NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

At the nostalgic Johnny Rockets, the jukebox is only a nickel, ground beef is still king and everything tastes better with a little chili and cheese.

Staff wear the trademark white aprons, soft cotton soda jerk caps and wide smiles of servers past, while the still-dripping burgers are served wrapped in paper on heavy duty cardboard plates. Just make sure and grab some extra napkins.

The St. Louis burger bears a tangy white sauce, loads of lettuce, tomatoes and onions, and plenty of melted cheddar. The savory Route 66 burger is stacked high with grilled mushrooms, onions and Swiss. A non-traditional patty melt (substituting turkey for ground chuck) brings juicy turkey smothered with grilled onions and cheese on grilled rye (fantastic). Chili cheese fries summon a paper tray of crispy fries smothered in meaty chili, diced onions and shredded cheese (great as finger food, but you’ll need a fork to finish).