Burgers – Page 11

Lucky Buck’s

May 11, 2007 mmm-yoso Burgers

*** Lucky Buck's has closed

Recently, I had the pleasure of having lunch with my friend JackB, whom I hadn't seen or heard from in a while. I asked him if he had any suggestions for grabbing lunch, and he said "why don't we try a burger at Lucky Buck's". My reply, "say what? Uncle Buck's?" "No Lucky Buck's." And since I just can't resist a stupid pun I asked "well, where the buck is it located?" I was amused to find out it was pretty much right under my nose in Hillcrest, right next to Ichiban, and I hadn't even noticed!

I met Jack right outside the very empty restaurant, and we walked in while still trying to catch up on a few things….like "what the buck have you been up too?"

First off, I really liked colors and how the restaurant was designed.

Now I don't watch all those home improvement or design shows, so I really can't articulate the restaurant decor, other than to say….perhaps Industrial meets Art Gallery?

Lucky Buck's menu consists of burgers, burritos, and sandwiches, and various combinations of those items. As you can clearly see on the very colorful and "busy" menu.

Since I was here for a burger, I decided to have one of the burger 1/2 pound burger combos. I always like a good ol' regular burger so I can gauge just how good the burger is. I found out JackB is the same as well. We both got the "Plain Ol' Buck" ($7.59). I was asked how I wanted my burger, and happily exclaimed "medium"….now a good burger done medium, well there a few things better! Another thing I liked was the choice of "bun", you can get Onion, Sesame, or Wheat….hey, maybe this was my lucky day…..

While our burger was being Char Broiled, I had a chance to check out the condiment table, which included something called Buck's Special Chipotle Sauce.

I managed to get a taste of the "Special Sauce", and well, it wasn't anything special…..

BTW, in case you have the misconception that this is fast food, read the sign on the right. Our food did take a while, though I don't think it was more than 15 minutes or so.

Our burgers and waffle cut fries did look really yummy:

And the burger looked really nicely char broiled, with an interesting almost slightly red lacquered color. With some onion, lettuce, and tomato from the condiment bar, I was ready to jump in.

This is where my "luck" ran out. The burger had been over cooked(I guess asking me how I wanted it done is just a formality?).

JackB had bitten into his burger at the same time, and looked at me and said, "this is pretty dry and grainy." My thoughts exactly. Which was too bad, because the flavor of the burger wasn't too bad…there was a hint of "something" there, perhaps some chipotle? The burger also had a pretty good char broiled flavor.

I think there were some timing issues with the waffle cut fries, which ended up being a bit soft and soggy by the time we got them.

That's too bad, because these seasoned waffle cut fries had a good flavor, and must be pretty good when hot.

And that's kinda how we left it…….after a nice "talk story", JackB said something that stuck with me. "You know, this place has some potential…." Which had me thinking, maybe this wasn't my "lucky" day. Sooooo, a few days later, I decided to give Lucky Buck's another try.

I was going to have another "Plain ol' Buck", but decided it would be kinda boring…so I went went for the "Bleu Buck" Combo ($7.59). I don't recall how much my soda was, but the total was over 10 (lucky) bucks. Again, I was asked how I wanted my burger…and my answer was? "Medium", of course. After a short wait in the empty restaurant, my name was called out…which was kinda funny, since I was the only person in the place.

After grabbing some tomato and onion from the condiment bar, I sliced my burger in half, and you see the result below. Still not "medium"(why even bother asking me – and it ain't carry over cooking since it took me 15 seconds to get from the counter to the table, and cut my burger in half), but nice and juicy. Since my bacon was undercooked and the bleu cheese really didn't bleu me away, I wished that this was the plain "burger" I got on my last visit(sans the cheese and bacon). I noticed that the burger was being basted with some liquid while being grilled, which accounted for the nice lacquered exterior, and perhaps some of that "chili" flavor?

Nice burger. Good, but not great…but I'd have it again.

The seasoned waffle cut fries on this visit were hot and crisp. If you like waffle cut fries, you'll be in "luck". I received a very large amount of fries on this visit, and try as I might, I couldn't finish them off.

I found the service at Lucky Buck's to be a detached-professional. Sort of like they really don't care if you eat there or not, but that could be because it was lunch. There are several beers on tap, and margarita specials. The current lunch special consists of a 1/3lb Burger, Fries, and small drink for $6.95. Not a bad deal at all. We'll see how my "luck" holds out on my next visit……..

