Lunchbox Laboratory

Lunchbox Laboratory was one of the highlights of my visit to Seattle in 2010. The Truffle Love Burger is perhaps the best burger I have ever eaten anywhere. I’m saddened to hear that the new restaurant location does not do the original burger shack justice.
R.I.P. Chef Scott Simpson!

I am a fan of burgers but damn this place really takes it to the next level (it’s a good thing). Had the truffle love burger and while to the eyes, I thought I would have a heart attack, it was very pleasing to the mouth and belly. Well, I think my artery clogged up a bit but it was worth it.
Got the key lime pie shake and it was da bomb dot com y’all!

Truffle Love = Best Burger Ever!
If you haven’t tried the burgers here, you are definitely missing out! Some people define a good burger as to how good the patty is, how it’s made, the sauce and/​or what toppings are placed on it but at Lunchbox Laboratory, they win it all! Everything is made in house — burgers and all!
I love the option to «make your own» but their creations are amazing!
The Truffle Love is orgasmic! :O
You may think it’s crazy to pay so much for a burger but one bite and you’ll understand why! There was a guy there that finished his burger then went back to order one to go.
When we got the news about the close, a dark cloud came over me. Then to hear that they’ve just re-located…Ahhhh, a ray of light shined through! :D

Amazing burgers. They have perfected the patty. The milkshakes are to die for. I’m not even a fan of milkshakes and find these to be addictive. I’d drop by just for one.
I’ve sampled all their sides and think they need a lot of work. The shoestrings are the best of the bunch. The others seem to be too salty or not as flavorful. But sides are almost not necessary since the burgers are so hearty.
Quick service!

This is one of my all time favorite burger shacks so IMHO they can do no wrong! On a recent trip to Seattle I stopped in for the Mars Volta — beef, bacon, Colby Jack ceese, Knox onions & Marsala BBQ sauce — with a side of Tater tots (add bacon salt) and a Peanut Butter and Jelly shake. Need I say more???

This is one of the most amazing burger places I’ve ever been to. However, it definitely isn’t the most healthy thing. If you ate here for a week straight, you’d probably die.
…it’d be worth it though. The burger was stacked high and so delicious (if you get bacon on your burger, there’s like three layers worth of bacon). The tater tots were also amazing. I think what really sold it for me was the small things — you get to choose from a variety of salts and seasoning for the tots or fries and the soda options there are so bizarre and unique.
It’s a little costly and the restaurant itself is kind of small and in the middle of nowhere, but they definitely know how to make a burger!

*I am somewhat torn, amazing burger, weird vibe
*To echo the others, bacon overload, spit a ½ pounder too, HUGE
*Tots and yammie fries are good, mac and cheese was velvetalicious
*If they are trying the «sanford and son/​trailer parK’ look, well, mission accomplished, it almost felt like they are working hard to make the place trashy.

My order:
Lamb Burger
Goat Cheese
Sauteed Mushrooms & Onions
Ketchup
Tater Tots
Mexican Coke
Verdict: DAMN GOOD
Portion Size: HUGE even for my fat ass.
Price: A little expensive for a burger joint. I think I spent a little under $ 20 for everything I ordered.
Wait: Took a while like 20 minutes maybe, but it was nice that they do bring you your food, and it’s not nearly as bad as some other popular local joints like Paseo/​Salumi.
Service: They were very nice, and they brought your food to you.
Atmosphere: Okay, seating surprisingly was plentiful, and clean enough.
One Request: maybe even let you pick different options of buns.
Anyway, I will definitely be back the next time I’m in Seattle.
~G

I recently went on a Lunchbox Lab mission with a handful of co-​workers. They got their meaty burgers and I tried their veggie burger.
The burger was huge and filling. The tater tots were so greasy the bag they came in got greasy and therefore my desk got a little greasy… but, they were tasty and I enjoyed about half of the serving before finding another «victim» to finish the rest of those tasty tots.
The one baffling thing is when you try look at the prices and offerings… and then look at the actual place you’re standing in (or next to).
The Lunchbox Lab felt very much like a hole-​in-​the-​wall shack. I was NOT expecting them to be all about fancy burgers and high burger prices. When I pay their prices for a burger and tots, I kind of expect to also be sitting in a nice-​ish restaurant and getting some waiter service (instead of standing in line, paying, and then squeezing my way outside to sit and wait for my food to finish).
Do I like the quality and options? Yes!
Am I baffled by the price point given their physical location? Yes.

