Peter MumfordDeluxe Burger at Dick’s:Some things are essential because they’re just so good you can’t help but want to share them with everyone you know (or everyone who reads your blog). Some things are essential just because they’ve been around for so long.And then there are those things that are essential in the truest spirit of the word: things that you just can’t possibly live without. That’s where Dick’s comes in.”Hot and damp and a little bit sloppy, foil-wrapped for ease of consumption, made from meat that actually tastes like meat (and not like all those American kobe burgers jamming up menus these days), loosely packed and gummed together by melted cheese mixed with mayo and pickles and shredded lettuce–I would’ve killed for a burger place like this back when I was still drinking more and using my body like a chemistry set for testing strange and powerful pharmaceuticals.” That’s what I had to say about Dick’s following my first visit. And because a part of me still remembers those days with blurry, nostalgic affection, I have never felt anything less than completely at home the minute I see the long lines snaking out from the walk-up windows at the various Dick’s locations, the off-duty cooks and waitresses, the night creatures, the midnight gleam of hunger and nausea in the eyes of the weaving club kids holding tight to the outside rail and eating by the yellow glow of headlights.Dick’s is the kind of place that no city can be without–elderly and a little bit too gauche for the proper foodies, too horrifying for anyone who values their health overmuch, but perfect for serving good, cheap food fast to those who often need it most. I have yet to have met a single Seattleite who doesn’t have some sort of opinion about Dick’s–be it for or vehemently against–and that alone is reason enough to call it “Essential.”The other reason? I personally love those little burgers and thick shakes, and would like this city a whole lot less than I do if it weren’t for knowing that, no matter how sideways my night might go, Dick’s will always be there for me at the end of it.