Lucky Buck's
1459 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Burgers, continued-Islands, a ch-ch-chain, and it was good!

February 23, 2007 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy decided to write something today, and Kirk didn’t want to. Stay, read, enjoy!

So, I am always carrying the camera around with me and pretty much eat something every day, and sometimes it tastes good (that last part was not sarcasm, based on my last few posts). The Mister and I sometimes go to Islands, usually with a gift certificate. So, here we are. Islands.

Burgers. Lots of choices. I got the Big Wave, the basic one ($6.39). 1/2 lb of beef, cooked medium rare (I asked; the menu says medium only..be polite and they may take the burger off the grill before it hits medium in heat). Comes with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and mustard… on a white or wheat bun. Juicy, flavorful, excellent. The bun was lightly toasted and fresh.

A side of fries? Sure.

Wow. Enough to be able to take home and fry for breakfast the next morning…fresh potatoes, medium cut, with skin, very fresh, crispy, nice. ($2.95)

The Mister got a Kaanapali Kobb salad ($9.39)(that whole New Years Resolution thing ).

Lots of lettuce, some cabbage, some chopped scallions, grilled chicken breast, chopped tomatoes, chopped bacon, chopped hard cooked egg, avocado, blue cheese chunks and tossed in a blue cheese dressing. Quite a lot also.

Good portion sizes. Fresh made for you.

As we were leaving, The Mister went to grab "Take Out and Fax menu" and there were a few interesting items on it…the primary one category that caught my eye was the "High Protein Platters"..this was not on the menu in our booth. 2 hamburger patties with American cheese and bacon, served with sliced avocado, tomatoes and wedge salad with blue cheese dressing… for $10.25; also 2 chicken breasts with melted swiss and sauteed mushrooms and the same salad with avocados and tomatoes and the same with a 1/2 rotisserie chicken…all are $10.25. Interesting. Must pay more attention.

Surprisingly good food here. I am now sort of happy to eat again, yet cautiously optimistic. Website. Islands, numerous locations in California, Arizona and one each in Colorado and Nevada.

Baby Back Jack’s Old Fashioned Broiler

February 20, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Sandwiches, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

*** Baby Back Jack's has closed

A few months back Howie, who does A Foodie's-Eye View of San Diego's Best Restaurants mentioned "Jack's Broiler" to me in an email, about a month after, Candice, who posts in Oh-So Yummy mentioned Jack's Broiler as well. So during a recent weekend, we drove on up to Hillcrest and dropped by Baby Back Jack's Old Fashioned Broiler(whew, that's a mouthful) for lunch.

If I remember correctly, this used to be a Yogurt shop. The interior of Jack's goes for a mild "retro-old fashioned" look.

And tunes like Earth Angel and Venus in Bluejeans flow throughout the restaurant.

The menu is small, but covers very familiar territory, with everything from Hot Dogs and Burgers, to Baby Back Ribs.

On this visit, the Missus went for the 1/2 of Jack's "Famous Wild Chicken"($7.95). Check out the "wild chicken"……

Basically, a roasted half chicken that is slathered with BBQ sauce and heated on the grill. The chicken comes with Coleslaw and one "side", in this case the Missus chose fries.

The Missus told me the coleslaw wasn't really that great, a bit on the sweet side for Her…but She did scarf it up. I loved the fries, which were the skin-on natural style fries, with a chili-garlic-paprika seasoning. The Missus thought the fries were a bit on the salty side…but I finished them all up. Never got a chance to use the Ranch-style dipping sauce that was provided.

The chicken was quite large, and the Missus couldn't finish it.

On the good side, the chicken was large, and the meat moist through and through. On the bad side, the interior of the chicken was still slightly cold. And though the dark meat had some flavor, the white meat was bland. The BBQ sauce didn't do it for me either, it had a bit of a neutral BBQ flavor, but had a weird aftertaste, and left a strange coating on my tongue. Overall, this was quite a bit of food.

I had the "World Famous Beef Dip"($7.95):

Just by looking at it, you know right away…this ain't no "Philippe's". First off the "roll" was on very dry side, and the meat looked kinda, well, "grey", and was dry and tough. I enjoyed the "jus", it was beefy, and not overly salty…I used up all the jus and the Horseradish sauce. I think this is a bit over-priced for $7.95.

