Leonard’s Famous Burgers at 1913 W. Little York makes a very moist hand-formed burger. I opted for the cheeseburger, which came with the familiar square of American cheese. Nobody asked me what I wanted on it , but it was dressed with exactly the same condiments I would have asked for anyway–mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions on a toasted bun. The entire sandwich was enthusiastically seasoned with salt and pepper. I would not recommend the handcut French fries which were greasy and limp.
This is the old-fashioned sort of drive-in where you eat in your car. It was sort of a pleasantly nostalgic experience, until I got a couple of bites into the burger. I tried repositioning the wrapping paper, blotting with napkins and leaning over the passenger seat to avoid getting my shirt messy–all to no avail. I recommend you get out of the car and use your tailgate or trunk lid for a table when eating Leonard’s juicy burgers.
It’s a popular little hamburger shack–at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, there was a line to order and several people sitting in their cars waiting for their names to be called. The cheeseburger with fries and drink was seven bucks.
–Robb Walsh
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2008.