We’re Back

So the site hasn’t been updated in a long time. Time to change that. Things have been a little crazy in my life, and yahoo was playing games with me over my domain, but that is all straightened out now.

In awesome news, I got married this year (proof below). We honeymooned in Greece, where I quickly learned it would be best to stick with Greek food and not try the burgers. I am also taking over the social media department at my work, so this site is even more applicable to what I do now. This is all research… I swear.

In the opposite of awesome news, my work moved our office from San Francisco to Fremont. I now have some new territory to explore, but so far it has been mostly chain restaurants.

But now that my life has settled down a bit, I look forward to getting this going strong again, and maybe even inviting some friends to help me out on here. I updated the look and feel of the site too. Thanks for checking it out!

Keep destroying!

Brave Horse Tavern – Seattle, Washington

I was back in Seattle on a business trip, and met up with a friend for dinner. We initially tried to go to a couple different pizza places, but they both were packed so we ended up at Brave Horse Tavern. I have never heard of it before, but it is owned by Tom Douglas, who owns a ton of great restaurants all over Seattle, in every style of food. Sounded like a good sign.

Their food menu is pretty simple. They have homemade pretzels with some interesting dipping sauces – peanut butter and bacon being my favorite. They also have an apple mustard, which I hadn’t heard of before. When I asked about that, the waitress said, “Why, do you think it’s strange? Well your face is strange.” It was odd, and I was wondering if they had a thing where they talk like that to customers, but they don’t. It was just strange, more so than my face.

Anyway, their burger menu is basic; you can pick from beef, veggie or chicken.

Beef is $6, cheese is $1 more, and bacon, a fried egg, or avocado are an additional $2 each. I went with cheddar and bacon

for a total of $9. The burger is not that big, and was interestingly served only with lettuce and pickles (the pickles were quickly removed).

First bite in and I knew it was a winner. The buns are nice and buttery, with the perfect amount of crisp skin to them. But the real star here was cheese treatment. As you can see, they really melt the cheese down over the meat, but what you cant see is the crunchy cheese that melted off the burger and was scraped off the grill along with the meat, just hanging off the side. This definitely was a high quality gourmet burger made like a true fast food burger. The bacon broke apart easily, but the only real difficulties with this burger was the lettuce. The giant leaves of lettuce went awry on my first bite and never fully recovered for the rest of the burger.

The only issue I really had was it seemed a bit small. I also ate a pretzel and the fries (which were separate and $3) and was pretty full, but putting away two of these burgers would be doable, save for the $18 that would cost.

Brave Horse Tavern is a pretty cool place, and if you drink beer it’s probably even cooler as they had a ton of beers to choose from. I got a root beer that was on tap and it was decent, but nothing all that special. They also have a shuffleboard table, so there’s another plus. But it was very nice looking inside, albeit dark, if I have led you to believe otherwise. Definitely the best burger I have had in Seattle so far, and would consider eating there again next time I’m in town.

Rating:

More info at bravehorsetavern.com

Straw Carnival Fare – San Francisco, CA

Fate works in strange ways. Every week I drive across the city to get to the Bay Bridge. Always in the left lane going across Octavia, not paying much attention to whats passing by. But recently I glanced over and saw a wonderful site. A tilt-a-whirl seat in a window of a small restaurant. I glanced up and just barely caught that the place was called Straw Carnival Fare. That was more than enough to pique my interest. Growing up, I was convinced I would design rollercoasters, I had bought Coaster, a floppy disk based rollercoaster building simulator from the Scholastic Reader, and I was set. I later found out that excessive math skills would be needed, and dropped that idea pretty quickly.

But I have always had a love for theme parks, fairs, carnivals, games, all of that stuff. Rides, and corndogs; there is little else I need. I even built the website for the Marin County Fair a few years back. So I called my girlfriend right away and asked her to check it out. Reservations were made, and two weeks later we were there with 2 friends of ours.

The reason?

The Ringmaster. I have heard about burgers like this before, but it was only from a chain, and maybe only a combination of food from one chain with food from another chain. But when served up at a proper restaurant, it just seems much better.

What is the ringmaster exactly? A cheeseburger (that I obviously got with bacon) served on two glazed donuts. Many words can be used to describe this. Some would say “that’s so American” or “Gluttony”, but those people are annoying and should not be here. I would say Awesome and Must-try. There was a lot of anticipation for eating this, as we had made plans a few weeks ahead, so it had been lingering around in my mind for awhile.

I was definitely wary of how this would actually taste, as some things that are both awesome don’t always work together (i.e. those bacon chocolate bars). But first bite in, and you could just tell it worked. The sweet and savory was balanced just right.