On a side note…guess how much the soda pictured on the side is? It's $2, for one of those plastic 12oz cups. Luckily, refills are free, but if you're doing take-out, forget about the drinks. The two sodas I ordered put us over the $20 mark for lunch.

But still….I really enjoyed those fries…..

So I returned for lunch when I was in the area recently. And since you just can't order fries…I ordered my fries($1.95) with a side order of a Cheeseburger($5.50).

Thought the fries were not as heavily seasoned as on my last visit, they were still pretty good.

After ordering, I struck up a short conversation with the "cook", who asked me how I'd like my burger, and though I'd usually ask for it "medium", I just told him to make the way he thought was best.

The burger was delivered dressed with lettuce, tomato, and slices of red onions, cooked just a tad on the "well" side, but the meat was moist, juicy, and had a nice mildly beefy flavor. At first I thought there was too much bun for the burger, but the bread had a nice pillowy texture. I wish the cheese was melted a bit better. I'd forgotten to tell him to skip the "sauce", which was a Thousand Island style dressing, but at least it wasn't slathered on, and the sauce was very mild so it didn't interfere with the flavor of the burger. Still, I usually like my burger without dressing. Not a bad burger, it's not going to set the world on fire, but it's pretty good, not as good as some, but better than many. I'd have it again.

As I usually do for "What Howie Eats" posts, I emailed Howie for His input. Here's what he said; "My fries were my favorite thing about the meal. I had the ribs, and they were decent, esp for the price." So there you go….

Baby Back Jack's Old Fashioned Broiler
1290 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Rose Parade Preview…and food at Tops

December 31, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging while Kirk rests. This one is interesting.

Hi. Its the end of the year and there are still some traditional things The Mister and I do. One of those things is going up to Pasadena, having breakfast and either helping or watching Tournament of Roses parade floats being decorated. Since I have this wrist injury and repetitive stress is out of the question, this is a year to watch.

So, we went to breakfast first at the Historic Green Street Hotel. The Hotel is now a Condominium Complex for the most part, but the building was built in 1898 and has been declared a Historical Site. …The food, its a brunch and not much selection.

Fruit, muffins, pastries, scrambled eggs, sausage and ham…as well as juice and coffee. We were not there for the food.

We ate quickly and waited to get onto the tour bus that took us about 1 mile south….this was the view, waiting to get to the top/overview area of one of the four float building company warehouses.

This is the Farmers Insurance entry for this year's parade. The little owl on Mother Nature's shoulder moves his head. They took the float out of the warehouse to make certain the mechanics were working and to do last minute touch ups before judging was to take place at about 1 p.m. today. Every square inch of the float that is visible has to be covered in something that is, or was alive.

Once you are inside you get a view of the nine floats that have been being assembled in this 'barn' for, really, the last year.

The City of Glendale float is the one with the bear, the Optimists have the one with the cat and dog being friends,

The City of Long Beach

made the one with the lighthouse and sailboats, the City of Pasadena did the birdhouse. McDonald's sponsored the one with the honeybees …

The Lutheran Hour has the one with the church, Lions Club International did the one with the cane for the blind.

Anyhow, these floats are essentially done, and beautiful. People talk about what they are made of…the living parts. But this isn't a good vantage point…HOWEVER…I have friends in High Places….oh, and I'm kinda sorta one of them….

Here is a photo from a few days before the parade last year, with a float still in the assembly stage. See the orange slices used so they look like goldfish scales?

(click on it and it will enlarge)

So, anyhow, here's some closeups..you can tell some of the materials without my help.

OK, so that was the majority of my day…but The Mister and I were tired and hungry and in Pasadena..and of course I *must* always have my camera with me.

Tops, 50 years in business, 'Voted Best Fast Food in Pasadena, Corner of Walnut and Allen'. Gotta try it.

Hmmm, similar to The Hat but with a larger menu….

So, we got what we know is good: the 1/2 pound burger ($3.89), pastrami dip($6.39) and small chili cheese fries($3.59)…

Simple, basic and pretty darn good…the burger is served with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and Thousand Island sauce; the pastrami was peppery, had a nice amount of fat and in a nice french roll…

OK, the burger looks, eh, smallish for 1/2 pound…here is what it looked like in my hand after I had eaten a LOT and was almost full….

