This was my second time trying Rehab burger but at a different location (The first was the newer Tempe restaurant). We had a 15-20 minute wait which wasn't bad at all. We had actually tried to go here months earlier but there was a two hour wait so we went somewhere else. We browsed around the pawn shop next door to kill time and came back in about 20 minutes. Timing was perfect because they were just finishing up cleaning our table.
The check in offer on Yelp is for discounted chips and salsa ($3.99), the regular price is $5.50. We decided to forgo the offer since it was just a discounted price and go straight for the burgers! I forgot how many different choices there are on the menu, so many of them sounded good it was hard to decide. Finally, I spied the word Hatch chile... I can't resist anything with Hatch chile in it! The smaller 5 oz size automatically comes on a beef patty unless specified differently but if you get the 10 oz size you can get a different patty. I also spied beef chorizo patty... Chorizo and Hatch chile, what a perfect combo! Our server recommended the pretzel bun and anything up to medium for the doneness of the burger, so I went with the pretzel bun and medium rare patty. You also have a choice of sweet potato tots or fries but can upgrade to chili fries for an extra fee (I got the tots).
It took quite some time for our burgers to be made. I got hungrier and hungrier and the din from the other customers seemed to increase in volume as it got busier. Finally... our burgers arrived! Mine was piping hot with a generous serving of sweet potato tots. Biting into the burger, I liked the pretzel bun and the cheese was nicely melted over the patty. The actual patty was disappointing though. It had a very mild chorizo flavor and was like eating a hockey puck it was so overdone. I pulled back the bun and noticed the chile wasn't your typical Hatch chile color and was a very very dark green instead of light to medium green. It also didn't have the same flavor and texture as a Hatch chile...perhaps they pulled a switcheroo on me and used a Poblano instead?
I liked the sweet potato tots which had a soft sweetness with lightly crisp exterior. They did taste more sweet than your usual sweet potato though... Perhaps they mix in a generous amount of sugar in the sweet potato mixture?
My burger was $11 and I felt it was very overpriced for what I got. I haven't been really that impressed with their burgers so I suppose there's no need for me to go into burger rehab for Rehab Burger!
2.5/5