Sometimes it’s best to keep things simple. As Henry David Thoreau once said, “Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.” Quite often, restaurants fail to recognize this necessity by throwing in vegetable garnishings or trying to turn a burger into a gourmet meal. Big Daddy’s Burgers in Lake Tahoe, however, wouldn’t dream of crossing this line. They only make burgers, hot dogs and fries. It’s a menu so simple that it makes In-N-Out Burger’s menu look like a novel.
At the counter, I ordered the bacon cheeseburger, without vegetables. I also got a side of fries and ordered a burger for my girlfriend. Then I got the bill. For both burgers and fries, the total was only 10 bucks. I was amazed, because even in the crappiest diners in LA, a couple burgers and fries like that will set me back at least 15 bucks, but probably more. I could watch right behind the counter as the patties were being grilled, but I decided to take a set outside at the mildly dilapidated picnic table.
When the burger was ready, I was overjoyed with excitement. If I had to eat burgers everyday, this is the burger I would choose. There was nothing so fancy about it, except that everything tasted right. It wasn’t crowded with seasoning or other ingredients. The couple slices of bacon and couple slices of cheese melded perfectly with the beef. Even the bun just felt right. It reminded me of better days, before burgers suddenly became the domain of pretentious gourmet restaurants. Big Daddy’s knew exactly what to do with their burgers and they did it well. Plus, for the price I paid, I couldn’t ask for anything more.