Fat Kids Approve: The Fat Girls wait in line for Burgers...... or our review of 500 Degrees

Krystina here, As a former Rouge-ette when I found out last year that the owners of Rouge, Rob and Maggie Wasserman were opening a low key Burger Joint on Sansom street I was thrilled.

I could wax poetics about the Rouge Burger, it is a Philly icon after all. But lets be honest here, fat kid says 12oz is a LOT of meat, and $16 bones is a lot of bones (don't get me wrong its worth EVERY penny) so the potential to be able to enjoy the quality of a Rouge Burger on a more manageable price range and helping manage my waistline thrilled me to no end ! A few weeks ago I got the heads up that 500 Degrees would be having its grand opening on Tuesday March 23rd, my fellow fat kid and I set a date. We joked about camping out for burgers, in hindsight, we should have....

We woke up this am and headed into CC, 500 degrees was opening as we walked down sansom st. The line was already around the corner. Needless to say when there is an offer of free burgers(to the first 100 guests) in Illadelphia things will get a little colorful. We waited in line for over an hour, listening to people talk about how they were artists and starving (BRAIN),complain about the wait, complain about not making the free burger cut, complain about how this better be the best damn burger every, yada yada yada. Finally as the rain was starting we made it into the building. Walking in the smell of grilling meat and fries hits you, and was a smell of happiness for this hungry fatty. The decor is simple, white washed walls, open kitchen and about 20-30 seats, here its not about the restaurant, the burger should speak for itself. The menu is simple and I had known what I wanted for weeks now, Combo 3, Classic Burger cooked med rare, with cheddar cheese, truffle fries and a diet coke. The every lovely Chef Matt Zagorski handed me my paper bag and we grabbed a seat. I was so excited to unwrap my little brown paperwrapped package of meatlove, the first look at my burger made me smile. It was like someone had taken a shrink ray gun to my beloved Rouge Burger. Before taking my first bite of the burger I had to try my fries, they were perfect, just the right amount of truffle oil, rich salty and delighful.

Now on to the burger, juicy seasoned and absolutely perfect a tad overcooked but I will not judge that.... The produce was fresh and the perfect compliment to the burger, this will be the best $5.50 you will ever spend on a burger. I tried to eat slow and not devour it all in one bite, it was just the right size to enjoy the burger, fries and drink and not feel like you were about to explode.