Nobby's - Chico, CA

Nobby’s in Chico, CA impresses with a great burger in a clean unassuming setting. I found Nobby’s on a recent business trip to Chico. Before I went, I verified with a local that if there is one burger to have in Chico, it is Nobby’s. He did not mislead me.

Nobby’s sits on a corner next to a strip center with a poker club. The cinderblock building is clean, clean and clean. Green paint and corrugated steel give it a more modern industrial look. The friendly lady at the counter took my order and recommended “the best tea in town”. Only one refill, but the cup was huge. I also ordered the Nobby burger ($4.25) with cheese ($.95) and bacon ($1.35), fries ($1.75) and onion rings ($2.45).

I took my seat at a green laminate table on a black plastic chair. It was still before noon on a Friday, but the people were starting to stream in. There are about 8 tables inside and more in front outside. The fries and rings came first. Fries were cut medium with the skins on. They were hot and a little too brown and nothing special. The onion rings were battered and thin, featuring more batter than onion for my taste.

The feature though was the burger. A 1/3-pound, fresh ground patty was buried beneath an impressive shelf of cheese which was allowed to run outside the burger and get crisp on the griddle, giving it a chip-like texture on the edges. The white bun was spongy and lightly toasted. Tons of veggies accompanied the burger, tomato, lettuce, pickle chips and red onion. There was mayo as well. The whole concoction was excellent. The burger by itself was flavorful griddled instead of charcoal.

As I finished up, I heard the lady at the counter say 30 minutes, to a call in order. Nobby’s was cranking up for the local burger lovers.

Burger 5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 2.5 spatulas
Onion Rings 3 spatulas

Nobby’s
1444 Park Ave.
Chico, CA 95928
530-342-2285