Where can a family of four eat for $15? Dick’s Hamburgers in Spokane, Wash. 

We arrived in Spokane, Wash., at 9 p.m. We’d traveled over six hours all the way from Kelowna, B.C., driving around Lake Okanagan where vineyards blanketed the surrounding hillsides and then passing through pristine timberland before entering a vast sagebrush dessert where we were treated to a spectacular lightning storm. As we crossed Grand Coulee Dam, the rain poured so hard that police officers were parked at either side of the bridge to make sure drivers crossed safely.

We wanted to reach Spokane before dark so we didn’t stop for dinner. When we finally arrived in town, we were famished and went directly to Dick’s Hamburgers on the outskirts of downtown.

A friend of mine grew up in Spokane and when I asked him, “What’s the one thing we should do?” he said, “Eat at Dick’s”

You can’t miss this place as it’s marked by a brightly lit sign with a panda bear holding a burger. At this old-fashioned burger stand, you order at the window and take your burgers to eat in the car or at home.

The burgers are small and cheap (about one dollar each) and diners order bagsful. You can also try the “Whammy” with two patties. My kids asked for lettuce and tomatoes but they don’t serve their burgers with vegetables. Just cheese, onions, pickles and sauce.

We each ordered a cheese burger, a vanilla malt and one order of onion rings–all of this cost about $15–and took our food back to the Best Western Plus Peppertree Airport Inn where we enjoyed a picnic in the lobby.