I don't know whether it's my worst diet nightmare come true or the answer to my secret addiction, but whatever the case, Krystal has arrived in Soddy-Daisy.
It's not a traditional Krystal restaurant. It's a Krystal Too in a strip center at 125 Harrison Lane. There's no drive-through, and maybe that's a good thing. You'll get a bit of exercise walking into the store to place your order.
Like the old Krystals that dominated the city back in the 1950s and '60s, part of the seating is a counter with revolving bar stools where you can enjoy your sackful of hamburgers loaded with little grilled onions.
My mouth is already beginning to water, but I'll have to wait. The new Krystal Too isn't scheduled to open until Monday. But when it does, I know it will be packed full of Krystal lovers.
"This store, the Krystal Too, is a new way of providing the Krystal experience to our passionate customers," said Brad Wahl, vice president of marketing for Krystal.
This is only the second Krystal Too, Wahl added. The other one opened in early March in Tucker, Ga., and customer demand brought the restaurant into north Hamilton County.
"We've had so much enthusiasm behind this location in Soddy-Daisy," Wahl added. "We've had requests for years to get a Krystal there, so we are excited to finally be a part of the community."
Though its exterior looks far different from freestanding Krystals, the menu will be about the same, minus breakfast. The menu will reflect the restaurant's core offerings: Krystals, Chiks, Pups, fries, chili-cheese fries, MilkQuakes, Krystal Freezes and other regular drinks.
Krystal is using Soddy-Daisy as a test site. If Krystal Too is a success here, the company will consider expanding the brand in more locations, Wahl said.
I, for one, can't wait to give it a try. By not having a Krystal near my house previously, I've been able to resist. Now I have no excuse.
If you don't want to make a Krystal run, have you ever tried making your own mini burgers at home? I checked out several copycat recipes online, and many called for the addition of beef baby food to the ground beef, such as this one from www.cdkitchen.com.
Sounds horrid.
I didn't even feed my own children beef baby food it was so bad, so I can't imagine adding it to beef to make a burger that tastes as good as a Krystal. You can give it a try, though, and let me know. In the meantime, I'll be visiting the new Krystal Too.
Copycat Krystals
1/4 cup dry minced onion
1/4 cup hot water
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (3 ounce) jar strained beef baby food
2/3 cup clear beef broth
8 hot dog buns
16 dill pickle chips
Mustard
Soak dry minced onions in hot water until soft while you mix ground beef with strained beef baby food and clear beef broth. Keep patties uniform using 1/4 cup meat mixture for each patty, flattened to 1/4 inch and fried quickly in 1 tablespoon oil per patty on a hot griddle. Make 3 or 4 small holes in patties while frying. A straw is good for doing this.
Cut hot dog buns in half lengthwise. Cut off rounded ends. Fry 1 teaspoon of the minced onions under each patty as you turn to fry second side. Slip each patty into bun with 2 dill pickle chips and mustard. Makes 8 small burgers.
Congratulations are in order for Lodge Manufacturing, one of just 13 manufacturers to be honored with an Editor's Choice award by Backpacker magazine for its camp Dutch ovens. The award is given annually to products in recognition of innovative designs, materials and/or performance. The complete list of winners is published in this month's Backpacker issue.
Email Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.