Joe's Hamburgers

This afternoon I visited Joe's Hamburgers (10825 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill) for lunch.  I had been eyeing this place for a while viewing it from my VIVA Blue travels north and south from Aurora and head read online this was a Richmond Hill dining institution of historic proportions. 

Upon entering, I was a little confused if I was to seat myself or walk up to the counter and order my food.  There was a lady behind the counter further down cutting vegetables. 

 The tables looked rather new but I had remembered seeing the storefront undergoing renovations last summer and chocked it up to there. There was no sign to "wait to be seated" so I approached the lady cutting the vegetables behind the counter. She looked up and inquired if she could help.  I placed my order with her quizically not knowing if I was placing my order with the right person or not. 

The Order: 1 Hamburger Combo (regular hamburger and fries) and a can of Coke.

The lady called to the back for an older lady to come out.  The older lady came out flipped my hamburger onto the grill and prepared my french fries.  I wasn't sure if I was supposed to stay at the counter or find a table to wait for the food to cook.  I decided the latter.

I chose a table and sat down with a newspaper that I brought with me and read.  I was soon called back to top my burger.  The burger was placed on a single small plate and another small plate was used for my fries.  There were a couple of people walked in and the older lady moved over to take their order. 

I waited for their order to be placed before I reordered the can of Coke which she retrieved. I then asked if she would like me to pay.  She declined and asked me to pay when I was done. I returned to my table to dig into my burger and fries.

The hamburger was similar to the one I normally have at T.C.'s Fish & Burgers in Aurora, deliciously good.  The only complaint, the toppings were a little much and slowly dropped off the burger as I ate. 

The fries were interesting, I had never seen them cut this shape.  They appeared to be hand cut through a stainless steel slicer.  They were wide but thinner.  In hindsight it appeared they had run their potatoes through a machine used to make noodles (i.e. spaghetti).   They tasted like fries, but nothing special either.  

I looked around for a spot to place my tray and two empty paper plates.  No garbage recepticles were visible.  Thus, I just left the tray on the table and visited the cash register. 

I had to, of course, relay my order to the lady taking the cash.  I have no idea if she typed it in right as there was no receipt.  I handed her a ten dollar bill and she returned a loonie and bunch of change. 

Overall, Joe's Hamburgers' food is average for a burger restaurant, but the organization of getting the customer through the ordering and payment process could be a little better.   Why should I have to tell the staff 3 different times that all I want is a hamburger, fries and coke. 

If I'm in the area again, I might try this place again, but I will not go out of my way to head here again.