The burger was very simple; bacon, cheese and meat, which has to be deliberate. The only thing that bothered me was having some of the grease end up on the donut buns, but the burger was really not that greasy. I don’t know how often I would describe something as being fun to eat, but this definitely was.

Recently, if you are getting a burger that is way out of the ordinary, it’s either got some stupid gourmet thing going on like a caviar aioli, or it’s all about how massive this is. The Ringmaster is neither, and it’s one of the most fun things I have eaten in years. On their own, the burger ingredients are tasty with the bacon being done very well. The patty was a really good size, not too thick, and thankfully not too greasy. The donuts were… well donuts. I can’t say I’ve really had a bad one, and these were no different. For buns, they are a bit tall, so you have to do the ole burger squash method to make it work, and you are going to get messy. But this restaurant definitely caters to that. The Ringmaster and a side of homemade chips is $11.75 and it’s another $1.50 for bacon. Pretty standard for an SF restaurant.

For non-burger lovers (ridiculous I know) there are still plenty of options, and some that are close to as interesting as the Ringmaster. A friend order the fried chicken and waffle monte-cristo, and that looked pretty delicious too. Everyone had fun here, and it’s just a great atmosphere for a smaller group of friends. Straw is very small, so it’s best to make a reservation, but I can’t recommend this place enough if you can’t decide between a nice dinner out and a burger place. I’d say the Ringmaster, or an equivalent, is something all burger lovers must try at least once!

Rating:

Check them out at http://strawsf.com/

Johnny Garlic’s – Santa Rosa, CA

Love him or hate him, you all know who Guy Fieri is. Guy has been one of the heavy hitters in the super-celebrifying of the chef, and I am definitely guilty of going out of my way to stop at places featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. My girlfriend’s parents are fans of the show, and enjoy visiting featured places when they are traveling as well. So naturally they wanted to check out one of Guy’s own restaurants when they came up to visit.

So up north, beyond the outskirts of the Bay Area, is Johnny Garlic’s. It’s called a pasta grill, but the dishes are pretty all over the place, especially for its location. The menu has something for everyone on it, including vegetarians and generally picky eaters. But then it also has bison burgers, and some exotic animal as the Hunter’s Special. I’ve actually been a few times, and had things like the pizza, and everything has been pretty tasty. The bread they bring out is always a huge hit too. But that is not why we are here. We are here for this.

Checking their website and menu now, it looks like this burger has been updated. I had the Snake River BBQ Burger, but now it appears to have been replaced by Guy’s Big Bite Burger. They have added a pretzel roll (one of my personal favorites), and swapped the pepper-jack for cheddar. The BBQ burger was really good. Should this be surprising or not, I don’t know, but it really was solid. The bacon is thick and crispy, breaking apart cleanly with each bite. There’s some onion straws on top for some added crunch, though not overwhelming. The bun was actually really good, with a little bit of crunch to it. Almost a bummer that they went to a pretzel bun, when their regular buns were already rather good, and so many other places would benefit much more from it. What really pulled this burger together though was the BBQ sauce. Definitely a top notch and delicious sauce. It was sweet enough where it balanced the kick of the pepper-jack and brought the whole thing together. They use higher quality ingredients, and its definitely noticeable.

This messy burger caught me off guard, as it was a bit better than I was really expecting. I figured it would be good, albeit standard, but everything worked really well together. It’s a bit higher priced at 13.95 with a side of fries, but that is most likely a balance of local meat and a sprinkle of unicorn dust for that bbq sauce. As a whole, the restaurant is a good place for friends or family; it’s a little loud, there are tv’s up, and the waitstaff is pretty consistently great. The onion rolls they serve with oil and vinegar get devoured plate after plate, and if you can survive for dessert they have some pretty decadent options as well. Prices seem a couple dollars too high on some items, but it is good food and a good time.

Rating:

You can get more info at http://www.johnnygarlics.com/

Bacon Bacon Food Truck, SF Bay Area

Bacon Bacon is a food truck. Devoted to bacon.

This is exactly the reason food trucks are awesome. It would be very difficult for an actual storefront like this to exist, though if it anywhere could support it, I think SF might have a chance. When I first heard we had a bacon truck , I had to check out the menu to see how they were pulling it off, and was impressed. They have good lunch offerings, and a few tasty looking desserts. But the greatest surprise was the root beer they had on tap- Devil’s Canyon. It was real creamy and didn’t have an overbearing amount of bite; probably one of the best root beers I have ever had.

