Jack's Drive Inn

i've always seen Jack's recommended as a must-try burger joint around the Albany area, but had no idea where it was and had never gone so far as to try and venture. we were in the Wynantskill area where it's located a few days ago, so it turned into a magical night of burger fate.

i had no expectation going in since i had no pre-burger research done, but at first glance the place was adorable. tiny, roadside old-school place with a simple menu - burgers, dogs, fries & shakes. boom! and the prices were shocking... burger was $1.99... whaaat! (also good b/c it was cash-only and we only had $13 on hand... once again, work of the burger fate)

they served up fast-food style burgers - thin lil patties, standard freihofer buns, and no gourmet cheese or topping selections (it's "you want grilled onions and ketchup" or "no grilled onions and ketchup?" only. hell yes i want grilled onions and ketchup*!)

these were messy little things... the burger tasted almost like it was steamed ala the white castle burgers... i didn't see how they were cooking them but i feel like it was griddle cooked with the griddle just not -quite- hot enough to char the outside of the patty. it's not a gourmet fancy pants burger which is my usual epic burger style, but if you're going to for a fast food style nosh this little bugger is a delight. i had a blast getting that onion ketchup mess all over. and fries were frozen but they were fried JUST right so they were nice and crisp... hell yes.

*ketchup: i'm a ketchup hater (snob?). there are so many other fun things to put on a burger, i usually put whatever random sauce is around on it, or nothing at all if it's a very fine burger patty. it's like putting ketchup on a steak... just sacrelig! if it were up to me, i wouldn't even keep it in the house. the exception i make is for fast food burgers (keep it classic) or backyard bbq burgers (again... classic old school). when it works, it works.