Tops 1792 East Walnut Street Pasadena (626)584-0244 M-Th 7 am-11 pm; Fri/Sa am-midnight, Sun 9 am-11pm

I'll talk to you all next year, and thank you for making this one my most interesting in my lifetime! Watch football on January 1st… There's this game that is played in Pasadena….

It’s Burger Week – Ch-Ch-Chain: Boll Weevil

December 23, 2006 mmm-yoso Burgers, Chains

*** This location of Boll Weevil has closed

I thought it would be appropriate to end burger week, with a visit to a "chain" of sorts….well not a nation-wide chain, but a local chain, called Boll Weevil. I did a quick search on Wikipedia and quickly found out what a nasty looking fellow the Boll Weevil is. Now who the heck would name a restaurant after such a destructive, nasty looking fellow? After looking through Wikipedia again, I found the story here. According to the entry, the proprietors of a steak house called "The Cotton Patch" opened up a chain of smaller, casual burger restaurants next to Cotton Patch Restaurants and they called them Boll Weevil. Am I the only person who finds some irony in the fact that Boll Weevils are still around, and all the Cotton Patches are gone? Guess them little Boll Weevil ate all the Cotton Patches……he-he-he!

The location of Boll Weevil we visited recently is located on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, and in addition to all the standard Boll Weevil dishes, also offer BBQ, and other items….you can check out the smoker in the front of the restaurant. I'll pass, but you may be interested. It seems that recently several Boll Weevils have closed down, I know that the one on Convoy Street, among others(Midway) have closed down over the years….don't know why, they just seem to be disappearing.

We arrived at Boll Weevil, and found a table – this is the type of Casual-Family-Bar-Restaurant, where you sit yourself, the place was doing some pretty bang up business on this night. The Missus and I opened our menus, and suddenly both thought, "prices have gone up a bit since we last visited."

Well maybe it was just us…….since we aren't regular customers at Boll Weevil.

The Missus decided on a 1/2 pound Blue Cheese Bacon Burger, with Seasoned Curly Fries as her side($9.79):

I now understand the necessity of the condiment tray at Boll Weevil, the burger was on the tough-bland side, the "Goo"(not Blue) Cheese was just salty and had been placed under a broiler or something to melt it into a gooey texture, and the bacon tasted a bit old. The Curly Fries were great though. Nice and crisp, and well seasoned.

I got the "Super Burger"($5.09), which is the 1/2 pound "Steerburger"(after all Boll Weevil is "The Home of the 1/2 lb Steerburger) straight-up, which for me is the test of a burger, no cheese or "secret sauce" to hide behind:

My burger tasted better than the Missus's, it was fairly moist, though tough. And even though the menu states this….in plain English:

Both our burgers were cooked way beyond well…..

I tend to use the burgers at Mr Peabody's as a reference point for these type of burgers, and Boll Weevil fell short. Tough and on the bland side, these were just mediocre.

On previous visits, I'd always order some Frings(French Fries and Onions Rings – regular order $3.79):

The portion size was alot smaller than I remember…let's do the math; if the small portion of fries is say, worth $2(and that's really stretching it), that would make each one of those onions rings cost about 45 cents a piece…. The fries were just okay, nothing special, and the rings had been over cooked and proceeded to shatter into little pieces when I bit into them.

I dunno what happened to Boll Weevil, was it just a fluke? I will say that the service at this location of Boll Weevil was very nice, though a bit slow…but mostly due to the couple across from us who kept sending everything back(soup not hot enough…I don't like this salad dressing….I don't like this spoon!!!), and running the poor Gal ragged.

I know so many people who love Boll Weevil, but I'm kinda like this guy…..on the fence:

I really don't know if I'll be back…….

Boll Weevil
9330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123-1223
(858)571-6225

It’s Burger Week – Beef ‘N Bun-Burgers and shakes and more!

December 21, 2006 Cathy Burgers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. It’s time for Cathy to blog about burgers…and goodies while Kirk takes a day off.

Hi again. It’s still burger week and I’ve got a good one for you.

Yep, Beef ‘n Bun, over there on Fletcher Parkway…been there forever it seems. They have a simple menu.

Burgers, shakes, combos. The occasional chicken sandwich and…sides.

OK, what I *really* get here, in the summer is very simple: The large chocolate peanut butter shake ($2.95)- where, if you don’t finish it, and it actually makes it home, the peanut butter settles to the bottom of the cup…(you have to order it as a ‘for here’ in order to get this much whipped cream, if it’s ‘to go’ , a lid gets slapped on top of it and it just isn’t as much fun..at all)and the side of zucchini ($1.85)

Yes, there are 5 (five) big old wedges of a zucchini, fried in a light batter and topped with Parmesan and served with a side of ranch dressing, and its *only* $1.85.

