You don’t usually think of higher quality restaurants as being located under student apartments and in a strip mall, but Great Plains Burger Co. is the exception that proves the rule. Great Plains Burgers is a great local burger and fries. All the menu items are made fresh and cooked to order including the fries, which are made from the 1200 pounds of potatoes sitting in the dining room. Great Plains Burgers also offers fresh hand crafted milkshakes and a wide selection of soft drinks and other beverages.

Great Plains Burgers is a modern and airy building, which can lead to some heating issues, and I found the restaurant a little too cold for my tastes. One corner has the feel of a brightly light sports bar, with a flat screen TV mounted over a stainless steel bar area in the corner near the kitchen. Even though the volume is on as opposed to having sub titles it is not too loud at all. The aforementioned kitchen is open completely to the restaurant (they use the space meant for a kitchen as a storage room), which is not unpleasant at all, and in fact lends a lively feel to the space.

I have been to Great Plains Burgers more times than I can count, but the most recent time I went with my family for the purpose of reviewing. We got there at about 6:15 in the evening, just about prime dinnertime, and the restaurant was about half full. We reached the counter and two young women came over immediately ready to take our orders. They took our orders quite promptly. We ordered two chicken sandwiches ($5.69), a single burger made of 1/3 pounds of Black Angus beef ($4.89 the smallest on the menu). A double 2/3 pounder ($7.59 the largest on the menu), all were laden with a wide variety of toppings from the classics lettuce and tomato and cheese to green olives and jalapeño peppers. We also decided to order a basket of fries to share ($4.49).

The fries come in two sizes; personal which is a large helping about enough for about two people. As well as a basket size which is large enough to feed a small army.

Suffice it to say they go big on portion sizes when it comes to almost everything.

Once we ordered we selected a table in the dining area, which is airy and open, and went to go sit down, but instead we found the table and my chair had not been cleaned and there were a few small chunks and smears of food on my chair. We decided not to make a fuss and switch out a chair at an unoccupied table. We made conversation for only a short time before our fries arrived, piping hot and fresh from the fryer. The fries were perfect. They were crispy, hot, fresh and with not too much salt. We dug right in trying them with the four house made special sauces available at Great Plains including truffle mayo and Kentucky bourbon. No matter which of the sauces they were paired with they were still great.

We worked on the fries for a short time before the main food arrived. My burger was the double and quite the imposing structure; and when topped with tomato, cheese, lettuce, green olives, pickles, mayo, ketchup and my favorite ranch it was almost impossible to get my hands not to mention my mouth around. Somehow I managed and it was well worth it the meat was well seasoned and the toppings were fresh and not wilted. The bun, which can almost be called the most important part of the burger, was toasted to perfection, which makes all the difference.

The chicken sandwich that I tried the most recent time was well seasoned and well cooked.  When cooking a meat with a lack of natural piquancy such as chicken breast how it is seasoned can make all the difference: and the good people at Great Plains Burgers know how to make a well seasoned and juicy chicken breast. My only complaint about the chicken sandwich as dish is that on a few pastimes the bun on the chicken sandwich was a little bit soggy.

In my last review I was not the most enthused about the fact that fries were ordered a la carte. It is the same way at Great Plains Burgers, but here where a single burger is not anywhere near $8 it is in fact only a little more than half of that and add a regular fries to that and you still get a number less than $8 (not to mention twice as many fries).

Yelpers gave Great Plains Burgers a 3.5/5.They raved about the fries but some did find the burgers a little on the greasy/messy side. In all I think that Great Plains Burger Co. is a great neighborhood joint and has a great potential going into the future. My only few concerns are far outweighed by the many great things they do. I would suggest Great Plains Burgers for any night of the week when you don’t feel like making dinner and want a nice alternative. Great Plains Burgers is also great for lunch with friends just don’t take you boss and remember to grab the napkins.