When Asian-American food purveyors cook up burgers, it’s usually to grudgingly placate a lone Caucasian stooge who, unlike the rest of his party of five, screams “bock-b-gawk!” at the sight of a dim-sum cart. In other words, ground round’s rarely served with the sort of TLC proffered by the heavily Asian-American lunch staff at Alki’s comfy Pepperdock. Most of the burgers on the plastic Pepsi readerboard are appropriately prefaced with the word “King,” with the huge and juicy King Bacon Cheeseburger ($5.59) scoring particularly savory marks. But what truly distinguishes the Pepperdock from your average greasy grill is the three onion rings that come with each full order of skinny fries. No, you didn’t order them, but everyone loves them—so you get ’em, free of charge. And what burger shack can beat the Alki Beach and Sound views here? In short, the Pepperdock is the quintessential budget eatery for a (hopefully) long, hot Seattle summer. Save the dim sum for the winter. 2618 Alki Ave. S.W., 206-935-1000. WEST SEATTLE