I've driven past Murph's on Arrowhead Parkway more times than I can count — usually on my way to that cluster of big-box stores near 57th and Marion — and every time I see the sign, I think about stopping. Finally did last Thursday around 1:30, when the lunch rush had thinned but the fryers were still going hard.
It's a counter-service spot, the kind where you order at the register and they call your name when it's ready. I got the classic burger with cheese and their hand-cut fries, and I'm not exaggerating when I say the fries alone justified the drive. Thick-cut, crispy on the outside, fluffy inside, salted just enough that you taste potato first and grease second. The burger was simple — not overworked, not trying to be gourmet — just beef, cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard. Exactly what you want when you're hungry and tired of places that put arugula on everything.
The seating area is small, maybe eight tables, and the walls are covered in University of South Dakota gear — Coyote red everywhere. If you're a fan, you'll love it. If you're not, it might feel like you walked into someone else's tailgate party. I didn't mind, but I noticed a family in SDSU gear looking slightly out of place.
What really stuck with me was the consistency — 563 Google reviews with a 4.8 rating doesn't happen by accident. You can tell they've been making the same burger the same way for years, and people keep coming back because it works. No reinventing, no seasonal menus, just burgers and fries done right in a strip mall on the east side of town.
I'll go back. Probably next time I'm out near Marion Road and remember I'm hungry.
— Grace
I got the classic burger with cheese and their hand-cut fries, and I'm not exaggerating when I say the fries alone justified the drive.