Whenever I’m in Central Florida, I’m always on the lookout for old-school restaurants. Andy’s Drive-In Restaurant & Igloo (703 3rd St SW) in Winter Haven fits the bill, so my wife Marcela and I went to check them out.
Andy’s Drive-In has been around since 1951 which obvious by taking one look at the architecture of the building. But how was their fabled retro burger?
Andy’s uses fresh, never frozen beef, aka what I was hoping for. It’s also chargrilled, which is a nice change of pace from 99% of restaurants that use flat-tops for cooking their meat patties.
The burgers are available in reg (about 3 ounces), 1/3 pound, 1/4 pound, and 1/2 pound sizes. They come with crinkle-cut fries of the frozen variety if you get the basket.
I order a regular cheeseburger. I’m two bites in when I call the waitress over. I’m interested in finding out why the 1/3 pound is called the Steakette. She doesn’t have an answer for me but does mention that it’s the most popular burger on their menu.
Alright, I’ll bite.
How many Steakettes?
I add a Steakette with cheese to my lunch order as Marcela looks on with that, no you didn’t face.
It might be because there’s more mass to it, and it holds the smokiness better but the Steakette is the burger to eat. There is nothing like a great chargrilled burger.
If I could go back in time to before I placed the order, I’d straight up order two Steakettes. I wasn’t thinking about going back in time to 1951 although I like that idea too.
Since Andy’s has been open before even Burger King existed, I can imagine that this is what BK must have tasted like back in the day.
Fresh ground beef that’s chargrilled never goes out of style, and that’s why Andy’s Drive-In Restaurant & Igloo will be around forever, thank goodness for that.
Andy’s Drive-In Menu
Andy’s Drive-In Burger Pictures
We ate there yesterday. Burgers and shakes were amazing. Fries not that good but who cares. Can’t wait to go back.
I’m dying to go back too.
Nice find! I need to try that Steakette w/Cheese