Oh, this is a Burger post. Sorry. The half pounder is two quarter pound burgers and costs $3.19.

Its served with the usual-lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and a nice sauce. Always juicy and on a cornmeal topped roll that is fresh. Cheese is extra. Yet, if you order the Monster Burger,

it only costs $3.99, has another quarter pound burger added and cheese is included…hmmm..I can save money ordering this one. No, really… unless you count the tummy ache the next morning and the new wardrobe necessary after eating here too often.

The food here is always fresh made for you (the fries are nothing to write home about, just the standard crinkle cut ones), the burgers are great, the shakes are so darn good (shake of the month is Egg Nog right now)and its just a nice, old fashioned burger joint.

There are weekly meetings with Antique Car Collectors in the parking lot in the summer and its a great neighborhood hangout. If you happen to come by here in the morning, those potato cakes for $1.29 are the most wonderful, creamy, cheesy, herb-y delightful morsels….

Beef ‘n Bun 2477 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92021 (619)465-0767 Open at 7 a.m., closing hours vary depending on the time of year. 10 p.m. earliest closing time.

It’s Burger Week – Longhorn Cafe-Howdy Pilgrim!

December 20, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Pubs and Pub Grub, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Kirk is just taking the day off (from blogging, anyhow) and Cathy is blogging. Stay and look.

Hello, again, and welcome back. I'm just going to talk about a great sort of neighborhood place that has been there forever and has an All-American type of ambiance…by that, I mean burgers and beer….

In the Vons/Rite Aid Shopping Center where Mission Gorge turns into Friars Road, next to Kaiser Hospital at Zion…at night, well, its the faded sign..

You walk in, the bar is along the wall to your left, booths on the right and televisions blaring. Lots of cowboy memorabilia on the walls. Walk straight back to the room on the left- The John Wayne Room…

Trust me, this is nowhere near all the memorabilia collected here.

You can read about John Wayne on the menu also.

So, you sit down and the table is set, with menus, plastic wear, condiments…

The menu is fairly simple; burgers, steaks salads, appetizers. Bar food.

(You can read, at the bottom of the John Wayne story, the breakfast menu)

We ordered basics. The 1/2 pound Longhorn burger ($6.25), cooked medium rare, with a side of onion rings ($4) and the 6 ounce top sirloin steak dinner ($8.50), served with salad or coleslaw or soup, freedom fries and garlic toast. The Mister also ordered a Red Trolley Beer, which was $2.25- the Happy Hour price-cheaper than the draught beer.

The salad arrives in a paper plate atop a plastic plate with a real fork (there are plastic forks on the table). Standard, iceberg lettuce, fresh tomatoes, a pretty good blue cheese dressing. Nothing extraordinary, not bad.

The Top Sirloin steak, cooked medium rare, also. The steak was very flavorful and tender. The garlic toast was nice. The fries were standard, cooked well.

The side of Onion rings is quite large. They were crispy and made with whole onions, not the minced ones.

My 1/2 pound burger, done medium rare, served with ONION and tomato and lettuce. You saw that condiment tray up there…I added pickles and mayonnaise. Oh, the bun is toasted.

Excellent food, great atmosphere, close to Qualcomm and friendly people..everywhere…

Longhorn Cafe 6519 Mission Gorge Road San Diego 92120 ( in the Vons and Rite Aid Shopping Center)

(619)283-0831

Windy City Beef- Angus burgers! (and fresh authentic food from Chicago)

December 19, 2006 Cathy Burgers, Hot Dogs, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Unfortunately for all of us, Windy City Beef has closed and is going to become another Chicago on a Bun outlet. Similar, but not as good, in my opinion. Truly a loss . 🙁

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Kirk and Cathy are alternating days of reporting some good food we like that is local! Today, it’s Cathy’s turn.

Hello again. I think you know by now that I grew up in Detroit. OK, that isn’t Chicago, but it’s close enough..it is about a 6 hour drive and in another time zone, but the Midwest accents are the same and the flavors and foods are Italian, Polish and just hearty American…you know, beef is a primary ingredient. Well, since February, there has been this place on Fletcher Parkway, just off the 125, (southeast corner) called "Windy City Beef". I know about the Windy City…I like beef…hmmm. Oh, and I’m doing Part 2 of a Week of Burgers!

