The day all the reviews came out we got our burgers, but just barely. LBL had been slammed with tons of business, unsurprisingly. But since none of the publications had bothered to give them any heads up, they were quickly out of basic ingredients and had no extra help on hand to deal with the long lines. Once they were out of food and were turning people away we got a chance to talk to the “the lady” that was mentioned in several of the reviews — once she got a chance to catch her breath.

In addition to mentioned their frustration with the flood of unexpected business, she said they were annoyed that none of the articles ever explain how small their seating area is — so people are always disappointed when there is nowhere to sit. Also, they mentioned that their burgers aren't really designed to travel well and therefore aren't the best choice for take-out, so it makes them sad when their burgers are being taken to 1st-timers as a take-0ut item.

These people clearly take great pride in serving up really high quality food and getting it out to you fast while it's still hot. Any rudeness people experience I believe arises out of their frustration with not being able to keep up with demand and take care of all their customers the way they would like to. Which will continue to be hard for them to do in their current location given their popularity with critics . . .

I just hope that they take all these great reviews and convince some bank to give them a loan so they can move their business to a larger location where they will have some chance of keeping up with demand.

I'll try Zippy's, but why no love for Burgermaster, I prefer it to Red Mill any old day.

and yes, you're entitled to it and I won't judge you for it, but what's wrong with wanting something different? What you consider “Trying too hard” is another man's “doing something different.”

A $20 meal between two people isn't an outrageous investment considering the gems you're likely to find when you take a chance. Ironic since many of these comments come from those who don't bat an eye at spending that much on a crap movie and some stale popcorn on a regular basis.

There's a large spectrum between rude and ass-kissing. These guys, in the two times I've been in there, have tipped the scale to beyond rude, all the way to venomous.

I had great service on my one visit, too.

Why wouldn't you want to try the best of what Seattle has to offer?

A good hamburger is easy to make. An excellent one is not.

For what it's worth, my naturopath has told me to go there at least once per week to get my iron. She didn't say eat red meat once a week, she said go to LBL for a burger.

Alegra has always been very, very friendly to me. As someone from Yelp said: not rude, acting with purpose. She's keeps the line going and your food out to you fast.

I have never seen any problems with service – not only have they always been super nice to me personally, but they've never been anything but polite to other customers in the many many visits I've made.

Is the outdoor ambience picturesque? No. Is the restaurant itself clean & sanitary? you betcha!

Oh and the key lime shake is the BEST EVER!!!!

PS epicurious is a well known food & cooking website, linked to Gourmet & Bon Apetite magazines, that's been around for ages.

It's a public forum. People just might comment on your…comment. Imagine that!

And you've never been inside. How would you know if it's filthy?

First hand knowledge is the best knowledge, which I happen to have. It's not filthy. Also, sometimes filthy is good. Taco trucks aren't exactly spotless, yet they have the best tacos in the city. Have fun missing out on good food.

How are their sweet potato fries?