TRIPLE XXX FAMILY RESTAURANT
Address: 2 North Salisbury Street, West Lafayette, IN 47906
I’d be remiss if I did not do a post on one of West Lafayette’s most well-known dining establishments for almost 80 years.
From my understanding, Triple XXX started out as a root beer brewing company, using a recipe involving pure cane sugar (which is still the same root beer sold at the restaurant today). The individual X’s in their name are from a rating scale of root beer quality back in the old days, with a triple X rating meaning that you possess the best quality root beer. Having heard about this place from the Guy Fieri’s Food Network program Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, my family went here during our first visit to campus.
One of the things that makes this restaurant great, especially on a college campus, is that it is open for 24 hours. Those four words alone are enough to make a college student smile. It is a pretty small restaurant, with a bar-style seating area that loops around inside. There’s pretty much a single aisle to get to the other side of the restaurant, so things can get pretty cramped if you’re trying to get through. I have found, however, that the staff has always been very friendly to everyone that dines here. This place will certainly get packed anytime there’s a sports game going on at Purdue or on various nights during the week. I’ve walked by on Thursday nights and this place is jam-packed like a can of sardines!
I’ve gotten my chance to have both their burgers and their breakfast here, and I think that I’m more of a fan of their breakfast. Don’t get me wrong, their 100% ground sirloin burgers are quite delicious by their own accord; I’m not sure if there’s just something about eating out for breakfast that intrigues me a bit more. But having tried the Boilermaker Pete, the Bert Burger, the Duane Purvis (one of their signatures that includes peanut butter spread on the bun), and the Bernie Flowers, I can say that each of those burgers are really fantastic. My go-to on the breakfast side of things is the Drew Brees Breakfast Platter, with eggs, chicken fried steak, potatoes, buttermilk biscuits, and gravy.
It’s a Purdue tradition to visit Triple XXX at some point during your college career or even if you are visiting the campus from out of town. The restaurant has also been named among USA Today’s list of 51 Great Burger Joints Across the USA. With a great menu that is available at all hours of the day, along with some great root beer (and root beer floats) to go along with it, you really can’t go wrong.
Here are my rankings for Triple XXX:
Food: 4.5 / 5
Serving some great options for all meals throughout the day, Triple XXX has food that will fulfill a variety of appetites.
Atmosphere: 4 / 5
It’s certainly much more of a retro feel when you walk in and sit at the counter to eat food, rather than at a table like many other restaurants nowadays.
Service: 5 / 5
The waitstaff have always been very nice and the food comes out of the kitchen very quickly.
Price: 4.5 / 5
I think that the prices for the food are very reasonable and money well spent. Quick note: Triple XXX is cash-only.
Overall: 18 / 20 (90%)
Categories: Indiana, Restaurants
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