Gotta stop in and try it. Hey- they call it "pop" here, not "soda", not "beverages"…pop. Look at that menu! Check out the website by clicking here. The family is Italian, from Chicago and they use their own recipes and make it fresh. Family run…Well, The Mister and I had to, you know… here is a close up of the menu for those of you looking at prices. I didn’t realize the photo would not be as clear, sorry. So, its basic food that I grew up with. Burgers, beef sandwiches, Italian sausage sandwiche, a chili dog, a brat, a Polish dog, pizza, and … oh and that "Windy City"- a Chicago Style Hot Dog, which is a Vienna Beef hot dog with mustard, relish, fresh chopped onions, tomato wedges, kosher pickle, celery salt and your choice of hot or sweet peppers, served on a freshly steamed poppy seed bun. OK, one of those ($2.95) and an Italian sausage sandwich, called "Da Mayor"…a home made deliciously seasoned Italian sausage, char-grilled to perfection served in au jus gravy on fresh baked Italian bread ($3.95)..and a side of chili cheese fries, just to see what the chili tastes like, of course…($2.85) 🙂

You order, pay, sit down and it is brought to your table, in brown paper bags, just like I used to get in Detroit (with your order written on the outside of the bag) at the local Coney Island Restaurant.

Open up those bags, and the packaging..

and look at that- juicy, plenty of food AND the authentic *NEON GREEN* Chicago relish..wow! It smells so good! It is the Vienna Beef regular hot dog, (not the old fashioned one with natural casing) and the flavors are *excellent*; the taste brings back good memories. The Italian sausage sandwich-oh yes, that is *not* a Costco Italian sausage (which I do buy when I can’t get to Little Italy downtown). You can taste the fennel pieces in it, and its juicy and oh so fresh, and char grilled the correct way.

Oh, here is the a close up of those buns (with a bite taken out of each; we couldn’t wait). The Italian bread was definitely fresh with a nice light crispy crust. The poppy seed roll was steamed and eggy tasting. I’ll get to the chili/fries in a minute.

Previously (for the sake of this blog, heh heh) I had brought home some other basics and photographed them…

The Big John Burger (1/3 pound juicy Angus ground beef with lettuce, tomato, sliced onion, ketchup and mustard, served on an old fashioned potato bun) ($3.95). They say they cook the burgers to medium well, I asked to be as less of that as possible and it was cooked more to a medium..and gosh was it *very* juicy and flavorful!..Angus beef is sooo much better… (I will get into my meat doneness preferences in another post; the people who work here are following the law about cooking raw meat. Point is, it was medium done and *still* was juicy and great tasting. )…oh and that potato roll! My very-very-VERY first job was working in a Polish Bakery..I know bread; I know what I like..and I do *so* like potato rolls and bread. This was excellent..the burger and everything about it…and for only $1 more, you can make it a 2/3 pound burger! (and its called a "Sears Tower", of course)

This is "Da Boss" The famous thin sliced slow roasted Italian seasoned beef served in au jus gravy on fresh baked French bread and served with hot or sweet peppers (these are the sweet ones) ($5.65). Excellent. Juicy. Perfectly seasoned. A lot of just beef. That bread. mmm!

So, back to those chili cheese fries…well, guess how the chili is made…um, the trimmings from that thinly sliced beef from "Da Boss" can’t go to waste, you know…yep- look at the chili up close (you can click onto those pictures up there) *chunks* of beef..homemade chili…*mmm-yoso!* There are pinto beans that are blended in; you don’t bite into any whole ones- the beans are used as the thickener and you know they are in the chili, its a nice background flavor…and yes, this chili could win a few contests, I think. Oh, the fries are double fried, so they stay crispy with the chili and cheese on top of them…a great detail making that little side dish..well, superb!

So, this little placard is on every table. What is that?

Fresh, hand cut potato chips? I went up to order some, but alas, they were out of those sliced potatoes. Next time. However, the owner, who was working, asked me if I liked Cannoli..well, duh…its a dessert that is not too sweet, a ricotta cheese filled pastry shell…um, OK, I’ll take the Cannoli, please. So, He went in the kitchen area (its an open area; you can watch everything being made) and filled a Cannoli shell for me, dipping each end in pistachios and brought it out to our table.

