KIDD Valley, Seattle
By Dan Larsen, for SeattleInsider.com
Originally published by Cox Interactive Media

One half of the local burger chain slug-a-thon (the other half, of course, being bite-size favorite Dick's), KIDD Valley is still hanging in there as a domineering fast food force in Seattle.

Part retro-50s chain and part 50s relic chain, one branch of KIDD Valley can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood. Eat at the Queen Anne branch, for example, and you'll be presented with slick decor and cushy, retro booths and seats. Drive out of town a little, though, and you'll find relic branches that remind you just how old this chain is ... but not in a good way.

What really matters, of course, is not KIDD's battle with Dick's or the inconsistent interiors. It's the hulking burgers they serve up. Definitely a two-hand operation, the slender patties pack a surprising, tasty wallop when combined with all the other trimmings that flesh out these meals-in-a-bun.

Fries are a little too greasy (grease is a good thing, but it can go wrong), sometimes leaving an uneasy reminder half an hour afterwards that you ate too many. Shakes, though good, are standard fare.

It's the hefty burgers and satisfaction that we still have the option of independent chains to sate our beef needs that's the real winning combination here.

Burgers will set you back $3 to $4, fries a little over a buck and shakes around $2.

Remember to resist the shake until after the burger. For most of us, the stomach just isn't big enough for the both of them.

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