A few months back I received a very pleasant email from Colin, among other things he wondered why I didn't have many burger posts….I really didn't have a good answer. Which got me thinking…..why not a week of burgers? And now with Cathy's help, it looks like we'll have a work-week of burgers! A real mixed bag of burgers. So get the Lipitor out, let's get rolling. Burgers from Monday to Friday is dedicated to Colin….I hope that you did find a good burger out there.
Well what can I say about Rocky's? It's a Pacific Beach institution, a little pub located on the corner of Ingraham Street and La Playa avenue.
And when I mean little, I mean little, just a few tables, and the bar. When we arrived on a recent Saturday morning at 1030am the place was already packed. There was an interesting cross section of people of all ages.
Luckily, the Missus and I managed to snag a table. I love the menu, well calling it a menu may be stretching it a bit; there are four burgers(1/3lb Hamburger – $4.25, 1/3lb Cheeseburger – $4.75, 1/2lb Hamburger – $5.25, 1/2 lb Cheeseburger – $5.75) and Fries($2.50) on the chalkboard, that's it….no "Vietnamese Menu Overload" here!
Rocky's is the sort of local hang-out where you've got to know the "rules"…there ain't no waiters, if you're sitting at a table and waiting for someone to take your order, your going to wait a while. You need to walk up to the bar, and hope someone acknowledges your existence so you can place your order. You'll place your order and give your name which is written on a post-it note and passed to the closet small kitchen in the back. You better listen up for your name to be called, otherwise some hungry patron may get your burger.
Witness the 1/2lb burger:
Yep, there's no secret sauce, bleu cheese, bacon, mushrooms, monkey-style, blackened-ahi, tofu, kobe beef, have it your way, thing going on here. It's just a burger, hand formed, not pressed too hard, so the burger is rather tender, juicy, beefy, and pretty much just how it should be. As with many "bar burgers" you add the condiments, the pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomato are placed on the top of the bun when the burger is delivered. The burger is also almost unseasoned, so you'll have to work it out yourself as well. It's just a good burger!
The Missus and I each had a 1/2 lb Burger and shared a basket of fries:
The fries were fine, crisp and not oily. They were also just barely salted.
At about this point we managed to scarf down the rest of the meal….people were milling about waiting for seats to open up. There's nothing more uncomfortable than having a dozen drooling people staring at you while you eat, and they weren't salivating over our food, they were all drooling over our table! So we left them to fight over our seats. Still it's a mighty fine burger, and a nice way to start burger week, don't you think?
I think I've covered as much as I could about the burgers at Rocky's…but one last thing, get the 1/2lb burger, the 1/3 lb burger is kinda puny……….you'll thank me later!
Rocky's Crown Pub
3786 Ingraham St
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 273-9140