Fatty Dab's Burger Shack - Abdoun

Burger Shack is where all the cool kids hang out.

It's a postage size restaurant that serves burgers and real potato fries, and is easily walkeable from the Embassy or even from home.  It reminds me of Five Guys, minus the peanuts and the design-your-own-soda machines.  They do have a milkshake bar, which makes up for the lack of designer soda.

As popular as Burger Shack is (far more, apparently, than the Burger Joint down the street where we've heard tales of food poisoning), it's only been around for a year.  Run by folks who spent a good amount of time in the U.S. the food is familiar.  Burgers are prepared in view, the place is clean, the music entirely American and loud, with seating for about 20 at communal picnic tables, though during the warm months there is outdoor bar seating as well.

The kids have gone multiple times with friends, and we've ordered in once.  It's not cheap.  A meal costs around 8JD and milkshakes are almost as much.  But yesterday Jonathon, Rebecca and I went after school for Burger Shack's one year anniversary give-away.  Five hundred 100g burgers were for the asking.

In the States this sort of offer would be gone in an hour.  By the time we arrived at 4 p.m., serving since 11 a.m., there were 100 burgers left.  The place was busy but not packed.  Behind the counter was a beehive's worth of activity cooking meat, slapping toppings, and chopping potatoes.

And not just plain burgers either.  Any burger toppings off the menu... mushroom and Swiss... Chicago style.... inferno... with a side of fries and a soda or water.  I can see why the kids like it.  Though I don't think Ian and I will show up too frequently thanks to the many wonderful restaurants along that street we have tried and have yet to try, I can see why the kids like it.  It's a fun place to be, loud and boisterous, warm and smells wonderful.

It's an establishment working to emulate an American burger joint diner and it's doing a pretty darn good job.

And of course they're on Facebook.