Rocket Restaurant

I’ve been here once and I’m a fan. I’ve tried to return, but I always seem to go on Sunday’s when they are closed. Anyway, they make one delicious and juicy burger. I intend to return to try some various menu items. This place has real potential.

There are scores of people who have passed this place and would never stop to have lunch. Please keep going… The line is long enough. The cook owner really loves his place and has a great passion for what seems like a times past ‘burger joint’. But when you order it doesn’t take long to realize the menu is home made with good care.
The rocket burger, the turkey sandwich, soup, pizza, salads, shake. The Rubin, the trucker burger— bring 3 pals and try the monster burger. Did I mention it’s better than 5-​guys, no contest.
It’s only missing the one star because it’s not in my neighborhood.

Took my son to eat here and the food was good. The service was excellent, and the place was clean, but kind of worn looking and not to appealing on the inside. This made it kind of uneasy to eat there. Next time I’ll order take out. They need to update their floors, counter etc. It still looks like it did back in the early 80’s. The prices are very good. We had the onion rings which were good, the chili cheese fries and the milk vanilla milk shake were excellent and the wing ding and Asian sauce, were okay, the sauce was horrible. My son really enjoyed the wings, so that’s all that mattered. I would go back because the service was excellent and the food was good enough to want to return to this restaurant again.

Customer service great! Burgers even better! The rocket classic is better than a Big Mac!!!

Great old time diner! everything except the kitchen sink is on the menu. Sink used to be on it, someone ordered it. Split up the monster burger that was very good. tasted much like a big boy burger. quite a diverse crowd. Everyone should try here at least once!

Pretty good burger joint. They have a huge Monster burger that looks like it’s off Man Vs Food. No one ordered it while I was there but looks equally fun and gross. I had the Backyard Burger combo for $ 10.00. Pretty tasty burger and bacon was crispy. The Fry’s are thick steak fry with skin and pretty dang good for all you fry heads out there. If this combo was a dollar cheaper it would get 5 stars.

Felt like John Candy trying to finish the old 96er in the great outdoors with this monster burger. It’s big … I gave up when I started to get shutting pains in my gut. I think it’s more than enough for 2 people.

I use to come here all the time as a kid and I try to make it there when Im in the area. But ib always loved all the food here. Very awesome place abd its been around longer then iv been alive.

Lunch time rolled around and a visitor to our office went to lunch with us. «Where should we go?», we asked. The fellow said that he knew a place in Pontiac that was «interesting.» So off the Rocket Burger we went. There were three of us. We go there and saw that it was a fast food place, but not a national chain. In we went. Our visitor suggested that the three of us split Monster Burger. So we ordered a Double Meat Monster Burger with Cheese and Bacon. Then I saw the size of the bun and wondered whether we would be able to finish it. It was advertised at 1 pound, so a double was 2 pounds. It also came with lettuce, tomatoes and onions. We had also ordered a large order of Onion Rings and drinks.
Well, we didn’t finish it. They cut it into something like 9 pieces for us. It looked like a sliced pizza. We took the leftovers back to the office.
Actually, although it was good, and big. I think the next time I go back to Rocket Burger, I would just go for a regular individual burger. They had them in ¹⁄₃ and ½ pound sizes. The Monster burger was more than any human can really eat and it is a mess to eat too.

Soup or salad & sandwich for $ 5.49. I can’t handle a whole rocket burger for today.
I ordered a turkey sandwich on rye (lightly toasted) and chicken noodle soup. Both the sandwich and the soup were excellent. The turkey was piled high, with onion & mayonnaise, hold the lettuce, hold the tomato. Large heavy noodles and chunks of chicken rounded out the soup. Oops! Don’t forget the lemonade.
What about ambience, you ask? WOMC-​FM 104.3 was blaring in the background. All in all, a good meal and a pleasant experience.

even though the dinning area is kind of old and uncomfortable, the service and the price range can not be beat at this place. there gyros are absolutely amazing. it is sort of a family restaurant and I think they are doing a great job running it. and they are all very nice and kind

I joined some friends for dinner with their kids and this seemed like a good place to go. The monster burger smelled delicious and was a big hit with the person who ordered and finished it all. The pizza was freshly made and had a garlic crust, which was nice as well. I will definitely be sure to order one of their burgers next time because they really seemed like the item to get.
The restaurant was clean and also has a nice outdoor seating area for those wanting to eat outdoors. Overall, this is a nice place to get your fix of cheesy, fried, yummy goodness in Pontiac.

