Boomer's Drive-In: Putting fast food in its place

For the most part I despise fast food. In my personal opinion it exemplifies the worst in American culture. Our huge obsesity rate, big chain stores that crowd out smaller venues and take over entire blocks, offering "food" while enticing families with their "buy it for a buck" budget options are just a few of my peeves with this industry. However, I can't deny that most fast food just tastes REALLY good! It's a guilty pleasure but it also has its place in our lives.

In our family we don't eat this type of food often and when we do we always utilize 2 rules!

1. It must be local!!!

2. There must be a special occasion.

So, for Rule #1: Today is a Friday and we will be getting our food from Boomer's Drive-In. It's a local fast food joint that has been around since the 1970's but from the outside it looks like it came straight from a 1950's teen movie. The food there is amazing!!! Real hard ice cream shakes, fabulous burgers and of course WAFFLE FRIES! These fries are made in the shape of a waffle and are delish!!! The shakes (I save up my stock of lactaid for these babies) oh the shakes! They are made from real ice cream and the flavors are so varied. Blackberry, butterscotch, malt, mocha...take your pick. The burgers are also noteworthy. You can get your garden variety cheeseburger or you can get something a little more exotic like a Teriyaki Burger. The kids meals are presented in a old-fashioned 1950's Chevy. My Ross loves to get these with a corn dog.

Now for Rule #2: Many of you know that my husband is a family doctor in town. That means that on occaision he is on-call for the entire weekend. Usually, no one in the family looks forward to these times. They are draining for us all because Matt is home but not home. He may have to leave for the hospital at a moments notice and he takes call constantly day and night. In summary, it can be a huge energy drain for all. Matt and I have been together for all of those years of medical training and over time have learned to make them positive in any way shape or form. Enter Boomer's Drive-In!

During weekend call, we take that Friday and either eat at Boomers or we call it in and take it home. It's a nice way to begin a weekend that will require all of us to be a little more flexible than normal. Now, we actually look forward to call weekends. Nice, huh?

One of the other things to note about Boomer's Drive-In is that it's NOT cheap. For fast food it's considered pretty pricey. Because of this, we don't indulge as often as we would with cheaper alternatives. And like most things, you get what you pay for. The food is pretty fantastic and it has its place in our lives. I don't think that Americans would have as many of the problems associated with fast food if they took this attitude towards it. Indulge but not often!

In Bellingham Boomer's Drive-In is where we go for good local fast food. Where do you go in your town? Next time you feel the desire for fast food, think local first and take a look around you. Don't do it often, but if you do make it memorable!