Now on to the burger. I have ordered it twice, and eating it again really cemented how i felt about it. The bacon bacon burger consists of two smaller patties, bacon, and cheddar cheese. The bottom bun was slathered in some almost melted cheeselike mayo-esque cream, which I believe the current catch-all is aioli. I, as usual, opted out of the grilled onions. The burger rang up at 8 bones.

So how does it stack up? Well, the first time I had it, the two patties weren’t the size of the bun, and instead covered different sides, and met in the middle. Took me a little while to realize it was indeed two patties, but it didn’t actually detract from the burger, and just recently that was not an issue. They give you some reasonably thick slabs of bacon, and don’t skimp with it either. The buns are nice and doughy, which I prefer. A good contrast to the melted cheese and sauce surrounding the meat. This burger is serious though. Not in a huge way or anything, it is decently sized and will fill you up for a lunch, but it will knock you off your feet. The whole thing tasted a little saltier than the average bacon burger, and throw in the cheese and mayo-cream on the bottom and you’ve got a heavy sitting burger. One of the burgers that make you really question eating it all too often. It is good, but it just tasted like it was dangerous. Is it not good for you? For sure. But that is not what we want to be thinking while eating one, so I guess I prefer my burgers a little less up front about it, unless of course it is completely over the top. And in that case, by all means sign me up.

Worth giving a go, but be prepared to have a sit down/get the burger sweats after this one. And definitely get the root beer!
Also, upon further research they do indeed have a storefront now doing breakfast, and soon lunch. So I guess I am underestimating bacon.

Rating:

Find and follow Bacon Bacon on twitter and facebook to find out

their current schedule.

The Chieftain – San Francisco, CA

My lunch buddy-coworkers and I are awfully indecisive about where to eat, so when one of them had a new recommendation, The Chieftain, an Irish Pub and Restaurant, we went for it. He had been there before and really liked the tuna burger, so away we went. I was in the mood for chicken strips, but that was a no go so I went with the good ole standby burger–$8.95 for a cheeseburger and steak fries.

The burger was very… whelming. Overwhelmed or underwhelmed I was not. The outside was a little charred while the inside was a bit too rare, frozen patties methinks? The bun was good, just above average to balance out the just below average patty.

I don’t prefer steak fries, but these were fine, not crispy enough where they become real good, but not soggy enough to be a bummer.

All in all, and rather briefly, the Chieftain was average. I didn’t come in with any expectations, and I left with them being met. Unfortunately my buddy wasn’t as happy with the tuna burger this time around, but it was a nice place to relax and have a long lunch.

Rating:

Learn more about them at:
thechieftain.com/

Sylvester’s – Los Osos, California

Usually I like to give a little background and talk about the restaurant before really getting into my own opinion, but with Sylvester’s I just can’t do that. I have to say Sylvester’s is why this website exists, and it is what set in stone what a great burger and burger place should be.

Sylvester’s is a ten to fifteen minute drive outside of San Luis Obispo, a medium sized college town where I spent my academic career. With that being the case, it seemed to take at least 1 or 2 years until you heard about Sylvester’s. They are tucked away a few blocks off the main road that runs through Los Osos, so you really just have to know about it beforehand. But word spreads fast, and once someone who knows someone you know has had Sylvester’s, you’ll hear about it.

I instantly fell in love with Sylvester’s. It was a small burger shack kind of place, but they have recently opened it up a bit more and have also redone the outer patios. It also used to be cash only, but that too is no longer the case. The menu has a lot of options for burger style, and you can swap out the patty for chicken, veggie, grass-fed Hearst Beef and even buffalo or elk. Burger’s come in the 1/3 and 1/2 pound variety.

As for pricing, it feels like a shock for anyone from the Bay Area or Los Angeles. Almost every 1/2 pound burger is under $7. I went with a 1/2 pound Desperado burger – bacon, Pepper Jack and BBQ sauce and it was only $6.95. We also ordered onion rings, which are $3.65 for a half pound.

I have a few friends who were my Sylvester’s buddies, and between all of us the Desperado was almost always ordered. I may have ordered the Hana Hawaiian burger once, but every other time I’ve gone western. The second most popular I believe is the Mushroom Swiss burger, but the Desperado is just a beautiful thing. And upon receiving mine, I threw on some of the onion rings for the perfect burger.

