Place: Pick-Quick Drive In

Located: Fife

Open since: 1949

Building: 450 square feet

Average employees inside: Six

Most ever: Eight

Picnic tables: 22

Top seller: Double cheeseburger with bacon

Top milkshake: Wild mountain blueberry

Goddammit: Now I'm hungry.

Simply from habit, most Tacomans will testify Frisko Freeze has top billing in the world of drive-ins. But I will declare that the opinions are just that - from habit.  Hate mail, hate e-mail, hateful online comments ... bring it on. Hate Facebook messages from Steve Swortz, I'm ready. Even the overly religious Weekly Volcano reader who stalks me (you know who you are) will probably have hate words, and that's OK. I stand by my decree that Pick-Quick is the best.

Not only is the double cheeseburger with bacon one of the best damn pieces of dead meat I've ever sank my teeth into (Why, hello there, PETA.), but the milkshakes are thick, creamy and handmade. With a flavor selection to rival most others, one can choose from root beer-, peach- or marshmallow-flavored milkshakes, just to name a few. Can't make up your mind?  Have them mix all three together. It's delicious, trust me on this.

With a practice of only hiring close friends and family, employees of Pick-Quick are treated with respect and integrity. Whether it's soccer practice after school, or a last-minute root canal, all personal endeavors are treated as though they are important. There's hardly any employee turnover, and even the owning family has been around since dinosaurs could swim.

Co-owner Joe Burgi stopped by my table as I sat out in the sun behind Pick-Quick. He tells me PQ has been around since 1949, and his wife Betty ran the place all by herself from 1952-1954. 

"Back when we used to scoop the ice cream by hand for milk shakes and sold Nesbitt's soda in a bottle," he tells me with a smile. "Technology has taken over and we're a lot quicker now."

Wait, they're quicker now? Pick-Quick regulars know each burger is made with love, each fry has been hand sliced - thus creating a sometimes ten-minute wait for an order. There doesn't seem to be much of an argument from the all-day-long line standing out front; they all know the food is well worth the wait.

The only thing I don't understand is the name. Have you ever seen the menu?  Pick-Quick my ass. I'll take one of everything.

[Pick-Quick Drive In, 4306 Pacific Highway East, Fife, 253.922.5599]