Chattanooga Pulse

Let’s get one thing straight up front…Cheeburger Cheeburger is nothing like the restaurant John Belushi ran in one of the funniest Saturday Night Live skits ever, where, regardless of what his customers requested, all Belushi ever offered was a “cheeboiger, cheeboiger, no Coke. Pepsi!”

According to Charlie Eich, five-year owner of the Chattanooga location, whether or not the founder of the nationwide chain of restaurants (55 locations so far) actually got the name from the popular SNL line remains a mystery.

As a matter of fact, all Charlie Eich has been told about the name of the restaurant is that it was originally named “Images”, referring to the Wall of Fame pictures on the wall (we’ll get to that later), but renamed Cheeburger Cheeburger not too long after the first location opened in Sanibel, Florida back in 1984. Either way, good call on the name change!

Fortunately, unlike the SNL restaurant, Cheeburger Cheeburger is all about choices. Not only does your “cheeburger” come with a choice of eight different types of cheeses, if requested, the cook can be persuaded to leave the cheese off altogether.  Choose how well you want your 100-percent Angus beef cheeburger cooked, and then comes the fun part—choose any number of dozens of toppings to customize your cheeburger.

My server, Jennifer, suggested I try her unnamed favorite combination, a Serious cheeburger with mozzarella cheese, chopped black olives, guacamole, and sautéed onions. It was seriously good! “We even keep some peanut butter in the back for customers who request it on their cheeburgers,” said Eich. Peanut butter on a burger?! What?! Eww!! But, since I prefer to have choices, I support your right to add whatever-weird-ingredient-you want to your own burger!
For sides, I tried both the onion rings and french fries. Both are hand-cut, battered, and very good.

Now, those more-superior burger eaters might want to take the “Famous Pounder” Challenge. Finish off a whopping one-pound cheeburger, and your picture goes up on the “Wall of Fame.” The burger is actually 20 ounces before it’s cooked…I’m full just thinking about it! Younger folks can choose to try the half-pounder instead.

The Chattaboogie Cheeburger-Cheeburger is decorated up like a ’50s malt shop, with antique memorabilia from the ’50s & ’60’s, neon lighting, swivel barstools, complete with music from the same couple of decades playing in the background. While Cheeburger Cheeburger is part of the chain of like restaurants, the downtown version still has a “Mom & Pop” feel about it, which I really appreciate.

Because I was sitting up on a swivel barstool at the ice cream counter, I HAD to try one of the handmade shakes…I just had to! It wasn’t an easy choice, though. There are 80 different combinations of shakes to choose from! Luckily, Eich suggested his personal favorite, the Oreo Cheesecake shake. Yummy!! And it was.
Contrary to popular belief, locals can get served in about 15 minutes for lunch. Be a bit patient, though. Your fresh, cooked-to-order, 100-percent Angus burger might take a little extra time—but it’s worth it!!

Cheeburger Cheeburger of Chattanooga, 138-A Market Street. (423) 265-4108. www.cheeburger.com.