Mormon Momma

599 West Pacific Drive
American Fork, Utah
801.763.0770

Taste 2 stars
Value 3 stars
Service 2 stars

Price range:
$1.49–$3.15

Distance from temple:
Mount Timpanogos Utah: 2.8 miles

What the heck?

Sam and I were out and wanted to run for a quick, late dinner. We had never been to the new fast-food place in American Fork and decided to drop by. It was 9:00 pm on a Saturday night. There were about a dozen cars in the drive-through lane, the entire restaurant was packed to the gills, and a couple dozen people were sitting on the lawn eating.

The decor of Chadder’s is red, white, and black; kind of a retro, burger joint feel. Decently clean, but I think they couldn’t keep up with the crowd. The place is noisy and hopping with teenagers. Scary!

The line was out the door, but we waited anyway. It wasn’t hard to decide what to get. Half of the entire menu board was just the beverages. The other half featured a hamburger, a cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger, friend, and shakes (chocolate, strawberry, vanilla). Yes, that’s it.

We got one combo (cheesburger, fries, drink—$4.93), one cheeseburger ($2.15), and a cup of water. The order took over 20 minutes to prepare. I guess it’s really what we call “slow, fast food.”

The fries are “fresh cut” but, honestly, not that tasty; a bit limp and greasy. The cheeseburgers had a small slice of cheese and an even smaller patty (seemed no more than 1/8 pound). The burgers were overcooked with burned edges and didn’t cover the bun, so you had a few big bites of bread. The bun was a bit more substantial than, say, the Dee’s 19¢ hamburger of my childhood. The tomato was good and they included a big hunk of fresh lettuce (which more restaurants should try, since it’s good and costs them approximately zero dollars). We didn’t try a shake, but they are said to be made with real ice cream.

Overall, Chadder’s provides a decent meal, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what all the fuss is about. I’ve heard the draw is that it reminds some of In-n-Out Burger. There’s just no accounting for what Californian’s will go for.