Dub’s Burgers

Athens, Limestone County

This joint is on the original AL.com list of 22 (plus 35 submitted by the readers) Greasy Spoon Burger Joints in Alabama you have to visit before you die. 

This is a very nice old style restaurant in a somewhat decrepit strip mall near downtown Athens. There are a dozen or so tables, and a counter with a dozen or so low bar stools. I had to wait for my two cheeseburgers all-the-way for about twenty minutes, but only because they were freshly prepared and the process just takes some time. All-the-way at Dub’s means lettuce, onions, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and cole slaw on a slug burger patty between a standard bun. They enhance the standard bun by sliding it briefly through the grease on the griddle, which gives it a very nice crispy bite – and a lot of flavor. The aroma of the burger is definitely on the sour side, which is to be expected because of the mustard and the cole slaw. This is definitely not your standard taste, but it is certainly very delicious. 

And for eight bucks and a quarter, including a sweet tea, that is also a very fair deal. This is one of those places that are hidden gems for outsiders like me, but probably nothing special for the locals – it has been there for over 50 years, and it probably will be still there in another 50 years.