Knowlwood, now 5 restaurants strong, is scattered throughout Orange County. About fifty years ago, husband and wife Roy and Fay Knowlton, with Gene Wood started Knowlwood. The original Knowlwood, and the first one I visited, resides in Anaheim Hills.

My most recent visit was the Fullerton location with David Ronquillo and John Wu. It was of biblical proportions. The Knowlwood menu is has many variations of the hamburger. You get a choice of either 1/3 and even a 1/2lb. burger since some of us can’t seem to get enough beef in our blood (e.g. David). And if you’re wussing out for the day, you can get a Baby Hamburger too.

I was surprised to find fish sandwiches here too. They have fried fish, grilled mahi mahi and salmon. Isn’t it great when they just sell fried “fish”? Imagine ordering “fish” sashimi, steamed “fish”, or if your bagel came with smoked “fish”. However, this is America, where we are used to ingesting loads of dodgy foodstuffs without question anyway.

Knowlwood’s trademark is “Home of the World’s Best Hamburger”. Not limited to food, Americans will compete with their neighbor, cross county, or nationally then claim for themselves a world title. Classy. Knowlwood’s burgers are good, but far from world’s best. Luckily they let you add bacon.

I ordered a Pastrami Reuben sandwich. This one packed a punch–it’s a hand-held heart-attack of pastrami, thousand island dressing, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese, squeezed between perfectly buttered and grilled rye. Get ready to get your hands dirty. It was delightfully gooey down to the last bite.

It’s a shame when fries pretty much come with everything and it isn’t done right. Maybe I had old fries or something, but that’s no excuse.

I’ll be back for the Reuben.

Knowlwood
150 S Harbor Blvd
Fullerton, CA 92832
(714) 879-7552