Get Your Burger Fix at the Top 5 Dick's

Which Dick's is your favorite?

After noshing on many Dick's Specials and fries over the past few months (and before that, living and drinking in the Emerald City), I've had a chance to try out the various Dick's locations. With the chain about to open a new restaurant, it seemed a good time to look at what makes for a great Dick's experience. Presenting the current five Dick's locations in ascending order of excellence:

5. Lake City: What makes Dick's such an institution is its proximity to places where you'll find yourself needing a late-night grease hit--colleges, bars, KeyArena. The Lake City location (12325 30th Ave. N.) is more remote than most, hence its fifth place. The surrounding blocks lean industrial with a dash of automotive sales. With the tragic exit of the nearby Rimrock Steakhouse, there is even less reason to be seeking an after-hours burger all the way out in Lake City.

4. Capitol Hill: In reflecting on the top five Dick's locations, I began to realize that my impressions have been largely skewed by my experiences at them. For instance, my first brush with the Capitol Hill Dick's (115 Broadway Ave. E.) came as I was moving a friend into an apartment building just behind it.

The entire time we were moving, we watched obese pigeons pull apart burgers in the parking lot. My stomach still kind of turns a little when I think about it. That said, this location has the friendliest Dick's staff I've encountered, so I'm starting to warm to it.

3. Crown Hill: Like the Lake City location, this Dick's is a bit remote. But it has the advantage of being one of the most picturesque urger walk-ups in the chain. And thanks to its location (9208 Holman Rd.), it has close access to both Golden Gardens and Carkeek Park. With the sun finally starting to emerge, pick up a burger and shake and head for the Puget Sound views.

2. Queen Anne: The most restaurant-esque of the Dick's locations, this one takes second for a single, admittedly not-so-good, reason. This Dick's (500 Queen Anne Ave. N.) is where I stopped for burgers after a Ben Harper concert two months after moving to Seattle as an impressionable college freshman. The show was great and the burger was the perfect end to the evening.

With the number of shows and major sporting events that happen at KeyArena, I suspect I'm not the only person with a love for the Queen Anne Dick's that's heavily influenced by nostalgia.

It's also the only Dick's where you can take a seat inside to enjoy the burger.

1. Wallingford: There's just something about the original Dick's location that makes munching a burger in the lot feel like communing with generations of grease-seekers. The Wallingford location (111 N.E. 45th St.) has been serving the delicious little bags of burgers and fries since 1954. Eating a Dick's burger there is the closest cheap greaseballs get to a spiritual experience.

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