Restaurant Review: Jake's Wayback Burgers (Stratford, CT)

McDonalds, Burger King and other fast food chains have made a killing off of making cheap hamburgers. The problem with these burgers is that they're usually dry and taste terrible.

Conversely, you have upper scale restaurants which offer "gourmet" burgers which may taste good, but also have ridiculous prices.

There are very few places where you can get a halfway decent burger that isn't overly expensive. Jake's Wayback Burgers in Stratford is one of those places.

Jake's Wayback Burgers started in 1990 as a single restaurant in Newark, DE and has since expanded to several locations throughout the Northeast.

The Stratford location is very small and cozy, and the lines usually aren't long at all. There's a lone TV hanging on the wall. The restaurant offers chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and turkey burgers among other things. Their specialty is hamburgers though.

They offer hamburgers and cheeseburgers, with one, two or three patties. The double burgers are $5.49 and the triple burgers are $7.49. Their sides include fries, onion rings and homemade barbecue chips. They also offer milkshakes in 10 different flavors, and in two different sizes.

When I was there, I ordered a Jake Cheeseburger (two patties), a small side of fries and a junior chocolate mint shake. One of the best things about Jake's Wayback Burgers is that unlike a lot of places, they don't use frozen patties; they use fresh ground beef and you can see the burger being made right in front of you. Most of the toppings at Jake's are free, including jalapenos, fried onions and relish. The only ones you have to pay for are mushroom, chili and bacon.

I waited about 10-15 minutes, and then my order was brought to my table. The burger bun was seedless and soft. The burger itself was delicious and cooked just right. What made the burger especially good was the fact that it wasn't coated in grease. The cheese was melted appropriately and didn't ooze off the burger. The fries were golden, not too crispy and not too salty. Jake's milkshakes leave a lot to be desired, but mine was decent enough. My bill ran up to about $10.50, which is cheaper than other burger places I've been too.

Overall, my experience at Jake's Wayback Burgers was very pleasant. The food is very tasty, and you can feel comfortable eating a nice, casual lunch there. I would definitely recommend it.