Friday, December 8, 2000

Burgers & Fries: Not your typical fast food joint
Rick & Carolyn’s has home-style meals made to order every day
By Helena Rodriguez
Reporter-News Staff Writer

Only three basic spices give Rick and Carolyn Daffron’s burgers and their golden brown French fries that homemade taste.

Rick and Carolyn aren’t giving away their secret blend, but it’s no secret that they make mouth-watering hamburgers made to order at the four Rick & Carolyn’s Burgers & Fries restaurants located throughout Abilene.

You’ll find yourself waiting a few extra minutes and maybe even tapping your fingers on the table, wondering when you’re gonna get to eat. But just when you get a good conversation going at the table, say about 10-12 minutes into the subject, here comes your juicy, made-to-order burger.

If you’re old-fashioned, they’ve got a traditional burger for you, or if you want a burger that sizzles, they can custom make it with grilled onions, mushrooms or jalapeños.

This is not your basic fast food eatery.

“Service is our main priority. We’re not a fast food restaurant. We never said we were. It takes a while to cook a quarter-pound of meat and potatoes. We specialize in quality instead of speed,” Rick said.

The restaurant has a $4.50 hamburger combo, which includes fries and a drink. They probably serve up some of the cheapest sodas in town, 79 cents for a 32-ounce drink, and not just during happy hour. It’s available at this price during their restaurant hours, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

I tried the chicken fried steak, which was on special for $4.99 last weekend, and it was great. I’d be lying if I said it was the best chicken fried steak I ever ate in my life, but it was a big portion for what I paid and I had no complaints. It was served hot, cooked and spiced just right and not dry. The white gravy tasted like grandma’s, and their can’t-eat-just-one French fries, slighted browned just like I like them, were soft inside and melted in my mouth.

I had tasted Rick & Carolyn’s locally famous burgers before and loved them, but I was wanting to see what else they had to offer. I had trouble deciding between the chicken fried steak and chicken tenders, which are Rick & Carolyn’s second best-seller, next to their burgers.

My 10-year-old daughter was content with her chili dog, even though the hot dog was sliced in pieces, which I’m sure makes it easy and less messy for the smaller tots to bite into.

I also got a taste of the jalapeño poppers, which were a nice and spicy appetizer. The breaded peppers are filled with cheese and jalapeños just hot enough to give you a little zip, but not make a mad dash for some water. Other appetizers are fried mushrooms, okra and cheese sticks.

The Daffrons opened their first restaurant at 4458 Buffalo Gap Road in 1992 and have since opened three other eateries at 2801 S. 1st, 3373 S. 14th and 549 Ambler Ave. The couple is also eyeing two out-of-town locations in hopes of spreading their franchise outside of Abilene.

You can top off your homemade meal at Rick & Carolyn’s Burgers with a fried apple pie, ice cream, sundae or old-fashioned malt or shake made in an old-fashioned blender. Rick & Carolyn’s are the only restaurant in town offering flavor burst cones, which is ice cream swirled in chocolate, mint, strawberry, black cherry, peach twist, bubblegum or Blue Goo syrup. Blue Goo, which tastes like cotton candy, is a kids’ favorite.

Rick & Carolyn’s Burgers & Fries is a great place to go for a nice sit-down meal.

“We always try to treat our customers the way we want to be treated,” Carolyn said.

Rick added, “That was our basis when we started this business, to make it a place where we’d want to go eat.”

Contact entertainment writer Helena Rodriguez at 676-6761, or by e-mail at rodriguezh@abinews.com. Check out our Web site at www.reporternews.com. For previous restaurant reviews and a complete directory of Abilene restaurants, visit www.EATabilene.com.