The Madness That Is Krystal Burger: A Personal Experience

img_0502There are times when a very little story can suddenly become big news. Case in point, the newly opened Krystal Burger on Hutchison Blvd: where so many cars and people gravitated you’d think they were giving away burgers for free or someone glimpsed the Virgin Mary in a chilli cheese pup.

While you may not be a fan of the tiny, tasty burgers, it has become apparent that a lot of people are. In my lifetime, I’ve never witnessed the type of spectacle I saw at Krystals. First of all, it was nearly impossible to get into the parking lot as traffic on Hutchison trying to turn in was backed up severely. Once I got into the place, I noticed one uniformed police officer managing traffic and I thought, “at the height of the tourist season you’re managing drive thru traffic at Krystal burger?” It was then that I realized he was not the only badge-wearing fellow on drive-thru detail; there were in fact four, yes four, fully-armed police officers monitoring traffic at Krystals. Stunned, was I.

img_0498After I passed the first officer, I saw that the drive-thru itself was very strange, split in two by orange cones, a route reminiscent of a line at the Disney World Magic Mountain, as it wrapped around the building twice, whipping 360 degrees just to get to that all important intercom order stop. The process proved surprisingly quick and I made the first turn, then the second, the third and reached the intercom feeling a bit like a nascar racer. I was greeted by a woman at the intercom. I told the lady I wanted 4 of those savory burgers. Her voice, delightful in a rather raucous scene, told me my total and said, “it’ll be my pleasure to serve you at the first window.” When I drove up to that first window and it slid opened, half a dozen workers in light blue shirts, still obviously new to the system, tried hurriedly to get my order out. The whole process took about twenty-minutes–twenty minutes worth of armed guards, high-traffic and an amusement park drive-thru all for a soft, flavorful bite of a burger many have ached to finally get their hands on. And as you are reading this, you are probably asking yourself, “was it at least worth it?”

The answer is a simple, contented, muffled-by-a-mouth-full-of-burger, “definitely.”

Red Robin in Pier Park – Gourmet Burgers and Bottomless Fries

_mg_6588_2Adorned in bright red and various other bright colors the walls are covered with the likes of movie posters, new and old, posters from various bands, such as the Beatles, and other seemingly random protrusions that all help complete the feel of “wholesome fun and entertainment for families.”

Tom Sweet, hailing from the cold streets of Ohio was talked into coming to our quaint little beach town (without much persuasion, might I add) to participate in what some may deem a revolution of sorts for Panama City Beach – Pier Park.  Now, I don’t have to tell you all the great things about Pier Park, I have a whole category dedicated to that, but I will tell you that Red Robin is a welcome addition to the family.

When asked about the signature menu items, Sweet said it’s all about the gourmet burger, bottomless fries and shakes.  “Bottomless fries AND bottomless shakes,” I hopefully asked.  The answer was a quick “no.”  I had to try.  How are the fries?  “Insanely delicious seasoned steak fries.”

With the First Place Blue Ribbon across the top of their web site, Red Robin is proud that they landed on the “10 Best Family Restaurants” list.  The whole place is designed in a way that is fun for everyone, even the adults.  Right when you walk in, you are greeted by Mini-Lady Liberty.

The restaurant is sit-down style with menu items ranging from burgers to salads to healthy kids-choice menu items such as apples and celery.  Prices range from just above $9 to just over $12 and all burgers come with bottomless fries.  Seems kinda high for a burger joint, but we’ll see just how good they are next week.

They are located in the north side of Pier Park, right across from Baja Grill, in the same building as the Great American Cookies.

They are doing a soft training opening next week (that I’ll surely report on) with the official first day of business on March 9th.

The Menu