I’m on a mission to find reasons to go out of your way and visit Pontiac, since that’s been home base for the last 6 months.
Rocket Restaurant is a fantastic reason to visit. Went there last night for a burger, came home with half a monster. Granted, I could tell by the gigantic bag of buns resting above the counter that the Monster Burger wouldn’t be for me, but might be perfect for the starving 6’4″ man I was clinging to. He totally went for it – the Monster Bacon Cheese Burger, and I ordered the smaller, more manageable Backyard Burger (grilled onions, bacon, jack and cheddar cheese, mesquite seasoning…)
See you can’t win your way to my heart with size. Monster nothing. Shock factor doesn’t equal delicious. In fact, seeing my husband with a massive burger that had to be cut into quarters didn’t excite me, it made me feel queasy. Admittedly, it made both of us queasy.
And then… the first bite. Shock factor? This little burger joint (skuzzy tables, seedy neighborhood, old building) was as good if not better than other places we’ve raved about. And they have a dollar menu. AND they are open until 3 am daily. Perfect after-​tavern spot.
I gave it five stars for taste and tenacity. The behind-​the-​counter assistance was stellar, the burgers tasted especially fresh, and the environment is a fun flashback to diner days.
(Almost took one star away because their bathroom was kinda ick, but I’d have to give it back right away because, in fairness, halfway through this review I went to our fridge for the leftovers. Just couldn’t resist.)
Yup, Rocket’s burgers have staying power.

I live not too far from here, so I come here often. Probably not so good for the blood pressure, but definitely worth it! Since I work midnights this is our go-​to place for late-​night meals. The monster pizza is great for groups, and I get a kick out of taking one of these babies into work and seeing my co-​workers’ jaws drop at the sheer size of it! Another shock-​and-​awe meal is the monster burger. Although I don’t generally like pickles on my burgers, the pickles here are excellent and it’s the only place I don’t pick them off!

Every time I come here I ask myself, why don’t I come here more often? This is one of the best burgers on the planet! Seriously. In high school we would have the 1lb monster burger challenge. The buns are a good 7 inches in diameter. Now I stick with a half pound burger loaded with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, onion and thousand island. On my latest visit, the cashier also gave us waters since we didn’t order pops. Great customer service! The old school restaurant and not so safe neighborhood give this place even more charm. I can’t wait for my next visit to Rocket Burger!

There are a dozen reasons as to why I’m giving Rockets 5 stars and here they all are.
I woke up today for a hankering of a huge hunk of beef, a burger to be exact. My husband and I are new to the area and like always we turned to Unilocal to help guide us to something worth leaving the house for. Rockets was the first joint that pop’d up and what caught my eye was this Monster Burgers that they make, its literally the size of a frisbee, if not bigger. So we made our way to Pontiac to try this gigantuous treat.
BOY OH BOY what a little gem this is! We walked in and we were greeted by the nice man behind the counter… I told him that according to Unilocal this was the place to be if you wanted a great burger. He said « Unilocal. What is Unilocal?» I giggled and continued on explaining to him exactly what Unilocal was, it was funny and cute.
After a couple minute chat he went on to tell me what his favorites on the menu were… He suggested the BBQ Monster and the Angry Monster. I was leaning towards the Turkey Monster but my husband and I decided that getting 2 burgers would probably be way to much for us to eat so we settled on the BBQ Monster with some fries.
As we were waiting for our food the cook chatted with us from behind his grill,
he flashed us the patty of meat before he put it on the grill and let me just say from what I saw the burger meat was hand formed and a nice light pink which tells me that this is all FRESH! The cook continued on chatting with us while he prepared our food, telling us stories about Rockets. It was very enjoyable.
We received our food within 7 minutes of our order and in my book that is quick. The burger was wrapped up nicely and the fries were hot and ready. The first thing I noticed was the wonderful smell. As we unwrapped our burger you can see the steam coming up from the bun. I grabbed the first quarter and immediately opened the bun to see how they constructed their burger… PERFECTION! No sloppy mess here. what I saw was a perfectly built burger. The veggies were fresh and placed nicely on top of the meat, the lettuce was on the bottom of the bun where it should be, the bacon was crisp just how we like it and there was just enough sauce.
The first bite made the back of my tongue glands tingle. the second bite made my tummy happy and before I knew it I had devoured the first quarter of that burger in record time. It took all of me not to eat my second quarter but I wanted to save it for a late night snack. My husband on the other hand was not having any leftovers. He wolfed it down like it was his last meal. We both looked at each other and knew we had just found our new burger place. If your wondering why I didn’t mention the fries. well cuz really who cares about fries when what your looking for is MEAT! But they were good steak fries! One more thing. this place serves COKE. thank god cuz I HATE PEPSI!
I did read a review that Joe H posted a couple years back who didn’t like the bun to meat ratio and who also said the bun was dry… NOT the experience I had at all. I was actually surprised by how soft the bun was and also commented to my husband that I thought this was a perfect bun. Funny how one person has a total and complete different opinion.
So here’s what I think… Thank goodness we didn’t listen to his review or else we would of missed out on something really good. Goes to show you. we all have different tastes and expectations and just becuz one person didn’t have a great experience doesn’t mean you wont.
One another note… Don’t let that cook fool you… he’s much more then that. this guys is teaching himself how to make pies. and from what I hear he’s got it going on! I told him maybe he should consider selling some of his creations. cuz i mean really, wouldn’t it be fabulous to have a delicious piece of pie after a huge hunk of beef??? And what other burger joint that you know serves homemade pie??? I’ve been to burger joints all around the world and there isn’t a one that has severed HOMEMADE pie! Get on it Chef!

