The Whiz is Whack and That's a Fact?

So says the Hamblogger in his latest foray into San Francisco’s burger madness, where he gives the iconic Mission burger spot a mere 1.5 out of 5:

The first bite had a strange flavor that I couldn’t really nail down. It wasn’t the meat – maybe it was the cheese. The chopped up patty was ridiculously dry and completely void of any flavor. The bacon was the most flavorful aspect of the burger and pretty much everything else was masked by excessive amounts of mustard. Perpetual bun slippage was brought on by the avocado and made the burger difficult to eat without making a total mess. I would have been better off just getting a bacon sandwich.

Now, having never eaten there myself, I can’t vouch for the quality of the Whiz, but many in the comments section came to the classic stand’s defense, suggesting that the author should have tried the more standard junior burger, patty melt, or veggie burger (apparently the best in town?).  He also got taken to task for ordering the wrong kind of french fries, thus missing out on their popular waffle variety.

What do you guys think?  Is the Whiz, in fact, whack?  Or is it appropriately befitting of such seminal architecture?  Also, how rad would it be if the Mission Burger guys took over that spot?

Hat Tip and Title by brainslip

Photo by Telstar Logistics

22 Responses to “The Whiz is Whack and That's a Fact?”

  1. Andy says:

    Meh, I think it’s kinda sub-par.

  2. tacotron says:

    I’ve tried almost everything on their menu…and I gotta say I lovve it! especially the banana shake.
    haven’t really been to any other burger places in the mission to compare it to, except for Big Mouth…which I prefer the whizz over that

  3. TJ says:

    I like Whiz. My favorite items are the onion rings and the banana milkshake, both of which are awesome. For the sandwich, I generally get the whizburger and thankfully the ones I’ve had have always been great.

    And I’m still sad I missed out on ever trying the Mission Burger. Really hope they pop up again, or maybe even make the granulated burgers at Commonwealth as a stealth item on a special day.

  4. Jay says:

    I love Whiz burger, but the quality of their meat does leave something to be desired. To steal a phrase, it’s “mostly circus animals with some filler.” That said, it’s also delicious. I’m sorry some fucktard can’t eat a simple Whiz burger without slippage, but for the rest of us, it’s glorious.

  5. chalkman says:

    I can’t say I’ve ever had a Whizburger that the comment “too dry” would come into play, generally it’s the opposite. My other recommendation is to get a corndog, sure, they are the generic ones, but they stick them in a deep fryer, which I don’t own

  6. Rod says:

    it’s good and greasy and thankfully will never find itself at the top of any bougie foodie blog.

  7. SlobDog says:

    It is totally subpar but it’s got style. It doesn’t pretend to have awesome anything. For goodness shakes, burgers are not the first thing that come to mind when the word “whiz” is used. That is partially why it is so sweet. It’s properly Mission Style with it’s worn out everything. One has many choices to pick from too which is nice. Being all outside there’s no sweaty packed interior with girls passing out falling on you as they wait for some micro-mini taco they planned to eat daintily with a fork. It’s a paws on walk away with the annoyance of greasy hands kind of place.

    I live near the place and once in awhile when I’m lazy and don’t mind paying for food I just gotta go nuts and order a variety of unhealthy food there. Thrill of Grill near Valencia and 16th has a better burger but it’s roughly $9 with fries iirc and they’re are fewer choices on the menu and nowhere near as much fun to order, sit, wait and wonder where the hell’s my food.

  8. Glenparker says:

    It’s good enough for Steve Young.

  9. dickinsebastopol says:

    back when I moved into SF they had roller skating car hops and it was Carrozzi Burger. Used to ride the 5M from the Peninsula and that stand was what stuck in my mind back then. There was also a Carrozzi Burger down in San Mateo a block north of Hillsdale Mall on El Camino Real. Taxi Burger now occupies that space….

  10. Never eaten there, like so many of those who comment on this thread, but they have been there since the Fifties, and I have to think that if I had been a teenager in the Mission in the Fifties (blowing my Mission cred here), Whiz Burgers would be the standard by which I would judge all burgers. Of course, if I had lived in Ingleside, Beep’s Burgers would be No.1.

    • I used to go to Beep’s a lot when I was taking some classes at CCSF about 8 or 10 years ago. It has style out the yingyang, but I always found the good to be sadly disappointing. Not quite to the same degree as Tony’s Cable Car on Geary, which looks awesome but is just awful, however.

  11. Yeah, Whiz Burgers are definitely not the best burgers in town, but they are totally decent, I love their (swiss-less) version of a patty melt, and I’m a sucker for a good rootbeer freeze.

    I hit them up one or two times a month. It would be more if they were open later, they would be perfect for a drunken late night snack after an evening out.

  12. kiya says:

    Their fried fish patty sandwich (basically a McFish knock-off) is amazing in a very dirty way.

  13. sergdun says:

    they suck, might a swell cop a burger from fucking happy donuts

  14. Ferocious Foot Odor says:

    Before the latest owners took over it was quite good — akin to Bill’s on Clement.

    The new owners ruined the menu, the food and the business. It used to hop, now it limps.

  15. Jack Walker says:

    I agree with the comment about Beeps. I haven’t been out there in 20 years but I recall it fondly. Whiz could be such a great place if someone who cared took it over. It has a great aesthetic. Even so the Jr. burger is ok, not great but ok. The thing is the mango shake. Those are great. Maybe not as good as 10 years ago but still good. Everyone that ever goes to Humphrey Slocum should give the mango shake at Whiz a try.

  16. stiiv says:

    Yeah, they suck and I really wish they didn’t.

    A cabbie who grew up in the Mission once informed us that they didn’t always suck. So there’s that.

  17. Adam M says:

    Whiz Burger is great because it’s nothing great. It’s an unpretentious, cheap drive-in burger spot. It doesn’t even need to be reviewed, it just needs to be eaten and forgotten about until the next time you remember it again.

  18. Arbor Police says:

    I remember eating there when it was Carrozi’s (sp?) and the parking lot chicks served you on skates – still going around ’87. The place made me ill later and haven’t been back. It’s amazing the dotcom bitch didnt swaller up that corner real-estate a decade ago.