A cold beer and sports on the big screens... Life is good
By Mike Thayer
I'm traveling around the Wichita Metro, sampling the burger offerings from any joint that has burgers on the menu, local, regional, national chain, it doesn't matter. In order to determine a true champion of burgers in the metro, I'll have to sample them all in the name of "burger science" (cough). For the burger criteria, click here.
In the continuing story of the Wichita Metro Burger Challenge 2022 'Drama,' I hit Twin Peaks for a burger dinner and a few beers. This was my first visit to a Twin Peaks establishment. For most of my adult life I've always had a female companion, wife or otherwise, so enjoying what this type of restaurant has to offer has never really been on the radar. Shame on me...
Nice presentation
I entered the Twin Peaks just off of 21st and Rock and headed for the bar. There were just a few seats left and yes, the ladies wearing cheek revealing shorts and cleavage friendly tops were aplenty.
My bartender/waitress had GORGEOUS, almost hypnotic eyes. The kind of eyes where you don't need to look at anything else, you just enjoy the beautiful view gazing back at you. I was mesmerized, yet still able to have a conversation... After ordering a frosty mug of beer, Fabiola (Is that a real name?) went off to pour it. She and those eyes soon returned and she asked me if I was ready to order something to eat. I went with the Twin Peaks Cheeseburger with a bacon add. This option gave me a choice of cheese (I went American), lettuce, tomato, pickles, caramelized onions, mustard and mayo. For a side I went with their Mac & Cheese, being a bit tired of fries, tots and onion ring options.
The dreaded 'X' application of bacon, point deducted.
It didn't take long for my dinner to arrive and it was a solid presentation by both the burger and Fabiola. But in lifting the lid my high hopes for the burger were a bit dashed, the Twin Peaks kitchen puts bacon on their burgers in the dreaded "X" way, where you don't get bacon in every bite. LAZY APPLICATION! Another restaurant missing the opportunity to deliver their customers a better burger experience with better bacon coverage and it's such an easy thing to do. If you're only applying two strips of bacon to a burger, then you either do half slices side-by-side for proper coverage, or you shape the bacon in triangles before cooking. Two slices of triangle shaped bacon provides excellent bacon in every bite coverage without adding a lot of time to prep work.
When I got every component in a bite, it was quite tasty.
OK, today's culinary lesson is over... Back to the burger... Aside from the lazy bacon application, this was overall a tasty burger. With a thin line of pink running through it, the beef was cooked perfectly, seasoned well and juicy. The bacon was crisp with a hint of smoke, the onion was spot on. The rest of the veggies brought all those flavor elements you're looking for to the burger, although the kitchen got a bit sloppy with pickle placement and the tomato was on the small side, didn't get those two in every bite. Wrapping everything up nicely was a well toasted bun complimented by the creaminess of the American cheese.
Side Note: The mac & cheese was a welcome change of pace but it was a bit on the bland side. The pasta was cooked perfectly, the coverage of cheese sauce was good and the crumb topping brought a nice little crunch element to the dish, but as a whole, the mac & cheese was just a bit bland.
Didn't get bacon, pickle or tomato in every bite
Costing me $14.48 for the burger and side with tax, the Twin Peaks Classic Cheeseburger with a bacon add scored 55 points out of a possible 63, earning it 4 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars. The burger had some really nice elements, but other components in its assembly lacked attention to detail, preventing this burger from receiving 5 stars. Despite a few flaws in assembly, it's repeat buy worthy.
Located at 8310 E 21st St N, Wichita, KS 67206, the beer at Twin Peaks is cold and the service is well, almost hypnotic! Thanks Twin Peaks, it was enjoyable.
$pend Wisely My Friends...