Zippy's Giant Burgers...

I can not continue to write further before saying that these things are freakin awesome! It is a small burger place in West Seattle called Zippy's Giant Burgers and co-owned by the former front man of The Accused punk band in the 80's. Way cool. I was turned on to this joint a few weeks ago by someone, simply by way of a mentioning of this little shack that sells great burgers in West Seattle. Being a "W.S.-ite", (hell, I grew up here) I had to check it out. It took a about a week to actually get there as I had work issues(my passion & craft), kids' school commitments, and all kinds of crap going on that prevented us from venturing onward to that mission. But, then came the weekend, and our agenda was free to explore and explore we did. We found the "joint" and proceeded to park. That took a little engineering. The area is a dense neighborhood and not much space to park anyway, plus, it was a nice day and the place was packed. I figured it was because it was so small and there were a lot of folks waiting to get in, which did hold true, but the reason was, was that the people would stand in line for about 30 minutes just to get a burger, and then hang out. The entry and waiting area is not much more than the size of an average kitchen, with only 2 bistro style tables and a counter for maybe 10-12 folks to sit at total. It is truly standing room only there while you wait for the "tatted" out dudes to call your name with your order. Around the room, on all the walls are old vintage photos of diners, burger shacks, drive ins, cartoonists' renderings of old burger lore, and general memorabilia of the area. As I am standing there waiting to find out what the hell I am waiting all this time for in a burger, I notice a group of pictures on the wall with a small plaque underneath with a caption reading "from The Seattle Post Intelligencer archives" (our now defunct local newspaper) and something about a great pancake toss, showing three women running, flipping pancakes in a race, dated circa 1950's. I remembered wondering if my late mother, who retired from this newspaper after 35 years of service as a reporter, was around then to remember this. As I did the math, it seemed a wee-bit early, and as I stared aimlessly at the photo, I realized not that perhaps my mother could have written it, but she was one of the gals in the damn race! I bursted out "that's my mom" to my wife and kids. Then, everyone turned around and reconfirmed..."that's your mom, really?" It was. I remembered then, that I saw an old photo of this stashed away in my mothers boxes of old stuff many years ago. What a trip. Anyway, back to the burgers and thanks for hanging on through my nostalgic moment. This place was full of rocker's & metal heads(Alice in Chains jackets, Harley's out front etc) tattoos, families, kids, adults and all kind of walks of life. They were here for good food. Good food takes time, and this was no exception. The two guys working the grill; a couple dudes who were busting their asses off and working up a sweat held their own. Music rockin, they were jammin on the grill. Always a good thing for me to see. People were walking out with shakes(with ice cream made from White Center's Full Tilt), malts, fries, o-rings and GIANT BURGERS! We finally received ours...a number 11 Royale, a healthy portion of beef with jack and smoked cheddar, chipotle mayo, Mam Lil's goathorn peppers, the basics and just simple nice grill-ness. The smoky char from the grill, the zesty spice from the cheese and sauce and the oozing flavor of the juices and meat were all kick-ass. My wife had the black bean burger which is also a must. I liken this burger to not one like Dick's, In & Out, or Kidd Valley, although all very tasty, no, this is much more of a meal. Much deeper flavor, heartier portion, and old school style yet with a modern upbeat edge. This has soul. It has body. It carries moxie and sass! Nothing nouveau or bastardized, just good cooking all around. They also flaunt an extensive "soda bar", mostly made up of self-serve vintage root beers, and colas. Funky! My only bummer and "beef"(pun intended...duh) is that they only take cash. Cash is good though. Nothing to bounce, get denied, receive notice of insufficient funds or charge you an obscene amount of service charges to accept. I get it. So, if you find yourself in "our neck of the woods" over here is West Seattle or want to journey over from afar to check it out, you won't be disappointed, unless you are not into great burgers and having to wait for them. Do not come expecting the stylish sit down joint, with quiet atmosphere and smooth servers serving gracious food on linens to be charged on your Visa. Not gonna happen. Come with the thought that you are going to get sticky and have a great tasting burger. A growing addiction for sure.