Yummy. Yummy in my tummy. Mmm…
The menu is a bit overwhelming — you walk into this tiny tiny smokey joint and there’s two wall sized menus of goodies, toppings, meats, sides, sauces, cheeses, etc… you can order.
Whatever you order, you can’t go wrong. There is a wall of their best selling/​recommendations you can choose from. I went with what I thought was a simple burger: ¼ Baby, Meunster Cheese, Mushrooms, Tartar Sauce, with Tater Tots on the side.
No matter what you order, it’s decadent, extremely rich, and the best food on the planet one can eat when completely hungover, which I was. :) They also have a nice selection of pop/​sodas which use real cane sugar — which I thought was a very nice socially conscious touch.
Pricey for a burger joint (expect $ 12 and up per person — think gourmet burger) — I’d highly recommend SHARING with friends when you go there. Portions are HUGE. Remember… «sharing is caring»
Love the personality of this place — so much character.

The best burger ever. EVER. We had: the Burger of the Gods, which has Super Beef (a blend of ribeye, prime rib, and sirloin), balsamic candied onions, and gorgonzola sauce; skinny fries with garlic salt; and a Whopper shake. And when I say «we,» I mean my boyfriend and I split the meal and still were stuffed. The only downside to Lunchbox Laboratory is that the portions are so big, I feel wasteful ordering a burger each, meaning it will take us twice as long to work our way through the «suggested» burgers. Oh well, guess that means we have to keep coming back.
The service is fast and the food is amazing. Recommended without reservations.

I have never before in my life been faced with the choice between churken and dork. But on this day, in a crowded, somewhat shack-​like building on 15^th Ave NW, I made that decision in the form of the «El Zesto Dorko». And I got the skinny fries on the side, with California Garlic salt, whatever that is.
What arrived at my table outside was a towering, unwieldy stack of meat, sauces, crosshatches of bacon, lettuce, pickles, and a tomato, which, when assembled, was the hand-​and-​a-​half sword of the burger kingdom. I was starving; I was intrigued.
The burger was delicious. I may have never eaten another as good as it before. But it was, as I previously mentioned, unwieldy. At any moment when I picked it up to take a bite, it threatened to list to one side; its gooey contents coating my fingers down to the third knuckle; a billion calories capsizing like an unsinkable ship metaphor. It was DELICIOUS, but there was something wrong. The chemist in me immediately recalled my collegiate studies, and I knew that a crystalline lattice of duck and pork formed relatively weak ionic bonds due to the presence of a catalyzing substance in their secret burger sauce (most likely bromine). With each bite, the patty threatened to break apart, but through some alchemical prowess on behalf of the chef, it held. Kirk took a different approach, instead eating his burger in a spiral fashion, thus maintaining a greater sense of integrity.
A caveat: their al fresco dining area features warnings about murders of crows that will descend on any untended comestibles, so watch your buns.
I would probably give this place five stars if the menu weren’t so incomprehensible, forcing you to stand drooling with confusion in the entrance as the single waitress and other customers push by. Also, as good as it was, the burger and fries was FIFTEEN FUCKING DOLLARS. What is this, Oslo? Admittedly, I didn’t need to eat anything else for the rest of the evening, so I guess if you consider that you’re getting probably more than a full day’s worth of calories in one meal, then everything evens out.

