Wayback Burgers — Restaurant in Mendota

I really, really wanted to love this place. Great reviews for a middle-of-nowhere burger joint attached to a gas station market? Sounds great! Unfortunately, my first visit left a lot to be desired, even with an appropriate level of expectations.

Before anything else: Absolutely do not order extra cheese. That's a 75¢ scam for suckers on the road who they figure will never be seen again.

Of course, I made the mistake of ordering extra cheese. What I got was a thin smear of cheddar that was so thin I could see most of the burger through it, and so small that it didn't reach the edge of the patty (unlike literally every picture of cheese on a burger in the place). Yeah, I know the pictures lie, but I had to literally deconstruct my burger to verify there was any cheese at all. And when I inquired about how this meager smear was supposed to be two slices, the line cook overheard my question and immediately protested that she "put two slices on that order" (apparently psychically identifying my specific order out of the dozens in play).

The inconsistency did not end there. The bun was smashed flatter than the ones at Mickey D's. Again, nothing at all like the fluffy roll-like buns in the pictures. (And again, I understand how advertising pictures work, but this is an entirely different level.) In addition, the BBQ sauce was a small, thin blob soaked into the center of the bun, not at all dripping out the sides as shown in several photos.

All of this is unfortunate because the flavor was excellent for the approximate quarter of the burger that had all of the ordered ingredients. It's hard to make a smash burger juicy and flavorful instead of dry and bland, but they've perfected the method. The lettuce and tomato were crisp and fresh. The BBQ sauce was appropriately tangy, for the small bit provided. The "extra" cheddar cheese was disappointing as noted, but at least the smashed bun wasn't stale.

The fries were okay, very mid-range "diner" quality for natural-cut fries. A good accompaniment to the burger but probably not worth ordering on their own. (There's a Mickey D's for that not far away.)

The chicken tenders were a real highlight. Thin but juicy and flavorful. If I return, I would be more likely to order the chicken tenders than a burger.

Lastly, the shakes are top-notch. They had better be for $8 each. At least the shakes (and the chicken tenders) lived up to the hype.

This would have been a 5-star experience if I had actually received the extra cheese (-1 star for lying) and more than a smudge of BBQ sauce (-1 star for being stingy with...

Wayback Burgers proved to be a nice surprise. We stopped on the way from Stockton, hungry, and definitely not wanting anything to do with the usual fast food suspects.

The menu is easy to sort: the main attraction is the burgers; a variety of favorites can be ordered, or you can start from scratch and create your own. There is a nice choice of toppings, from veggies to cheese and of course bacon. A variety of sauces are offered as well. Aside from burgers, there are other options including salads and chicken. Side items include homemade fries, onion rings and potato chips. Other than the chips, everything ordered tasted fresh and the burgers were really quite good. The ingredients tasted crisp, the meat was well prepared and not too salty, nor greasy.

Everything is made to order, so expect to wait a few minutes. Unfortunately the pandemic hasn't helped; staffing at this location was thin, causing two ladies to pretty much run the restaurant on their own. That said service was friendly. Pricing is reasonable and fair for the quality. While I can't say when I would next be in the area, I definitely...

TL;DR: food is decent and reasonably priced, but the line to order is unacceptably slow.

It's wayback, so if you've been to them before, you know what the food is like. If you haven't, the food is quite solid for a fast food burger joint. The food tastes reasonably fresh, and, while not the cheapest, it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

This particular location, however, will only take about 1 order every 5 minutes or so. An employee would take an order, and then walk away, ignoring the rest of the line, for several minutes before coming back to take the next order. It literally took 30 minutes for us to order, and there were only 5 people in front of us when we got in line. I understand that there are staffing shortages everywhere so I was expecting to wait a bit, but at least let people order so they can sit down while they wait, rather than forcing people to stand in line. They also missed an ingredient on one of our orders (we caught it before we left, fortunately, and it was on the receipt)... Maybe they were having a...