I was perusing the reviews on Unilocal and was reminded of this place. I haven’t been in almost 20 years, but I’m pleased to report it hasn’t changed.
Well, that’s not exactly true-​the menu is probably bigger. It’s huge. Burgers, deli sandwiches, pizza, tex-​mex (think tacos and burritos), damn near every fries appetizer you can think of, fish and chips, liver and onions (!?).
I was with my daughter, who is a pretty light eater. She got a taco and chocolate shake (blended the old-​fashioned way) and pronounced it good. Yes, it was a basic fast-​food taco, but it amazes me how many places screw them up.
I went straight for the Monster Cheeseburger with everything. I’m not going to lie and say it was the best thing ever, but it’s a perfectly decent burger, not dry, fresh toppings. Think Whopper with cheese. Actually, think like 4 Whoppers with cheese. with better meat.
So for the food, in my limited exposure, I’ll give 3 stars. I’m going to add another for the ambiance and incredible friendly staff, who check on you from behind the counter and offer assistance («Need a bag for that?»), additional condiments («would you like more salsa?) before being asked.
It’s old and dated, but clean and friendly and only 5 minutes away from Great Lakes Crossing. I think I’ll go here from now on instead of the food court. The selections probably bigger anyway.

As another review says, this place should not be judged by it’s cover! It looks like an old diner, but it is clean, and the people behind the counter were super nice.
We didn’t order the Monster sized burgers, but I got a ¼ lb version of the Angry Burger which came with an angry face drawn on the wrapper. Nice touch.
The burger was delicious. It was nice and spicy. Topped with jalapenos, grilled onions, pepper jack cheese, and this AWESOME spicy sweet onion sauce. It was steaming hot. I could tell they didn’t dilly dally around and served it right off the grill. My boyfriend got the Backyard Burger, which was equally as good, but I preferred the spicy zing of the sauce on mine.
It was a good experience, the owner that rang us up and another man in the grill area both asked us how we liked our meals and were genuine and friendly. I’d definitely visit again.