One of the nice things about these burgers is their diameter is pretty large. Personally, I am not a fan of real thick patties, I like the balance of a standard patty thickness with the rest of the ingredients, so if it’s gonna be big either go double patty or spread it out more. Sylvester’s just has that perfect melding of every ingredient, everything is working together to make it great. The bacon is crispy, and snaps cleanly when eating so you don’t have to go messing with the structure of the burger. This is a very good thing, because when they say “Big, Hot N’ Juicy” they really mean it. Not only are the patties juicy, but every burger and sandwich is extremely messy. The Desperado oozes its delicious BBQ sauce everywhere, perfect for dipping when you are trying to finish off the fries. And just about every other sandwich and burger also acts the same, but unlike fast food chains its not mayo thats dripping everywhere, it’s one of their many delicious sauces. Be prepared. The photo below is the aftermath of a 4 person lunch, with an order of fries and onion rings. The napkin death toll was probably around the 25 mark, and I was still rather sticky.

For anyone who’s read the page on my Burger Beliefs, this is exactly where the “Don’t put it down once you pick it up” rule comes into play. You try and put one of these down and it just is not going to work out for you. As I’ve gotten older, I am more likely to leave a bit behind or eat it slowly, especially at a 1/2 pound, but this burger got annihilated. I looked up and my partner in crime (and also the one who introduced me to Sylvester’s) was already working on his fries with just a puddle of barbecue sauce remaining on his tray. His wife and my girlfriend also made quick work of theirs, but our basket of fries and onion rings proved too much for the group. The conversation again returned, as silence had come with the arrival of our food. A obvious sign of how good the food is is how quiet the group is when they are eating it.

When I think of a burger place, I think of Sylvester’s. And any other burger place I’ve gone to since will be compared to it. One of my close friends who is also a burger fiend took his brother their once. Now he drives an extra burger back from San Luis Obispo to Los Angeles for his brother. It is just that good. So it is a bit of a trip to get here unless you live in the central coast, but take a nice weekend off in San Luis Obispo, go visit Montaña de Oro State Park in Los Osos, and then have an amazing burger. There is not much better in life than that.

Rating:

Learn more about them at:
http://www.sylvestersburgers.com

1099 Santa Ynez Ave.
Los Osos, Ca 93402
(805) 528-0779

Wayfare Tavern – San Francisco

After a few recommendations with my girlfriend around, it was decided that we would try Wayfare Tavern. As you may have already found out, I am a big fan of places you can go for a nice date night, yet still have an awesome burger. Win-win for everyone. When she is happy, I’m happy. And when she is happy and I am eating a burger, the world is a beautiful place.

I also don’t watch a lot of tv but there are a few things I watch obsessively; hockey, it’s always sunny, top shot, and anything on the food network. Wayfare Tavern happens to be Tyler Florence’s restaurant, and he has always seemed like a good chef and a good guy. I appreciate the fact that he’s gained a little weight recently too; it helps me trust him. So all signs were a go for Wayfare Tavern.

Since this is one of the few nice night out restaurant’s I have reviewed so far, I’ll go into some of the other details a bit more than I normally would. Wayfare Tavern is in downtown SF and is a pretty cool two story restaurant. It was crowded, as we went on Friday after work, and wasn’t a quiet place. It wasn’t obnoxiously loud either, but not a candlelit dinner where you whisper sweet nothings back and forth between bites.

I am very big on bread, and they served us some giant popovers after we ordered. They were huge, awesome, delicious and fun to eat. And to make it twice as good, they came back and offered us more after we finished our first ones. For the main course, obviously, I ordered their burger. They use a “proprietary grind” of local meat, brie and smoked bacon on a brioche roll. It came with a generous portion of fries too, that were good without being over-herbed like so many other nicer restaurants tend to do.

This burger was very interesting. It is not the kind of burger you could eat all the time, but I am really happy I tried it. All that thick, melted brie ended up overwhelming me a little over halfway through the burger. I am not a huge brie guy but it has been growing on me lately, so this may have been all I was able to handle. The consistency of the cheese was also really different compared to our typical burger cheeses. The crispiness of the bacon helped quell the gooey wave of cheese that flooded from every bite, but the flavor was still overpowered by the cheese. All of this was on top of a brioche roll, and as expected after the popovers, it was a really good roll. The meat was cooked perfectly, and was a little thicker than the average patty. It is apparent that there was some serious thought in this burger.

Even though the burger didn’t quite work for me, I would definitely recommend you at least try it. I can see that being a burger people would love as everything is top notch, the flavors just didn’t quite click with me. And again, this is a really nice place to take someone special and have a good time. My girlfriend loved her pasta dish, and the bite I had was delicious. I would definitely recommend this restautarnt, though if I go back I don’t know if I will get the burger again. But that’s just me, and if you love brie then you have to try it.

Rating:

Learn more about them at:
http://www.wayfaretavern.com

Carls Jr

So being a San Francisco based website, this would probably be unthinkable for most. But then again, this is about burgers, and then again one more time, people too snobby to go certain places aren’t truly happy. We all know this. They are only lying to themselves. So – the review.

