It's worth it to be a little bit grown up, says Nick Mulgrew after sampling the fast food at Junior Head to the knot of Kloof Nek Road in Tamboerskloof and you'll invariably find your face in something delicious, whether it be a breakfast and Peroni at Beleza, elegant ceviche at El Burro Taqueria, or the city's best hot dog at amber-hued The Power & the Glory. Junior, the latest addition to this stratospherically hip hood, gives this part of the city something that it's always needed: an independent fast-food place that is happy with just doing fast food.story_article_left1Cape Town has long laboured under the weight of eateries that take humble take-out favourites - the boerewors roll, the bunny chow, the hamburger - and make it "gourmet". But make no mistake: a boerie with poached pear and caramelised pecan isn't a meal - it's an existential crisis.Junior has none of that, happily. Although it's the brainchild of the some of the people behind Long Street's crazy burger dream world, Royale Eatery, things here are simple. Four burgers are on offer: three riffs on the classic hamburger and a veggie option, starting from R38. Five sides. Delicious Oreo donuts and tooth-bitingly sweet shakes for after. That's it.Altogether, the menu can be taken in with one glance from the back of the quickly dissipating queue, your choice soon with you, either on a tray in an American-style diner booth, or on its way home in a handsomely printed paper bag.The same gorgeous red-white-and-blue is echoed on all the packaging. It's like hipster McDonald's, and for a moment you worry it's all style, no substance. Yes, Junior looks a bit like a sneaker store. Yes, they serve Citizen microbrew on tap. And yes, when you unwrap the burgers, the slim white bread rolls give off the golden burnish that is the hallmark of a meal you'll regret in a couple of hours.story_article_right2But then you realise that your expectations of fast food are frighteningly pessimistic. Those burnished buns are fresh, soft, toasted on the inside, lined with slices of plump, fresh tomato and bracingly pungent gherkin. Likewise, the beef patties are slightly charred and wholesomely meaty, standing up well against the Marie-Rose edge of Junior's house sauce.The veg burger puts just about every other fast-food take-out offering to shame. The patty needs just a touch more structure to be perfect, but remains satisfyingly meaty, rich with umami and proteinous gristle; a great foil to the French fries, all crunch, and the mayo-free coleslaw, vinegary and speckled with salty feta. It's a far cry from the furtive petrol station burger that most of us conceive fast food as being.Junior is not "gourmet" or "healthy" or any other take-out buzzword. But it is delicious and familiar and imbued with the kind of soft, uncomplicated joy we all need sometimes. It's fast food - just, you know, grown up a bit.Shop 2, 12 Kloof Nek Road, Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, (021) 422 2968..