Joe's Burgers — Restaurant in Kirkland

Sunday morning the Seattle Times did a story about Joe's Burgers (without the owner knowing it was publishing that day) so the place got slammed without proper preparation. I know this because I went to Joe's Burgers today for the third day in a row and Joe was there!! Part of my order was wrong so I went back and, in a great teaching moment for his staff, Joe asked them to remake it along with the fries so they were warm and fresh when I got my burger back. He respectfully explained to the staff that even though "allergy" was written on the order slip, "No sauce" also needed to be on there for the kitchen to see. Joe was approachable and nice and is dedicated to getting it right. He acknowledged the long wait times so many customers talked about in their reviews from Sunday. He said he flew up from Portland as soon as he could after that happened. He is working on proper training and hiring more staff to get this place up to speed and akin to his four other locations in Portland.

Tonight I called Joe's on my drive over so I could place a phone order to avoid the wait. My food was ready when I arrived a little while later. It would be great if they created an app to place mobile orders and avoid the line altogether.

What I love most about this place is that they have a dedicated fryer for gluten-free fries!! And the gluten-free burger buns are the best I've ever had. They are squishy and soft like marshmallows, not hard and dense and grainy like the ones most other restaurants have (if they have any at all). The burger patties are thin, but with the grilled onions, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles, it was a good sized meal with the yummy fries. Including tax, I paid $11.55 for a burger with a gluten-free bun (which costs extra) and an order of fries. That is what I'd expect to pay for a good burger and fries around here.

I am so excited that Joe's Burgers is nearby in Totem Village so I can stop in during my almost daily visits to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods in the same complex. Note that this is a walk-up burger place with outdoor seating only. The whole area is covered so easy to visit in the rain. And just across the driveway is another seating area (not covered) with cozy cushioned chairs and a big heater lamp which is pretty awesome on a dry, but chilly day.

I will be visiting Joe's Burgers often and I definitely recommend...

Food - I don't understand the negative reviews for their food. We've gone literally every weekend and everything has always been consistently amazing and well made. We've tried almost everything on the menu and have loved all of it. I LOVE that they have so many fry options - we've tried all of them. The tots are AMAZINGLY crispy. The jojos are well seasoned. My kids are crazy about the sweet potato. And don't even get me started on the well seasoned crispy onion rings! The kids really love everything on the kids menu. I like that they aren't stingy on the portions either. The kids meals are huge adult sized meals with a full order of fries and a drink. Super great value. Our most favorite item is the cheeseburger. Classic. Always tastes super fresh and high quality. Perfect combo of bun to meat to toppings. We're a family who's crazy about burgers and this is currently (and has been since they opened) our most favorite place for burgers and fries! We go every weekend, without fail.

Location/Parking - They're not a full fledged restaurant. It's in a cute little take-out booth that you walk up to. There's an order window and a food window. You take it away and eat elsewhere. It's situated in the middle of a large parking lot between two buildings. There are three tables outside, in a covered area. But usually they're full. There are some other places to sit at eat scattered throughout the mall area but some are not covered. Sometimes it's easier just to eat in the car for that reason, esp when it's raining. If you go during peak times - lunch hour on a weekend, it's hard to find parking since the mall is always bustling. We can usually find parking after a few laps so just budget extra time for this when you go.

Pro Tip: Order Ahead- They tend to get busy, so order online thru their app to skip the lines. It's convenient. They'll email you an estimated time when your order will be ready. It would be nice if they could text you when your order is ready for pick up to take the guess work out of it. Some restaurant ordering apps do this and it's super convenient. One other issue I've had in the past with the app is not being able to get coupon codes to work. It's happened a couple of times. But it might just be user error since I'm not the most tech savvy...

The gluten free bun was fun - juicy and different than what most other places use. So if you hate a dry gluten free bun - this is the place for you! They also have a dedicated fryer. Make sure you double check with the cook when asking about gluten free - the cashier gave me wrong information (I wish staff at restaurants would quit taking guesses regarding gluten free, it is very dangerous, it is okay not to know something and ask). Their fries are breaded - I guess it is rice flour since they are gluten free, although I think they would taste a million times better without the flour. The flour just collects more grease and makes the fries taste like fryer oil, not potatoes. Would not order again. Points for going an extra mile to make things gluten free! I would prefer regular fries though.

The burger was good basic burger but the patty is the tiniest. I got a single and didn’t taste the meat at all. If you like your burger to taste of meat get a double. I will probably give a burger another go with a double patty. Their sweet potato fried sound great too.

The place is cute but the area around the tables was covered in trash, it was not an inviting...