FABULOUS 50’s Classic Burgers & Shakes
2424 W. Park Row (southeast corner of Park Row @ Bowen)
(817) 860-9456
For some free music while you dine, the Fabulous 50s fast food place on Park Row @ Bowen has an Elvis impersonator on Wednesday nights. Carleton Hurdle is the impersonator; he appears 6:30pm-8:30pm weekly.
Fabulous 50’s is made to look like an old-fashioned burger joint from the 1950’s. Old 45’s and albums hang on the walls next to prints of Elvis Presley and Frankie Avalon and James Dean. The red vinyl booths, high tables with tall bar stools, and back-and-white checkered floor lend to the mood. Coca Cola bottles are the salt & pepper shakers.
The menu uses fun names to dress-up what is basically a menu that you could find at any Dairy Queen or Braums. But the names are certainly cute and make the fast food sound more fun than it actually is. The portions are pretty generous and the prices are cheap. You order your food at the counter, just like any other fast food restaurant. But the condiment bar is over to the side, so you can add as much lettuce/tomato/pickle and other condiments as you like.
Here’s a sampling of the menu/prices: Elvis B.L.T. ($3.99); Jerry Lee Steak Melt ($3.99); Ethel burger; Fonzie hot ham & cheese ($3.99); Patsy grilled chicken sandwich ($3.99); Marilyn breaded chicken sandwich ($3.99); Laverne buffalo chicken sandwich ($3.99); and Costello gyro (3.99).
The “Little Rascals Kids Meal” is $3.99. In an homage to the Three Stooges, the menu includes the Larry grilled cheese ($1.69), Moe corn dog ($1.69), and Curly hot dog ($1.69).
For appetizers, there are the Betty Boop chicken strips ($3.29 for three strips) and the Buddy cheese sticks.
The more expensive platters are a tribute to some of the best (or certainly most popular) cars ever made: ’55 Fairlane country fried steak ($6.49), ’56 T-Bird (chidken fried chicken), ’57 Chevy chicken strips, and the ’58 corvette steak fingers.
In addition to onion rings and fries, you can order curly fries.
As for dessert, that’s called “The Temptations”. It’s all soft-serve ice cream, just like Dairy Queen. You won’t find any hand-dipped Blue Bell here. But if you like soft serve, you can find it cheap and plentiful at Fabulous 50’s.
Floats/shakes/malts are $2.49 to $3.29. Sundaes are $1.89. The banana split is only $3.29. You can get apple pie for a buck, of add ice cream for $2.29.
A plain ol’ dish or cone is only $1.29.
The food is okay, but nothing really memorable. But the chocolate shake was very good and so was the Root Beer float. And it’s cheaper than going to a Marble Slab or Baskin Robbins or Braum’s.
My recommendation would be to stop by on a Wednesday evening and enjoy a shake or sundae.
Arlington Insider 