Review: Habit Burger & Grill - $10 Gotta Habit Meal Deal

Habit Burger & Grill's $10 Gotta Habit Meal Deal includes half a Santa Barbara Char, a choice of side, five Crispy Chicken Bites, and a large fountain drink.

I went with tempura green beans as my side.

The meal makes for a nice value an order of tempura green beans alone is already $4.79, while five Crispy Chicken Bites normally cost $5.99. At $10, the meal cost me less than the Wendy's Takis Fuego Meal I recently tried.

The Santa Barbara Char is one of Habit's signature burgers/sandwiches and features two cooked-to-order chargrilled beef patties, avocado, caramelized onions, American cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo on grilled sourdough. It normally costs $9.99. Its patties are normally slightly overlapping side by side, so getting a half meant I got one whole hamburger patty. The patty was hot and juicy with that cooked-over-flame flavor that I wish I could still find at Burger King.

Notably, the grilled sourdough was crunchy rather than the slightly chewy toast you find at most fast-food chains. The produce was fresh, and the avocado added a nice richness. It was very messy to eat, though, and I found myself wishing they had half wrapped it.

The tempura green beans were excellent. The beans were cooked through but not soggy. They sported a thin, crispy tempura shell and were served with a slightly watery ranch for dipping.

The Crispy Chicken Bites were tender and juicy with a thick, crunchy shell of fried batter. They were fairly typical with a light seasoning.

One of the things I like about Habit is that they have house-made strawberry limeade, and they don't charge extra for it. The meal comes with a 32-oz cup, which I filled with limeade on my way out to save in the fridge for later.

The Gotta Habit Meal Deals just finished up its test run in select markets ($6 and $8 options were also offered), and I hate to see it go. It made for a reasonable value for a nice variety of well-executed fast food.