Dining with Kids: Phyllis' Giant Burgers

I grew up in Marin and, amazingly, have never been to the revered Phyllis’ Giant Burgers until yesterday. Phyllis’ has been in Marin seemingly forever. Every time I drove through San Rafael’s Miracle Mile, I would pass it, but never stopped to try one of their so-called giant burgers. I always heard that their burgers were wonderful, so I though it would be a good time to try one. Now that they opened one in Novato, in addition to their long-time location in San Rafael, so I thought this is the perfect opportunity to try it out. I don’t eat a lot of hamburgers, so when I do it’s something of a treat and I want it to be a good one. The Phyllis’ in Novato opened last year, and is a large open restaurant that’s a great place for kids or for the sports enthusiast. They have about 5 large LCD screens placed around the restaurant with different sports programs playing at all times.

But the burgers are what Phyllis’ are all about, naturally. They have a large selection that includes: the giant (1/2 pound) cheese & mushroom burger, junior (1/4 pound) cheese burger, the pepper jack burger, and the garlic jack burger to name a few. They also have turkey and chicken burgers for all those not wanting to eat red meat, and, of course this being Marin, a vegan burger. They have a variety of salads including a cobb salad, Chinese chicken salad, and a taco salad. For $4.95, they offer a kids meal that includes a cheeseburger (and other selections), fries, a drink and a soft serve ice cream cone.

The burgers are a little pricier than your average fast food joint. I tried the turkey burger when I was there and though it was very good. It also came with cole slaw, which made it somewhat healthier than the standard burger-n-fries combo. The kids had a cheeseburger and a grilled cheese sandwich, which were proclaimed as “good.” All in all, a positive review. We’ll probably be back when it’s time for another treat to try out more of the menu.