One emerging Ann Arbor trend is the opening of new restaurants that feature just hamburgers. The focus is on offering just a few variations of the standard burger and not much else, concentrating on making the featured product a well-executed, high quality highlight. This recipe seems to be working, at least with the latest to enter this scene, @burger. It opened July 26 on Liberty Street, in an area that's become a hotbed for new restaurants.

Outside of @burger in downtown Ann Arbor.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

With its giant @burger logo, it's hard to miss this place from the street, and a feast of bright colors greets you as you enter. Walls are painted bright orange and lime green. Hanging over the food station are bright lights to warm the food and contemporary stainless-steel, pyramid-shaped domes attached to telephone cords. The entire place has a clean, stark, contemporary feel, with a few flat-screen televisions mounted in the walls. You place your order at the counter from the few choices listed on the displayed menu. I especially liked the sign that said, "no tips," as it takes the guesswork out of whether you should pay extra in a carry-out type of establishment.

The menu is basic. There are a variety of choices of burgers and toppings, and you can order different sizes of hamburgers.You can also choose from homemade chips, fries and onion straws. Aside from a veggie burger, there's little for vegetarians here except for salads, and only two out of the four are vegetarian.

Once you place your order, you're given a pager to take to your table. When the food is ready, a voice from your pager screams, "Don't get up or you'll miss your burger's grand entrance!" and the server brings the food to your table. Like many new restaurants these days, there are high backed booths or really tall stools for seating —which I find not to be a particularly comfortable way to dine. The service didn't achieve the rapid-fire pace I'd expect in a place like this, but we received our order in a reasonable amount of time, delivered by cheery servers.

The veggie burger is just a Morningstar patty, the kind you can get in the grocer's freezer. I'd plan on taking carnivores here to get the best of what @burger has to offer. The burgers are served on fresh yellow brioche buns, which were fantastic. I went for the standard @burger with cheddar cheese, tomato, mayo and mustard. It was topped off with the restaurant's "signature red relish," which added a refreshing twist. I opted for the petite appetite burger, and it was more than enough to satisfy me.

My son got the BBQ bacon Velveeta. I flinched at the idea of biting into a burger with processed cheese, but I was impressed, especially at the thick slab of bacon layered on it. The meat in both burgers was perfectly cooked medium, which I prefer, though they don't ask you how you want your burger done.

We had no shortage of fried products, and my favorite was the thin onion straws that were heaped next to my burger. The homemade potato chips were great, though I didn't like the bruschetta chips, where ripe tomatoes, basil and garlic on top combined for a bitter taste — a failed experiment. Another shortcoming was the Mediterranean salad, where I couldn't detect much dressing and the croutons were soft, making for a bland dish.

However, the strawberry & praline salad was delicious, full of fresh greens and sweet strawberries, thick bleu cheese, praline pecans and enormous pieces of grilled chicken. The chicken was so good that I wish they'd offer it in a sandwich.

We couldn't leave without sampling the "real milk shakes." The Oreo, as my daughter declared, was "the best milkshake I ever had," rich and creamy. The best part was the innovative thick straw, similar to what you get to slurp up the tapioca bubbles in bubble tea. It was ideal for inhaling the thick shake and the big Oreo chunks. And it came in an enormous tin container, perfect for splitting among four.

Though the restaurant recently opened, it was full of families when we visited. I have no doubt that its reasonable prices, quick service and high-quality (if also high-fat) food will appeal to those in the area.

Julie Halpert reviews restaurants for AnnArbor.com.