Nubbin's Drive-In deemed best by taste test

ove over McDonald's. Take a backseat Burger King.The best quick, cheap cheeseburger in Roseville can be found at family-owned Nubbin's Drive-In, according to an unofficial blind taste test conducted by a panel of self-anointed experts at The Press-Tribune.The panel, entirely unscientifically chosen, consisted of a trio of hungry hacks, all male members of the newsroom, affectionately referred to as the "Burger Boys."Nubbin's Drive-In, located at 308 Washington Blvd., is owned and operated exclusively by Roseville residents Marie Martin - who said her family has run the business for 30 years - and her daughter, Stephanie Martin.The hunt for the best burger in Roseville was confined solely to fast-food restaurants specializing in hamburgers.Keep in mind; upscale burgers - found at places like Red Robin, Fudruckers, Chubby's, and Mels Original - were not included in the test. An important side note to the story involves immensely popular In-N-Out Burgers. A straw poll was taken of about a dozen Press-Tribune employees, and the overwhelming consensus was the best fast-food burger is found at In-N-Out Burgers. Fearing an open-and-closed landslide victory for In-N-Out Burgers, it was excluded from the test, mainly to keep a competitive balance.The criteria for the test were simple: The basic cheeseburger had to cost less than $2, and no special orders were allowed. Grill it, bag it, eat it was the motto of the "Burger Boys.""We don't have Meal Deals and you can't super-size it," said Marie Martin, who believes a good, old-fashioned burger made-to-order is still the best bet.The victory by Nubbin's Drive-In has to be considered an upset, a story of David over Goliath-like mega-chains, including McDonald's, Burger King, Jack In The Box, Wendy's and Carl's Jr.Taste testers were instructed to rate the burger on a scale from one to 10, with 10 being the best, and then offer comments or critiques for each of the burgers sampled.The least discriminate of the three testers awarded a perfect 10 after tasting Nubbin's offering."I like it a lot," he said. "I liked the lettuce, mayonnaise and sauce. The bun and meat were also top-notch."Another tester was a bit more restrained in his praise, but impressed, nonetheless and gave it an eight."It's all the different flavors of what a burger should taste like," he said. "The sauce provides a nice undertone. It's a sublime bouquet of different elements coming together."Martin believes consistency in quality and attention to detail separates the good from the bad burger."When a customer orders a burger here a particular way, that's how they get it," said Martin, who goes through roughly 45 pounds of hamburger patties per day. "It's irritating for them when they don't get it the way they ordered it. My customers, when they leave, they don't check their order. They just take off. "The way I look at it, if they come back and complain, I can't blame anybody else. It's not like we can blame the dayshift or something."Second place in the test provided somewhat of a surprise also, as Carl's Jr. scored 23.5 points out of a possible 30, and defeated bigger burger empires like McDonald's and Burger King."The mustard is saucy - it spoke to me," said one tester after sampling the Carl's Jr. burger. "The bun is big, a whole-mouth taste. The meat has a nice hint of grilled flavor, kind of crispy. It came together really well.""It has robust flavor," offered another panel member. "The grilled meat was good and I liked the sesame seed bun."The flame-broiled version from Burger King rounded out the top three."It has good smoky undertones," noted one taster. "But it was a little heavy on condiments. The mustard is bucking to grab the lead role away from the meat."Wendy's cheeseburger scored a bit lower than most of the panel members expected, garnering only a fourth-place finish."It's a basic special teams burger, not a starter," said one taste-tester, relying on a sports metaphor. "It's not a burger you're going to build an offense around."There was a dead-heat for last between two of the more prominent burger joints in the area - Jack In The Box and the mighty McDonald's."Nothing overwhelming," said a taste-tester after a couple of big bites of the burger from Jack In The Box. "It's a hunger-filler, not the borderline spiritual experience I expect from a burger."McDonald's basic cheeseburger received probably the most unfavorable remarks, despite scoring a 14, the same mark as Jack In The Box."It's very plain and leaves me wanting," one of the "Burger Boys" remarked. "It had a chance to grab me, but it didn't" Tim Menicutch can be reached at timm@goldcountrymdia.com.