When I was out in Denver for the annual CEDIA Expo earlier this year, one of my colleagues, Matthew, who handles the Denver area told me, "I know you're a big burger guy. There's a chain of burger places out here called Good Times Burgers. You really need to give it a try and let me know what you think."
Good Times Burgers first opened in Boulder, CO in 1986. They started out just being little burger stands for the first 15 years of their existence. But in 2001, Good Times re-branded themselves by adding frozen custard to their mix. This significantly broadened their appeal to a larger age group.
They have over 50 locations in 4 states - Colorado, Idaho, North Dakota and Wyoming. Most of the Good Times locations are little drive thru stands with some picnic tables outside near the building. They sort of remind of me of the Checkers/Rally's fast food burger joints we see in the Midwest.
I found out doing some research on this blog entry that some Good Times restaurants do have inside eating available, primarily because they took over old Jack in the Box locations in Colorado. And the three Wyoming locations have been co-branded with Taco John's restaurants.
After the show ended on Sunday, I had some time to kill, so I went to the Good Times just down the road from our hotel. We were going to eat a big meal later on, so I just wanted to get a quick burger to try. Pulling up to the menu board, I just wanted to get a basic burger and that was it. Their burger menu featured seven different burgers including a Mighty Deluxe Cheeseburger - the burger that they're famous for, it said.
One thing that piqued my interest was the "Bambino Burger", a White Castle-esque small burger that was the featured special - 39 cents a burger. I almost tried a couple of those, but thought I'd rather go for the signature burger. So I got the Mighty Deluxe Cheeseburger - a quarter pound Coleman Natural beef patty topped with American cheese along with lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup, onions, pickles and mustard.
I had a little bit of a wait as it was 4 p.m. and there wasn't much business for them at that time. But when I got the burger, it was warm and fresh. And I'd have to say the burger was good. It had a good flavor to it, but I wouldn't say it was outstanding. The Coleman Natural beef is supposed to be some of the best available. But I've had better fast food burgers at other places.
I reported back to Matthew that even though it was good, I couldn't say it was the best I'd had. He said, "Well, that's fine. I just wanted to get your opinion on it. My wife loves 'em."
I also told him that after three nights at Duffy's Cherry Cricket, it would be difficult for ANY burger to taste as good as that. He sort of laughed and said, "Yeah, I never thought about that."
If I was in a pinch for a quick burger and if there was a Good Times in the vicinity, I'd go back. But, for me, it's a place that I certainly wouldn't seek out for a good burger.
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