Have had mixed experiences with Fuddruckers - we have none locally, and been there probably a total of 5 times, all different locations.  Have had three really good experiences, and two relatively poor ones.  The good ones continue to push me to try again, as I do think it rates up there (when it's good) with the better "chain" type places.

Sad to me that so much energy in this forum is expended on Fuddruckers and Waffle House, White Castle, 5 Guys, Sonic, etal for that matter. In this economic period one would hope people would be following the true roadfood spirit and be still seeking those true independents to support them. But not much is being said. Tony Bourdain has done more for roadfood discussion this week with a show in Chicago last night than this forum has generated all week.

I was the architect for some of the first Fuddrucker franchise restaurants outside of Texas in the mid 80s. Then they baked their own buns on premise and all the hamburger came from butchered on site sides of beef save for 12 steak sandwiches per side. It was good then. It is not worth discussing now, IMHO.

I fully agree with you.  I find it sad that someone takes the trouble of posting pictures of chain food and writing about their meals there.

Independent restaurants need our support more than ever.  It made me really unhappy that our night out last week was at a chain steakhouse.  My daughter in law had receive a large gift certificate so we had to use it.  I would never write a review of this place although it is highly thought of on these boards.

We use to have 2 in the nashville tn area but both are closed to the best of my knowledge

Davydd


Sad to me that so much energy in this forum is expended on Fuddruckers and Waffle House, White Castle, 5 Guys, Sonic, etal for that matter. In this economic period one would hope people would be following the true roadfood spirit and be still seeking those true independents to support them. But not much is being said. Tony Bourdain has done more for roadfood discussion this week with a show in Chicago last night than this forum has generated all week.

I was the architect for some of the first Fuddrucker franchise restaurants outside of Texas in the mid 80s. Then they baked their own buns on premise and all the hamburger came from butchered on site sides of beef save for 12 steak sandwiches per side. It was good then. It is not worth discussing now, IMHO.

Davydd,

I seldom take issue with your posts, but I find this one confusing. Are you saying that it was ok for you to take what I assume was fairly large sums of money to design Fuddruckers buildings, yet at the same time chastising others for eating there and posting pictures ?

ellen

Thanks for the Fuddrucker's report since this is the fast food and non-roadfood forum. (I looked at the top of the page just to be sure!)

I always enjoy your reports!

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.

Interesting report. Don't plan to eat there any time soon but if I'm there I know what to order.

As most of you know, I , for one, do go to TONS of independant Roadfood joints...
(since I only cook about once every month or so, that's a lot of places..) (granted, it is often just a tuna sub from a Vics Sub in Absecon, NJ, type of place) (not always huge meals)
I love supporting the local independants!!

Occasionally, I will hit a chain, or (the horrors!) even a Mcdonald's drive thru...

I made sure to post this Fuddrucker's in the right forum.

flyseye

Davydd


Sad to me that so much energy in this forum is expended on Fuddruckers and Waffle House, White Castle, 5 Guys, Sonic, etal for that matter. In this economic period one would hope people would be following the true roadfood spirit and be still seeking those true independents to support them. But not much is being said. Tony Bourdain has done more for roadfood discussion this week with a show in Chicago last night than this forum has generated all week.

I was the architect for some of the first Fuddrucker franchise restaurants outside of Texas in the mid 80s. Then they baked their own buns on premise and all the hamburger came from butchered on site sides of beef save for 12 steak sandwiches per side. It was good then. It is not worth discussing now, IMHO.

Davydd,

I seldom take issue with your posts, but I find this one confusing. Are you saying that it was ok for you to take what I assume was fairly large sums of money to design Fuddruckers buildings, yet at the same time chastising others for eating there and posting pictures ?

Not confusing. That was over 20 years ago and I was just pointing out I knew a bit more about Fuddruckers and Fuddruckers is nothing like it used to be before it broke out of Texas nationally. BTW, it was not a large sum of money. I lost my shirt on that deal underestimating my fee for what turned out to be a lot of research and design work than anticipated.

What I am pointing out is this forum has abandoned its roots with more discussion about chain restaurants than true roadfood as described by the Sterns. This includes longtime contributors and moderators. That's all. It could be the structure of the new forum software has enabled that and seemingly it has been embraced.

Now I am debating whether I should post a picture of a package of frozen White Castle hamburgers I bought at the grocery store yesterday or the independently owned cafe photo of the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich I had last Sunday. I suspect the members here would rather see the White Castle package. It would generate more discussion.

Davydd, you make a valid point. I guess sometimes we do stray a little too far away from the main purpose of these forums. I myself do prefer to discuss legitimate roadfood restaurants, but, at the same time, I also enjoy exposing the big chains as the ineptly-managed bozos that they are ( especially Arby's... grrrrrrrr!!! ) 

By the way, Davydd, I would definitely prefer to see your picture of that tenderloin sandwich. I've seen frozen White Castles before....      lol

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.

Thanks for the support, TKINA..
I was a bit surprised at the harsh criticism, as well...lots of people like to bust chops over here.  ...so I've gotten used to some pretty hot debates!
 
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!

For those of you who take issue with this post being a chain, you shouldn't even be viewing this section of Forums in the first place.

Ellen:  I love all your posts.  You are definitely one of Roadfood's celebrities.

Peace out everybody. 

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.