Big Al’s Burger at the Junction

By Arikka Fullmer
Highway 89 Kanab, Utah

The Food (taste/flavor/quality of food & drinks)
>>= mixed bag, can be good but can be bad, can’t count on it
The Atmosphere (environment, wait staff, comfortableness)
xxxx= comfortable
Price (what to generally expect to pay per person per entree)
$ under $10
Value (what you get for your money)
*** = fair -you get what you pay for, not in a bad way
This is Kanab’s greasy spoon. This is where every little league teams descend after a game. This is where teenage crush’s are crushed in the drive up.

Kanab High Cowboy football team portraits hang next to the ‘firewood for sale’ sign. Combine all that with vintage Coke decor and you’ve got an atmosphere familiar to any small town.

The menu high on the wall behind the cashier is full of typical fare. Corn dogs, fries, grilled cheese, burgers...you get the idea. To my surprise they have a buffalo burger, for cheap! I order it with cheese, fries and for 15 extra cents - Al’s homemade fry sauce. Fry sauce is a condiment anomaly unique to Utah and it is fantastic!

The shake menu shows signs of Kanab’s past and recent growth. The first shake flavor is COFFEE! I order a mint oreo shake but they don’t have mint! How can this kind of place have coffee but not mint shakes.

My dining partner orders a cheeseburger and a peanut butter cup shake. Total cost.....$13.85, a sign of the quality of food. My buffalo burger is bland, the bun flat and soggy. But the fries and sauce are delicious. It was enough to sustain me another 200 miles on the road without the emergency stop I anticipated.

Grandma Tina's

By Arikka Fullmer

198 South 100 East, Kanab, UT

The Food (taste/flavor/quality of food & drinks)
>>>>= a favorite, can count on it being good every time
The Atmosphere (environment, wait staff, comfortableness)
xxxx= comfortable
Price (what to generally expect to pay per person per entree)
$$$ = $15
Value (what you get for your money)
**** = worth it - you won’t be disappointed with what you get for your money

This is a family restaurant with humble decor typical of your Grandmothers. We have the choice of inside the dining room or on the sunny patio. We choose outside. So does another diner with his young pup named Dinosaur. The patio is a dog friendly place with buckets of water under each table for your best friend. We also have views of redrock cliffs in every direction.

The menu is diverse from appetizers, soups, salads and main dinner options that climb to over $20 dollars per person. We are here for lunch so I order a cheese burger and fries. It’s a bit pricier than I expected at $9 for my plate.

To my surprise the fries are spiced. I enjoyed them but more sensitive palettes may not. The burger is packed with flavor. Its obviously a preformed frozen patty but it is very tasty. The bun is full, fresh and stuffed with fresh condiments. No droopy lettuce or wilted tomatoes. So you get what you pay for in Kanab. Our waiter was attentive, genuine and had a sense of humor. Big tips all around for making us feel at home while on the road.