Upon reading the reviews, the Rocket Restaurant ended up on my to-​go-​to-​soon list and today was the day. Met up with my +1, who works in Pontiac, and headed to the RR for lunch.
The first thing I liked about the place was that they still have, what looks to be, the original sign out front and it maintains a cool, old school burger joint demeanor. They have about 3 or 4 more modern metal benches to dine outside on and enjoy the nice spring weather. I had the pleasure of chatting it up with one of the owners who happened to be taking and ringing up the orders. He was incredibly nice and related that the restaurant originally opened up as a Winkie’s (sp?) and a few months later changed up to the Rocket Restaurant in November 1969. The place was brightly lit and nice and clean on our visit and had a decent amount of roomy booths (not many can squeeze in my kid’s baby carrier).
Of course, +1 and I had to order the infamous deep-​fried (!) Monster Burger (a.k.a. a heart attack in a bun). What a spectacle it was! ONE POUND of meat in all its glory within a very large bun! Opening up the wrapper was seriously like opening a present on Christmas morning. Man, this thing can literally feed four people nicely (and comes conveniently quartered to boot). You can also upgrade your Monster Burger to a 2 pounder of meat for an additional $ 5.99. I think doing this will correct the little bit of dryness the bun had as a previous reviewer pointed out. A regular Monster Burger with no cheese starts at $ 8.49 and variations (Monster Cheeseburger, Bacon Cheeseburger, Mushroom Swiss, Angry [with jalapenos], Greek, BBQ, Rocket [thousand island sauce] or Green [olives]) range up to $ 13.99. You can even get a Monster Turkey Burger for $ 9.99 or a Monster Double w/​Cheese for $ 13.99. Again, these burgers can be split between 2 or 4 people. I think next time it would be worth it to get a 2 lb. Monster to nicely fill up that extra large bun. Yum! If you’d rather pass on the M.B., there’s a pretty extensive menu to choose from. There are regular sized burgers (¼ and ½ lbers.), Coneys, Subs, Gyros and Pita Sandwiches, Pizza (10−12−16−18−20 inches + Chicago style), Tacos, Burritos, Salads, Grilled Sandwiches, full dinners (fish, meatloaf, chicken, roast pork, liver and onions, smelt). There is truly a little something for everyone. There are no special kids meals, but they do offer Jr. Burgers. I also noticed a value menu up on the board.
Regarding the refills, the owner actually addressed this unprompted. He related someone had an issue at some point awhile back. There ARE (as of this writing) free refills offered early in the day. My +1 ordered a large Coke and the owner specifically suggested to just get the Medium size, as it was cheaper, and because +1 could get the free refills. The owner indicated that when it gets close to the official night hours (unsure of when the start/​cut off is), refills are $.75 a pop.
Back to the rest of our meal… we completed it with 2 orders of small $.99 fries which were nice and hot out of the fryer and pretty tasty. We also shared a small order of onion rings and they were decent, albeit slightly overdone. All that, along with 2 medium Cokes totaled, $ 16.40. We left taking home half the burger in a doggie bag (which the owner readily offered). Oh, you seat yourself as well as order and pick up your food at the counter. Our order came out pretty quickly. FYI, there is an elective tip jar on the counter or you can add a little something to your credit card slip if you feel so inclined and not annoyed by such things. I saw a picture above the counter that alluded to some sort of Monster Burger challenge, but I am not sure how official or promoted that is like some are on that Man vs. Food show. One nice touch to see at the RR would be Wi-​fi. That would make it a useful destination as well as cool one.
The Rocket Restaurant is definitely worth a day trip just to be able to say that you’ve had their massive Monster Burger and/​or to get a picture of your mug next to one. There aren’t many reasons to purposely visit Pontiac these days, but the Rocket is definitely a great one. We definitely left satisfied and happy. Not only because of the food, but also because of the owner’s congenial demeanor. He seems to have a lot of pride in this little landmark. Like my +1 said about the Rocket, «This is one of those hidden little gems.» Amen.

There’s a lot to like about the burgers at the Rocket and, what’s more, there’s a lot of burger to like. This is a meal to be shared, or if you’re like me and my friends, taken on solo and bet upon.
Roughly the size of a small pizza, the monster burgers are greasy, delicious and a testament to the power of deep frying that they come out without spots of raw meat. The fries are tasty and there’s selection to be had beyond the monsters but whenever I eat here, I can’t stop myself. The word «monster» always precedes the word «burger» when it comes time for my mouth to enunciate my order.
I also really love the plastic booths and environment. If you look around, you’ll notice the Rocket actually started as a walk-​up counter with no attached dining room. The eating area was added later, and I can appreciate a grease hole that wears its history in this way.
So why would someone who loves the food this much go and give the place four stars? No refills! Boo!
I know I can be a bit of a camel when it comes to sodas at dinner but seriously, this is a mass of meat and you get one styrofoam cup to wash it down with. If this has changed since my last visit, I will happily bump them to the five star club. Still, it’s completely worth a visit. I’ll certainly be stopping in again the next time I’m in the neighborhood.