Come for the tall burgers. Stay for the homemade beet chips and blue cheese potato salad

Finding a seat at one of the waterfront restaurants in Gig Harbor gets complicated on a Saturday, especially at the height of a beautiful sunny summer afternoon.

Admittedly, we were seeking to avoid the stress of a sit-down experience, and there are few better places in Gig Harbor to satisfy the need for good food and cordial, quick service than The Gourmet Burger Shop.

Despite being one of the restaurant’s busiest days of the week in high season, according to owner Travis Hightower, the young fellow behind the counter thoughtfully answered our questions about the menu — a testament to the workers in a time when a lack of training and industry-wide under-staffing is, unfortunately, noticeable everywhere.

We happened upon a high-top table on the deck, with a view of bustling Harborview Drive. Had we not had such luck, I suppose we would have awkwardly sipped our beers in a corner outside and hoped for the best when our burgers emerged from the kitchen.

The counter-service restaurant itself is tiny — and the grill only three feet wide — with six tables seating about 25 people, an upgrade from Hightower’s original, three-table location on the Kitsap Peninsula. He and his wife moved the business to Gig Harbor in 2013, and it’s blossomed from being just them and one or two employees to a consistent staff of about a dozen, he said. If you’re worried about sitting down, plan for takeout and plot a quick getaway to a grassy patch across the street at Donkey Creek Park or other nearby public space.

For those who find a seat, sit back and relax. It’s so small that the staff will find you and deliver your drinks and meal, bringing napkins and silverware along the way, and asking if you need anything else. Presuming you haven’t forgotten to order a side of potato salad or a chai tea milkshake, your interaction is thus complete.

The burgers here fit the bill of “gourmet” but clock in just under the price tag you might imagine at a full-service restaurant. For about $13, you get a solid burger with fresh ingredients — no American cheese but instead aged cheddar, gorgonzola, Swiss or mozzarella. Accoutrements like grilled onions and pineapple, truffle mayo and spicy basil ketchup up the ante, too.

Of eight house beef burgers, cooked to order from an 80/20 blend formed in-house, five feature leafy green lettuce — even the All American, Gourmet’s classic cheeseburger with grilled onions, mild cheddar, tomato, pickle and fry sauce. That might not be your thing, but I sometimes beg for the bitterness and the crunch greens provide to a burger. On these patties, between a non-sesame-studded bun, the stacked situation works. It’s more in line with a friend showing off at home than it is a drive-thru classic, but the latter are a dime a dozen while the former are hard to find without sitting down and shelling out.

The sides abet this feeling.

It’s not “side salad” but Caesar; not frozen fries but housemade shoestrings, cut by mandolin and speckled with herbs; not ho-hum onion rings but those in a housemade beer batter; not one-tone mayo starch but blue cheese-studded potato salad. Choose one to accompany your burger at no extra charge, and add a generous portion — of the one you almost chose — a la carte to share for $4-$7.

Rather than a bag of Tim’s, Gourmet offers housemade chips in either potato BBQ or straight beet form. This veggie chip is not as crisp as they come but the flavor is real: whole beets are sliced at the restaurant, fried and served unseasoned — not even a sprinkle of salt. They taste wholesome as a chip can anyhow.

“The trick with the beets,” said Hightower, “is good, clean fryer oil, and slicing them the correct thickness, which is sometimes tricky with the mandolin.”

He recommends asking for a side of truffle mayo to dip.

We didn’t finish the chips, but I stashed them in my bag for later and they held up for a late-night snack.

Would I drive across the Narrows for a Gourmet burger? Probably not, but when in Gig Harbor, it’s a fine choice for lunch or dinner without breaking the bank or waiting two hours for the views at Tides Tavern down the street.

Value: expected — $40 for two burgers, a side and two draft beers

Quality: solid — fresh beef and accoutrements accompanied by homemade sides

Atmosphere: come-as-you-are counter service and neighborly affection for regulars, with a few tables inside and on deck patio with street views

Returnability: A solid choice for families in the area wishing to eschew fast food, as well as day visitors to this side of the Narrows seeking a quick, fair-priced meal.

THE GOURMET BURGER SHOP - GIG HARBOR

▪ 4120 Harborview Dr., Gig Harbor, 253-858-5205, facebook.com/GourmetBurgerShop

▪ Daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

▪ Details: fresh, fast burgers with homemade sides from a modest kitchen, plus local beers

This story was originally published August 1, 2021 at 5:05 AM.