Here's what the team has to say about Moonie's:
Judge #1: It's rare that I regret eating a burger WHILE eating said burger. Unfortunately, my Moonies burger did not deliver the requisite mouth joy to balance out its massive fat and calorie load. The burger itself was dry and tasteless with none of the juicy meat flavor I crave. The bun was tasty but way way way too big for the patty. Points for shredded lettuce (yay shredded lettuce!), but points deducted for uninspired saucing (just mayo, really?) -- mustard would have helped this particular burger, but wasn't readily available. Crispy fries were good, but greasy. I like a good burger dive, but this one delivered only the greasy atmosphere (literally) without the requisite ambiance. Outdoor seating was a plus, and the poor boys behind the counter did their best. I did not have a good feeling about the restaurant's overall cleanliness, but tried not to dwell on it.
Judge #2: I ordered the "Plain Jane" with cheddar and a side of curly fries. The burger was decent but not fantastic, the bun was just OK. If I lived near here I would go sometimes, but not make a huge effort, I think. I loved that they had curly fries, though. Curly fries are the best fries.
Judge #3: On this outing I had the Blue Moon. The burger was well balanced but needed a little more seasoning, fortunately the blue cheese helped. The sides were good but not as good as if they were from fresh ingredients. Environment didn't really make it special. While a good value, not sure I would return.
Judge #4: Good burger, second one in a row (after Counter Cafe that NO ONE showed up to!) that used the sweet bun. Not what I would go with but it works. Only issue is it can mute other notes of the burger, i.e. the Bacon got lost. Got the crispy fries, which are gimmicky but at the time I liked them.
Judge #5: Great burger at a great price. Ordered the bacon cheeseburger and fries, no veggies. Fresh hamburger bun and composition were a solid foundation for higher scores. Crispy fries were excellent, and although the service was very good it took a while for a larger group. Would definitely go again and take the family. High recommend, especially for those in the north side of town.
Judge #6: I had the mushroom and Swiss burger, which was tasty, and onion rings on the side. The burger was really juicy (or greasy, depending on how you look at it) and had nice fresh mushrooms. The onion rings weren't my favorite. They seemed overdone to me and tasted almost exactly like a bigger version of Burger King's. Sidwa independently said the same thing. But the fried mac and cheese was really good so that averaged out my sides score. Note on the fried mac and cheese: eat it piping hot, not as good once it sat around for a while. I guess that holds true for just about anything fried. The Anderson Mill location is close to my house so I'm going to check that one out next.
Judge #7: The bun was distractingly good - very sweet. I don't know if that works on a bacon cheeseburger so well. I kind of felt like I wanted to put the bun on a different kind of sandwich! Like with potatoes and grilled onions or something. The sweet potato fries were good and the fried mac-n-cheese was too, though its coating was a bit thick. Nice idea though. I felt bad for the poor guys working there who were overwhelmed with our surprise party of 20 at 2pm. We need to call ahead next time, though it would have helped if they had some kind of number or name system when taking orders.
Judge #8: Moonie's has a lot of potential, but I'm not sure they're quite living up to it. The bun was scrumptious -- perhaps the best bun of any burger yet! -- but it's far too huge for the meat and trimmings, which were overshadowed. As a result, I don't feel like I got a good "burger". Just a great "burger bun". Perhaps Moonies can use the same type of bun but a smaller version. The fries were nice and crispy, but needed salt. The onion rings were actually pretty good -- nice, thick batter. The frito chili pie was a bit of a disappointment. The chili was bland and there wasn't enough of it to cover all the fritos. And there wasn't really any extra cheese on top to make it nice and gooey. As easy as frito pie is to make (open a bag of chips, dump 'em out, smother in chili and cheese), I would have appreciated more effort. The fried mac-and-cheese is a unique item that definitely helped bolster the sides score. I'm certainly willing to eat at Moonie's again, but I'll have to splurge for a double instead to make sure I get enough burger to compete with the bun. (Oooh, that yummy bun!) And the prices are middle-of-the-road -- not insane but certainly not the value price I could get elsewhere.
Judge #9: This was a good burger that could have been off the charts great. The only problem (which is a big one) is that the hamburger patty is way too small for the amazing bun. That bun however could have been a meal all by itself, it was that good. The bun completely overshadowed the burger's taste and the proportions were all out of whack. Maybe if I had ordered a double cheeseburger it would have been better. The crispy fries I had were really tasty as were the sweet potato fries and other sides I sampled. The value could not have been better in my opinion. A quality burger fires and drink all for under $10. That's a good deal. The environment score is a little on the low side for me. The guys in the kitchen worked their tails off to take care of us, but they did miss on some of the orders (including mine). The seating was adequate for a burger dive, and I appreciated the outdoor area on a day like we had. There were some exposed wires here and there that had me a little concerned though. All in all I did like Moonies and will probably go back (to order a double double).
Judge #10: A Moonie's haiku:
Bun good. Burger fine
Picnic table is too low
Overall an eight
Judge #11: I had the Blue Moon™ burger (Crumbled blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato & red onion), cut the garden, add avocado, mushrooms & love. I then added ketchup. The waitron/food preparation artist assured me that it was not the grossest thing he had ever created at this establishment. It was an interesting combo, but is definitely not for the weak (Roberts). The meat and bun were of a goodly amount, but there was nothing really *outstanding* about any of it. I had a hard time tasting the love, but it was there underneath the avocado. The sweet little boy behind the counter looked the other way when I got a drink refill, which added to my Environment Score. I had strong issue with the men's room. It was totally grody, was NOT the women’s room, and the urinal was out of service. Also, there was no urinal cake. I used the men's as the women's bathroom was apparently located on the roof. I’m not a weirdo or anything.
