Fictional burger restaurants are pervasive in both film and television, from massive global phenomenons like Krusty Burger on The Simpsons to neighborhood teen hangouts like The Peach Pit on Beverly Hils, 90210 and The Max on Saved By the Bell. Often these recurring restaurants are a way to avoid copyright issues, as with, say, Burger World from Beavis & Butthead, an obvious stand-in for McDonald's. Below, Eater collected 14 beloved fictional burger restaurants from movies and TV. It's by no means an exhaustive list; if your favorite's not included, pipe up in the comments.
Next read: Eater.com's America's 21 essential hamburgers.
If only every one of these actually existed. Well, except maybe Cartman's ass burgers from South Park. Or Barth's on You Can't Do That on Television. Or Good Burger on All That...
Barth's Burgers, You Can't Do That on Television
Barth's Burgers was a recurring restaurant on 80s Canadian kids sketch show, You Can't Do That on Television. Barth's was famously disgusting, and the cast of the show only ate there because it was the closest restaurant to the studio. A common joke was wondering what the burgers were made out of; typical guesses included catgut, horse, and Barth's adopted children (?). Please note the cameo in the above video by New York Times restaurant critic Mister Peter Cockroach.
Good Burger, All That and Good Burger
A recurring sketch from Nickelodeon's kids sketch show All That that was turned into a movie in 1997. Good Burger focused on the dim-witted antics of Ed, an employee who ran the cash register. Guest stars often (attempted) to order Good Burgers from Ed, including Britney Spears, Missy Elliott, Erykah Badu, and, in the video above, Sherman Hemsley as a local food critic.
Big Kahuna Burger, the Films of Quentin Tarantino
"The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast," Big Kahuna Burger makes an appearance in several Quentin Tarantino films, including Reservoir Dogs, Four Rooms and perhaps most famously in Pulp Fiction (see above). As the name suggests, the restaurant is a Hawaiian-themed fast food chain.
Burger World, Beavis and Butthead
"Work" is perhaps to strong a word for what Beavis and Butthead do at Burger World. The cartoon duo were paid to goof around at the McDonald's knock-off (Burger World's logo is an upside-down golden arches). In the above video, Beavis and Butthead fry dead mice and generally piss off every customer that gets anywhere near Burger World.
Fatso Burger, That 70s Show
Fatso Burger is the local fast food burger place on That 70s Show. At one point, the main character, Eric Forman, has a job there, and in the above clip, several characters attempt to steal the ceramic clown mascot from the drive thru.
Honker Burger, Doug
Honker Burger is the fast food hangout on the 90s cartoon Doug, and was based on In-N-Out burger. It's the location for many pivotal moments in the series, including when Doug meets global rock phenomenon The Beets (a Beatles caricature) and, in the clip above, where he meets his best friend Skeeter for the first time and learns the proper way to order off the secret menu.
Krusty Burger, The Simpsons
The Simpsons has all kinds of fictional restaurants and even did an entire episode on food. Krusty Burger is perhaps the most commonly recurring fictional restaurant on the series, a global fast food behemoth founded by Krusty the Clown. In the above clip, Krusty Burger launches Burger2, "a delicious crime against nature" made from cows fed on other cows.
Paunch Burger, Parks and Recreation
Paunch Burger is the burger chain of choice for Pawnee, Indiana hero Ron Swanson. His favorite order? The number two: "Double bacon grenade deluxe, hashbrowns, chili cheese fries, and one poached egg." (He's been known to add a banana, you know, for health. See above.) Paunch Burger ran into a little trouble when they tried to up their soda sizes and Pawnee threatened a soda tax, but the Paunch prevailed.
McDowell's, Coming to America
McDowell's is almost a McDonald's; it's not a riff on McDonald's like Krusty Burger or Burger World, the characters in the film are aware that it's a knockoff of the fast food chain. (The owner of McDowell's explains the subtle differences in the video above.) McDowell's is actually on Yelp, and has been since at least 2008, despite being a totally fictional restaurant.
Mooby's, the films of Kevin Smith
Mooby's is a vaguely-Christian burger chain that appears in several of the movies of Kevin Smith; their mascot is Mooby the Golden Calf. In the clip above — from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back the titular characters get a little NSFW in front of a bunch of kids at Mooby's.
The Peach Pit, Beverly Hills, 90210
The Peach Pit on Bevery Hills, 90201 is the classic teen show hangout: a retro diner where characters can work (in this case, Brandon Walsh, with one memorable shift filled by his twin Brenda), hang out, and generally find an excuse to all be in the same scene together. In the clip above, Color Me Badd wants to know if the 'Pit's famous burgers are worth the hype. Do note that the 'Pit was remodeled for the 90210 remake.
McBurgerTown, Family Guy
McBurgerTown is a Rhode Island burger chain that appears in a few episodes of Family Guy. In one, Peter has a stroke after eating 30 McBurgerTown burgers. In the clip above, Stewie gets a job at McBurgertown, only to be fired for eating on the job. (He ate the fish sandwiches — neither of these clips really speak well for the quality of McBurgerTown's burgers.)
Cartman Burger, South Park
Due to mishearing the term Asperger's Syndrome, Cartman decided to get in on the "ass burger" action and opened Cartman Burger, which included a "secret last process booth." (Guess what happened there.) The burgers become insanely popular, and a McDonald's spokesperson pondered, "It's as if he's somehow taking all the ingredients of our food, breaking them down into some kind of gas, and then somehow infusing that gas into his hamburger. What kind of instrument could he be using to do this?"
The Max, Saved by the Bell
The Max was a Peach Pit-esque restaurant on popular teen comedy Saved by the Bell. The gang often hung out at the retro/80s diner, where there was often dancing. In the clip above, waitress Kelly Kapowski, a server at the Max, gets her recent-ex Zack Morris and his date a chocolate shake before ripping into him for dancing to "their" song, A-12 on the juke box.
Loading comments...