I’d read about this place on seriouseats and my brother had even mentioned how good it was so I came in kind of expecting deliciousness.
My first thoughts when I saw the place were, «really?» But this is why we don’t judge books by their covers, in this case why we don’t judge food places by their store front. It was dingy, grungy, and pretty much on the verge of dirty. The inside is probably the size of 2 of my bathrooms (not counting the kitchen), so seating isn’t ample. But there are a handful of seats/​picnic tables on uneven grounds, outside.
Right when you walk in you’re face to face with a jam packed menu. The first burger that caught my attention was the truffle-​love. After going between that one and another one, I finally settled on the truffle-​love.
The burger comes to you on a plate, presentation wise this was pretty unexpected. Also the burger is huge, literally huge. My burger was on the verge of falling over, even the guy who brought it to me had made a comment about it. This place is a little more on the pricier side (3 burgers w/​3 sides were about $ 44).
It was hard to smash the burger down and cram it in my mouth, I had bacon and onions falling out, as well as sauce oozing out. There was probably a ½ pound of bacon on my burger, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much bacon on a burger before, in my life. The burger was good a smidge salty (but that’s to be expected), not just ‘oh this is good’, but ‘this is so good i want to eat the whole thing even though i’m full’. Halfway through I had to pull out the rest of the bacon, I was on a sodium overload. The sweet potato fries were pretty darn tasty too, not as good as some places but still good in their own right. They were the right amount of crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Would I come back? Yes. Will I attempt to eat it on my own? Probably. Will I finish it? Most likely. Will I feel good after? Yes but then I’ll fall into a burger coma and my tummy will most likely start to cramp. Will it be worth it? Definitely.

Me and my gf came here and we tried the bobcat burger with onion straws and the smoker burger with tatter tots. This place probably has the best burgers I have ever had, that is if you want to have a heart attack. They stack the burgers with 7, thats right 7 pieces of bacon. Towards the end it is all just a bacony greasy soggy mess. I must say the tatter tots and onion straws were both excellent and the burgers were also great. We also tried one of their milkshakes, we ended up getting the nutella shake which was simply amazing. The price was a bit steep for all of this it ended up being around $ 40.
Overall the reason I only rated this place as 4 stars is because I can honestly say that I will probably never come back here just because it felt like I was going to have a heart attack. It was an amazing burger don’t get me wrong, I just don’t know if my body could handle all that grease again.

Bottom Line: There aren’t many places I favour to get my burger more than Lunchbox Laboratory. This isn’t a place one would come everyday, but it’s worth an outing to Ballard once in a while. This place isn’t cheap; expect to pay about $ 15 – 17 for a full meal– more if you go for a half pounder.
I’ve been here multiple times. The menu is laid out in a pretty unorganised way. It’s hard to read and hard to figure out exactly how much your final cost will be. Take my advice and just order what you want and trust that they calculate the price correctly.
I am a big fan of the brown sugar caramelised onions and provolone cheese on a basic burger. I also like the tator tots (without any salt). I forgot what my friend ordered, but his burger is in the uploaded photo.
The buns they use are also amazing. They are soft, a slight hint of chewiness and overall really good.
I suggest you order the ¼ pounder… the ½ pounder is just really big. The first couple times I got the ½ pound buger and could only eat half of it. The ¼ pounder is still pretty big and I think it should be big enough for 95% of the population.
The total cost for the two of us was about $ 30.00 + 6.00 tip = $ 36.00 total.

I know you’ve heard great things already about the Lunch Laboratory, but let me just add my puny two cents. It’s freakin’ good! Yes, it’s expensive! And please look at the menu online before you go otherwise you risk looking dazed and confused as you try to decide among the myriad of choices. And the atmosphere is what it is, I prefer to take my burger to go, so I can eat my messy heaping burger in the comfort of my home where I can then fall into my food induced coma on the couch.
Given how ginormous these burgers are, I can’t eat here with any regular frequency so I hope they stick around for a long time. I just had their Burger of the Gods and I can’t wait to get back there… oh in about 2 months before I can try something else.

Most delicious burger in the Seattle area? Found it. Lunchbox Laboratory.
After seeing this place mentioned numerous times in magazines, on TV, and on the internet– I knew I had to have it. On one of my recent trips to Seattle I grabbed a Zipcar and headed for Ballard to try this place. Upon arriving at Luncbox, I was greeted by a very friendly server and huge blackboards listing endless burger options.
The only way to describe the burgers here are RIDICULOUS. I ordered the Truffle Love Burger– freaking amazing. Ridiculously big, ridiculously meaty, ridiculously delicious (try saying that last one 3 times fast!). Beef– ridiculous. Bacon– ridiculous. Tater tots– ridiculous. Nutella shake– freakin ridiculous. Burger shot:
Shake and Boylan Cola:
I’ll be honest– I think the meal deserves 5 stars. The burger, the tater tots, the nutella shake– unbelievably delicious. But fact of the matter is this place is a dump lol. I know they’ve got the whole ‘Lunchbox Lab’ thing going on which sets them apart from every other restaurant (and is kinda neat) but seriously– dirty broken tables, broken chairs– this place is a mess lol. I’ve been to tons of gourmet burger joints who have much cleaner establishments, but not nearly as delicious as Lunchbox Lab. I had a conversation with one of the workers and they said they were planning on opening a new restaurants at a new location that would be much nicer– the guy was very cool!
I highly recommend checking this place out– Lunchbox Lab is a hit! I’d definitely recommend the Truffle Love Burger, too! Expect to pay upwards of $ 20 – 30 a person and dine on some dirty tables– street parking around the block.