Oh My! The freshest, crispiest, most delicate pastry shell, filled with the freshest ricotta, powdered sugar and slight vanilla flavor Cannoli filling I’ve ever had! (and, I’ve had a few, thankyouverymuch).

I asked, and the pizza is made from the owner’s Grandmother’s recipe..the dough risen on the pan (it is Sicilian thick pan style) and then a light tomato sauce (He said usually his grandmother just put on spaghetti sauce) and lots of cheese. That’s for next time, too.

Windy City Beef- Family owned and operated, helping out the local Community with fund raisers (see the website) and making fresh, good food that people from the Midwest miss, all while serving pop as the beverage…and *really* excellent Angus burgers.

Like the sign says- They don’t serve fast food, they serve fresh, homemade quality food- quickly.

Windy City Beef 2872 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92021 (619) 465-BEEF (2333) Open 7 days, call for hours. www.wcbsd.com

There is quite a bit of some great Chicago memorabilia contained within the space…and a very telling poster for those of us who understand….

It’s Burger Week – Rocky’s Crown Pub

December 18, 2006 mmm-yoso Burgers

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

Episode16/week3-Charley’s Famous Hamburgers, Shakes, Kabobs…and bacon!

October 16, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Diner, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is on vacation. The part usually played by Kirk will be played by Cathy in the interim.

Its been there since 1973. No advertising. Word of mouth. You probably have seen it… Click onto the picture…you are on Broadway in Lemon Grove, heading east, toward Sweetwater Springs Road. They have *finally* finished all that construction…there…sort of to the left, the red sign…Charley's Famous Hamburgers.

It isn't a sit down restaurant, although there are picnic tables in the back and out front. Most people seem to drive though. They all know to order, drive up and shut off the engine. You have to wait for the food to be cooked.

This is it- you drive through on one side of this small building, or walk up to the front and order. All the cooking goes on inside there.

The menu, as seen via the Drive Through.

You will notice bacon on here, a lot.

I will admit to not bothering to having bacon on most items at restaurants, because I just can't taste it…its usually thin and fairly flavorless. Not here….The bacon is always thick, always not greasy and wonderfully flavored. This, combined with the fact that not much food is frozen, makes Charley's one place I will continue to patronize.

Lets take breakfast, for example. This is the breakfast croissant ($ 3.39) egg, bacon, ham and cheese on a fresh, fluffy croissant. {The extra charge to make a breakfast a combo is worth it if you like OJ-you get a large prepacked container along with a hash brown patty}

There is the famous Kabob-seasoned ground beef patty grilled and in a pita with lettuce, radishes, green pepper, onions and mayo.…and bacon, of course…

This one is the single kabob with bacon ($4.49)

This one is the double kabob with bacon ($5.49). I really like the idea of radishes and green pepper on a hot sandwich. It's a wonderful flavor combination.

Then of course there is the famous hamburger.

This is a the double cheeseburger ($3.29) The hamburger meat is more coarse ground than I have had, more flavorful and definitely not frozen.

There are of course, sides to order.

This is the small Chili Cheese Fries ($2.49) and the onion rings ($1.99)

The chili here is unique and has a nice spice to it. They use those spicy chili beans and not much ground beef. (The cheese melted into the chili before I got a good photograph)..and the onion rings are made of whole real onions, in a cornmeal batter…nice crunch! The plain fries, I am not overly thrilled about, but they have good potato flavor.

OOOH- Look behind the onion rings. That is the plain old, simple BLT ($3.69)…SIX (6) yes, six slices of bacon on that seeded burger bun, with lettuce, tomatoes and mayo…the *absolute* best BLT …EVER.

The part of the menu you may have missed and no photograph could do it justice are the milkshakes…Oh, you *have* to try them. Fresh made to order…my favorite is the banana, made with a real banana, of course… that peanut butter shake…salty and sweet…..absolutely wonderful shakes….the root beer float…just get that as a treat one evening. Its wonderful. The one I haven't tried yet is the apple turnover shake. But, since there are apple turnovers on the menu…well, I can imagine how the shake is made and pretty much what it tastes like…that can be for next time.

So, the next time you are driving, please don't just pass by. Stop. It *will* be the best food you have had in a long time.

Charley's Famous Burgers, Kabobs and Shakes,

8213 Broadway, Lemon Grove 91945 (619)460-2690

Open 7:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., until 10 p.m. on Friday