Special Burger Review: Johnny Rockets

(Photo by Andrew Hockridge)

Date Visited: April 5, 2016
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
BurgerTours Rating: 7.7/10

Taste	Messiness	Price	Venue	Pluses
Awesome	Some Drip	$6-$10	Fast Food	Veggie

Website

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Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Drew's Review

Johnny Rockets, home of America's Original Hamburger, was my 22nd BurgerTour to date. I decided to do this on my own as I was on vacation in Daytona Beach at the time. I did some research before arriving to dine and I noticed that there was a Johnny Rockets at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto not to long ago, and why it's not there anymore is beyond me. So I thought this would be my opportunity to try something that Toronto once had that is no longer available. (The only Johnny Rockets left in Canada is located in a casino I'm Windsor, so good luck!)

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

I decided to go on a Tuesday evening, around the dinner rush, and upon arriving, I actually had to walk down to make sure it was actually there. The thing about the Daytona Beach location is that it is hidden amongst many
ocean-view shops and other restaurants. It sits in a plaza just off the shorelines of Daytona. And, it was on the second floor of this plaza. So once I became familiar with the area, I set my date to return to dine with my expectations being pretty high.

When I went to go open their front doors, I noticed its logo wasn't lit up, yet there were waiters and chefs inside. I opened the doors and was greeted by a young gentleman who kindly gave me a choice of where I wanted to sit. With thousands of seating options available, I decided on a booth at the far end. He then places the menu in front of me, while I quickly skim over to see what I'm going to order.

A waitress walks over to my table and asks if I've ever been here before. I shake my head. She talks about the special burgers they have and a special Oreo Crumble milkshake they only have for a limited time. She then leaves after taking my drink order and leaves me alone with the menu. I see so many good options - even some of the options that I wasn't seeing when I checked out their menu online on their website. This was going to be a hard decision.

Within a few minutes, the waitress returns to take my order. At this time, it wasn't very busy, and I felt like I was her only customer right now. After several minutes of giving the menu a read-through, I finally landed on what I was going to order. I decided to go with a cheeseburger called the Number 12. Upon hearing my order, the waitress looks at me and asks, "Now did you read what was on it and not just look at the picture beside it?" I feel as if she must get this a lot with customers and having them return their order because the diner didn't give their order a second look. I reply by nodding my head. "All righty then." She then disappears and goes to place my order.

The #12/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

The reason I ordered the Number 12 was because I read beside the image of the burger that it was voted Number 12 by diners on a scale from 1 to 10. That excitedly got my hopes and taste buds up. The burger was topped with cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, white onions, pickles, mayonnaise and their signature Red Red Sauce (Chili ketchup with a kick of spice), so I knew this had to be one good burger. And I was right.

After taking my first bite, I was blown away by the flavour and the taste of the burger all combined into one delicious cheeseburger. The meat was cooked well to perfection, the toppings were nice and secure and didn't look like a mess at all, and the chili ketchup was a nice surprise to get my taste buds jumping for some root beer. (Yes, I ordered a root beer because this is a classic diner after all).

Glass of Root Beer/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

The fries that came as a side were also delicious and full of flavour. Each French fry is drenched in oil and covered in sea salt. I added some vinegar to them for the excellent combo. After the one burger, I just couldn't get enough. However, this fast food joint does do some damage to your wallet if you go in with an empty stomach.

Within seconds upon finishing my meal, I look up from my table and glance around the restaurant and notice that it had filled up. There wasn't a single seat left! I was so relieved I came at the time I did as I don't think I would have been seated right away as quickly as I was. I was surprised because this was a Tuesday night in Daytona Beach and this fast food joint was packed! That last few chairs available were along the bar, overlooking the chefs making the burgers.

Overall, this Johnny Rockets had speedy service, very friendly and engaging servers and waitresses, and a handful of burgers and side orders to choose from. Will I ever return to this establishment? Maybe not this particular one, but I would definitely dine at Johnny Rockets again.

7.7/10