Holy crap. I’ve died and gone to heaven — not the pearly-​gates-​in-​the-​clouds version of heaven, but the mounds-​of-​bacon-​and-​tots version.
Let me just free associate for a bit… tots… mammoth burgers… good buns… yam fries… several flavored salts for your fries… several tasty burger sauces to choose from… skinny fries… star wars lunchbox… too many items to choose from… did I mention the tots… need many napkins… dukes of hazard lunchbox… dipping sauces… surprisingly fast service even though there are a million customers… good hang-​over food… real bacon… «dork» = duck/​pork… fall guy lunchbox… tots…
However, the place is a dive with very limited seating. It’s completely cluttered and crowded. And everything seems like it needs to be washed or thrown away. But maybe heaven is cluttered with dirty décor?

Now THIS is why Unilocal is an awesome tool. Lunchbox Laboratory is a hidden gem! Well. unless you use Unilocal.:)
I’ve read so many reviews online about this place. People were raving and ranting about the unique menu, the cool lunchbox décor, the milkshakes, the salts, etc. I finally made it in today and wow — I’ve been missing out!
The place itself is small and unique. Awesome lunchboxes everywhere to look at while they make your tasty food. I forgot all about the 80s show Heathcliff until I saw a lunchbox on the wall! So cool. The menu of course is MASSIVE. You can build your own or choose a burger from their menu. I tried the dork burger. OBVIOUSLY! Duck and pork? I needed to try it. The name of the burger was called the Lil’ Cajun. It was spicy and delicious! One of the best burgers I’ve ever had. I loved the organic kaiser roll is was served on too.
For a side you get the option of skinny fries, sweet potato fries, and even tater tots! Of course I went with the taters. Get this though … it doesn’t stop there. They offer 8… yes 8 kinds of salt! I opted for the taco flavored salt. Yum! (they even have the local brand, Baconsalt!)
Lastly I asked for a suggestion on my milkshake. I tried the banana cream pie. It was TO DIE FOR! Such an awesome suggestion.
At the end of the meal I managed to snag some handywipes. I love when places offer those. Especially when you’re eating sticky, messy food.
I will be back here for sure. I can’t stop raving about it! What a gem in this emerald city!

Their menu is an embarrassment of choices of meats, cheeses, toppings and burger sides… but to a burger fan, this is a GOOD thing. So much bounty may make the uninitiated woozy on their first time here. Take a deep breath, read that menu and yield to others if you head up the queue. And be patient! The place isn’t that big so continue with your deep breathing as you wait to order and for your food.
Get creative with your burger or choose from the creations on the board. Either way you go, you will receive one hell of a voluptuous burger for a price that I wish was cheaper… but you get a good amount of food for what you pay so I suppose it equals out.
An enterprising cardiologist should set up shop across the street offering discounts on appointments after eating here. Don’t expect health food, this ain’t it. In fact, you might do well to park your car several blocks away and walk to lunch. You’ll be thankful for the walk BACK after you eat your mondo-​meal.
One of my personal favourites are the bottled sodas that hearken back to days before the market dominance of Coke + Pepsi. The shakes in the lab glassware are pretty nifty too. On our visit, my companions enjoyed their lunch choices and I enjoyed my burger + sweet potato fries. Maybe on my next visit, I’ll get up the courage to order the macaroni… but I think if I do that, I’m walking the two miles from home so I can justify that hedonistic plunge in carby cheesy goodness.