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@Nick ^5 darling, more juicy burgers please!!

@hotdoglover Actually its like going to Luger's and getting a hamburger. I would have had a hot dog but I was working and having consumed several burgers that day with more to go after I had to choose my battles. I will be back however and not just for the dogs, the clam strips looked amazing.

@Lvn4life Ketchup and mayo come standard on the burger but what you are seeing is mostly burger juice! I generally prefer my burgers sans tomatoes and ketchup.

@UnasBravas The topping to beef ratio is very California, but the smoky patty does assert itself.

@Nick - what type of sauce is that hanging off the back of the burger? Ketshup? Ketshup and tomatoes together = overkill

The balance of tomato and onion to beef looks all wrong to me.

Great article and beautiful pics!

as a kid we just called it the "green sauce" !! was the only restaurant in paris that my parents could get me as a 6 year old to be excited about. From practicing being a pushy parisian in the line outside before the doors open to listening to our waitress tell my Dad that she had waited on richard nixon I loved the place!! Hopefully they add up the tab on the paper table clothes! can't wait to start guessing what's in the sauce all over again!

You can't put a price on nostalgia..especially when it comes to food. My grandmother's banana pudding with Vanilla Wafers made in an old Depression glass bowl that, I swear to God, somehow enhanced the flavor....a Theta Burger from the old, now closed, Split-T in Oklahoma City, etc. I'd gladly pay plenty of bucks to experience either one again.

@zaeatah milk is not $8 a gallon an Nantucket more like $4.50 and I just had one of those fabulous burgers at the beach shack on Surfside and it was YUM YUM as usual!!

i'd pay $20 for a burger that tastes the same as when i was a kid. great story, carey!

I won't quibble with $4.50 for the burger, but $0.50 for a couple of lettuce leaves and a slice of tomato? Why don't they just grab you by the ankles and shake you upside down for the change that might fall out of your pockets?

Looks like I've stepped into a hornet's nest but truly most of you are confirming my point. First off even when the Sonics were in town, and I was a rabid fan, I didn't buy beer at the arena. I also think it is incumbent on "Mom and Pop" to keep their product well priced and value for the dollar if they want to stay in business. If they don't deliver the goods, why should I be called upon to subsidize them?
I respect the mother for making an effort to provide the turkey sandwiches and strawberries for the family so they could afford to spend time at the upscale beaches without breaking the bank for lunch. Notice mom and dad didn't join Carey for lunch.
If you want to see the burger I've referred to go to Dick's and scroll down about half the page. Then go here to learn what they do with all the excess money after they've sold you a $2.50 burger.
Shall we talk about expensive venues? Seattle is the home of Microsoft and some of the richest burger eaters on earth and you can never visit visit Dick's without standing in line, never.

@czken , in order to keep mom and pop places like this open, to keep the quality high , you should be willing to pay 5 bucks for the taste of childhood and in this case an amazing tasty burger. Do you expect Carey to tromp on over to Mcdonalds (where he lost the taste for burgers in the first place?) or to Dicks? when he wanted a certain one? the point isnt the price, its the place. and it looked well worth it.