The second stop in our annual burger expedition is FamilyFriend in Beacon Hill.
Burger Crew called to order on Friday, June 21, 2024 at 7p.
Members in attendance: Angela, Trevor, Wayne, and me (Innie)
Featuring: Lucy, Chris, and Trevor’s Ennui
I. Ordering
There was just one burger available on the FamilyFriend menu, so we all ordered the Double Kewpie Burger (2 beef patties, miso, onions, American cheese, pickles, served with shoestring truffle fries) for $15.75.
II. The Burger
Almost everyone in the crew really enjoyed the Kewpie burger. The smashed patties had an impressively crisp sear throughout, tapering to a crunchy lace overhang that extended beyond the buns. In terms of texture, this burger played all of its components perfectly. The buttery toasted buns added a satisfying chewiness, the chopped pickles and onions provided the crunch, and the American cheese was as melty and gooey as to be expected from the one true burger cheese. There is a generous application of the namesake mayo, but we didn’t think this disrupted the balance of flavors in the burger. Also, if you’re going to order something called the Kewpie Burger, you should probably know what you’re signing up for.
Trev was the lone member who didn’t love the burger, and thought it didn’t have the umami he was looking for. He felt that it was missing an it factor, but couldn’t pinpoint anything specifically wrong with it. He conceded that it was possible that he was just feeling tired and over caffeinated and his mood could have affected his burger spidey senses.
III. Sides
A sad theme that unfortunately plagued this year’s trip was listless, disappointing fries. Earlier in the day, Lil Woody’s impressed us with their ability to somehow produce an even soggier fry than In-n-Out. Angela and Trev reported that their pregame burgers at Dicks and Local Tide also failed to meet their fried potato expectations.
We were happily surprised when FamilyFriend delivered us some top notch fries. They were crispy, well-seasoned, and held up well throughout the meal without getting soggy. The truffle seasoning was well balanced, and the fry was crisp without being overcooked. A lot of places tend to be heavy handed when dealing with truffle flavor, but these simply tasted like really good fries.
Trev and Angela opted to add an order of Homey Salad (Asian dressing, spring mix, radish, cherry tomato, corn, picholine olives). Angela thought it was a bit overdressed, but Trevor really enjoyed it. If you’re very hungry, this might be a good start because it came out really fast. Trev and Angela also gave top marks to their drink orders, a mango iced tea and a white peach sonic. What’s a sonic, you ask? Apparently, it’s just a fancy word they’ve added to make it sound cool.
The restaurant very kindly let me order a side of red rice off-menu, for the discerning tastes of our carb-loving, meat-adverse 3 year old. I’m not sure what gives the rice the red color, but it was good and tasted simply like a fragrant basmati.
Chris ordered the La Beacon Batchoy (La Paz Style), a Filipino noodle soup dish of egg noodles, pig offal, cow, and fermented shrimp broth. He said that he really enjoyed it and noted that it tasted authentic to how he remembered eating it as a kid. He only wished that there was a larger portion of it for the price.
IV. Miscellaneous
FamilyFriend is located in a small, inconspicuous white and black building that is easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. Save for a small sign on the window, there isn’t any obvious signage. The inside reminded us of a converted single family house, almost like someone renovated their home to include restaurant booths and tables and a professional bar. The atmosphere is a bit loud, and you could still feel some of the summer heat even during the evening hours. The service here was great; everyone was super friendly and accommodating.
Something to note was that when we received the bill, we noticed a nondescript line item called “charges and fees” that seemed fairly significant.
We inquired about it with our host and he explained that it was an automatic standard gratuity of 25% on the total for parties of 5 or more. Apparently, this was written on the menu, but it was printed in a pretty unusual area near the food items. As an often-large group, we are familiar with auto gratuities and we normally don’t have a problem with it, but we found it peculiar that 1) it was a percentage of the total bill (after taxes, and not on the subtotal), and 2) that it was generically termed as a “fee” on the receipt and could easily lead to a person adding additional gratuity on top of it. After inquiring about it with the staff, they took the fee off.
The parking in the area was very easy, probably because there weren’t many other businesses or residences nearby. There looked to be additional seating in a patio in the back, but none of us had a good look at it. We didn’t order any alcoholic beverages, but the bar looked very legit. The bathroom was nice and clean and offered courtesy feminine products (which was something that I noticed in several bathrooms during this trip. Go Seattle!)
V. Value
The members were asked how much they would pay for their burgers. These were the ratings and values given by the crew:
Innie: 4.2, $13
Angela: 4.8, $15
Trevor: 3.4 $12
Wayne: 4.3, $12
VI. Verdict
A great second official burger of the Seattle trip! Next up is Mean Sandwich in Ballard.