The great cultivator of my love– the Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl’s Jr. Was this my first western burger? No. It was actually from Jack in the Box when they originally had them, and also called them a western burger. We picked it up, and I ate it in the parking lot of a lamp store in San Rafael while my mom shopped. I was young, but the memories are still so vivid. It was my first taste of true love. Sadly, one’s first love is almost always fleeting, and Jack discontinued the burger shortly after (they brought similar burgers back a few times, but you know, it was never the same). Thankfully, the Western burger has been a staple at Carl’s Jr.

I am no longer in college, or high school, where cheap and easy far outweigh any other quality in my food. But as I’ve gotten older there is a quality I have come to appreciate, and that is consistency. Will I get fast food much anymore? No. But if I want a solid burger, I know where to find it, and this is it. There are only 2 fast food burgers I will eat now, and this is one of them. And it never lets me down.

The thing this burger has that some $18 burgers lack is balance and restraint. It is simple, but each aspect is portioned perfectly. The size of the onion rings, for example, sets up each bite with the perfect amount. They also snap cleanly, making sure every bite gets its fair share of onion ring. None of that pulling out half of the toppings on the burger because you couldn’t bite it in half business. I don’t like having to shove stuff back on my burger if I don’t have to. The patty is not too thick, and is instead just a larger diameter. The bacon isn’t great, but is the most passable for fast food that I can recall. The barbecue sauce really works well with the other tastes on this burger, and it’s all wrapped up in a bun that is actually pretty decent.

And then you have the seasoned criss-cut fries. If there is ever a choice between regular or curly, I will always go curly. And criss-cut fries are the curly fries mysterious brother, the narwhal to a beluga per se. I don’t know why you can’t find criss-cut fries anywhere, but they are delicious. That is, unless they are from a certain place in Seattle that decided they shouldn’t be seasoned and should also completely lack flavor.

So for what it is, this is a great burger. Fast food is best in moderation, blah blah blah. Sometimes you just need to stop and grab a burger, and the Western Bacon Cheeseburger will always come through for you. It may not have been my first love, but it is an old friend, and it’s nice to catch up every once in awhile (please note I avoided the absolutely terrible pun there. All for you).

Also, I know Hardee’s and Carl’s are supposed to be the same, but I’ve been told they do not have a western burger? Blasphemy. Don’t stand for that, East Coasters.

Rating:

Prather Ranch – San Francisco Farmer’s Market

Every Thursday and Saturday, the Ferry Building has a farmer’s market, with Saturday being the big one. The whole building is surrounded by local foods and concoctions, and more often than not it is crowded beyond belief. In addition to all the vendors selling fruits and veggies, there are about 10 different stands preparing breakfast and lunch, with two meat companies vying for the burger crowd; Prather Ranch and 4505 Meat. I’ve had both numerous times, and today I chose Prather Ranch.

Now eating at the crowded Ferry Building isn’t much of a dining experience; you get your food on a compostable plate, and find somewhere just better than sitting on the ground to eat it. If you luck out you can get one of a few tables, where you then gamble on if the tourists you are sitting with will be interesting, talkative, smelly, gross, or rude. Otherwise it’s the foot tall wooden parking block for you. So most importantly, the food has to be good.

Prather Ranch, as it may sound, is a meat company supplying the bay area and beyond with high quality, humane beef. I’ve been meaning to pick up some of their meat for a barbecue of my own, I just have not gotten around to it. Briefly reading over their website and you can tell how serious they are about quality and standards. That’s always nice to hear, but doesn’t guarantee great taste. Thankfully, Prather comes through.

This is a straightforward burger grilled outside in a tent, but since they are showcasing their meat it is no amateur job. I got a simple cheeseburger with lettuce, which ran me 8 bucks, a little high for a burger with no sides. They did use two slices(!) of a great white cheddar that tasted rather similar to one we tried walking around the farmer’s market, and I wouldn’t doubt if they went that route. The meat is buttery and almost melts in your mouth, reminiscent of one of my favorites, 510 burger. Consistency was top notch, and it was cooked just right. This was another sesame-bunned burger, though that was my only gripe.

Overall, this is a real good burger. On a nice Saturday, it makes the perfect lunch, and it’s a good reason to go to the Farmer’s Market, a gesture your significant other may appreciate. The burgers are basic, but satisfying. They are serious about their meat, and it shows. You can also find their meat being used at Weezy’s Burger Shack in Marin, which is pretty tasty, and Mission Beach Cafe, which I wasn’t all that thrilled with. I’d definitely recommend grabbing a burger direct from the source!

Rating:

Learn more about them at:
http://www.pratherranch.com/