Phantom Gourmet: KKatie's Burger Bar in Marshfield & Plymouth

Phantom Phans will love this burger bar. It uses top notch ingredients, really knows how to combine toppings and flavors, and griddles up some of the best burgers south of Boston.

"I never knew how many things tasted so great on a burger," said KKatie's owner Kate McSorley. "You can do so many combinations. There's just endless possibilities."

This is the story of an unusual burger joint with an almost unpronounceable name. It's not Katie's Burger Bar. It's KKatie's Burger Bar.

"It is a little catchy with the K-Katie, we like that. It also does stem from a really old song, K-K-K-Katie's."

McSorley started serving her signature, juicy, griddled burgers at KKatie's in Plymouth four years ago. The patties became so popular that they recently added an additional store in Marshfield.

"Our burgers are fresh, never frozen. We hand pack them every day," she said. "Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the demand for them. We're out there pressing out burgers all day. It's fresh Angus meat."

Whether you like your burgers sweet, spicy, stacked high, or straight up, Kendra the kitchen manager knows the difference between fast food, and good food.

"You can get a burger from a dollar menu. But it's not going to be as great as our burger."

For something with a little sweetness, there's the Hawaiian Burger stacked with grilled pineapple, bacon, and teriyaki. If you'd prefer something a little crunchier, there's a burger for you.

"It's the KKatie's KKrunch burger," Kate declared. "We take our burger and we top it with American cheese. We put caramelized onions, cherry wood smoked bacon, housemade potato chips on there, and then we put our homemade garlic shallot mayo. You've got a lot of going on in there.

"You've got your crispy chips and then you've got that garlic shallot mayo so it's almost like chips and dip, and that's the KKatie's KKrunch burger."

For a completely different texture and taste experience, there's the Pretzel Burger. It starts with an eight ounce patty, and then it's topped with a mound of pastrami, melted Swiss cheese, onions and pickles, on a toasty, buttered pretzel bun.

"It's like a Rueben on top of a hamburger," explained Kate. "You keep a lot of napkins around. Very messy, but well worth it."

For a more refined, upscale burger experience, there's the Good Morning Burger - with a real peppery kick.

"It's almost like a steak au poivre. We take the burger and we press it in the peppercorns and then when we grill it on the flat top it really crusts the burger," Kate described. "Then we take a farm fresh egg and we put that on there, and we put truffle mayonnaise on a grilled onion brioche bun. The onion and the bun and the peppercorn and the truffle with the egg work really well."

We'll get back to some even wilder and crazier burgers in just a second, but first, the obligatory list of some of the "other" stuff on KKatie's menu: Jumbo, bone-in Buffalo wings; Panko-crusted chicken sandwiches; Fried mozzarella wedges made with fresh, hand-breaded cheese.; Onion rings; Tater tots; French fries; Truffle fries; Sweet potato fries; Green bean fries; and something called "Frickled Pickles and Peppers".

"Our pickle chips and banana peppers. We deep fry them and they're thinly-cut, so they get crunchy. And then we serve them with our housemade Ranch dressing," described Kate.

You can't resist eating them, and you can't help but smile saying "Frickled Pickles and Peppers".

Enough frickling around. Let's get back to those burgers.

There's the so-called Big KKMac, topped with special sauce, lettuce, cheddar jack cheese, pickles, onions, on a grilled sesame seed bun (any similarities to national burger chain sandwiches are purely coincidental).

There's the Juicy Lucy Burger. This one consists of two fresh-ground patties stuffed with a ridiculous amount of cheese inside. So when it comes off the grill, it's explosively delicious.

"You should probably cut it open, unless you want piping hot American cheese flying at your cheeks," Kendra warned.

Finally, there's the one pound Brandt Rock Burger reserved for the most ambitious eaters only.

"Four 4-ounce burgers that are stacked with cheese and then two slices of bacon in between. Then it's topped with our house battered onion rings and our KMac sauce," listed Kate. "So you end up with a stack of burgers… with a lot of bacon and a lot of burger."

Now that's how to satisfy a c-craving the KKatie's way.

"Well I want them to leave with a very, very full tummy. I want them to be full and satisfied, and come back so that we know them."

You can find KKatie's Burger Bar at 38 Main Street Extension in Plymouth, 1899 Ocean Street in Marshfield, 334 Main Street in Hyannis, 1440 Hancock Street in Quincy, and online at kkaties.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.
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