French Roll Bun

13 September 2006-
The Fly Trap Restaurant: 606 Folsom Street in San Francisco
http://flytraprestaurant.com/home.html
Cost: $13.75 (bacon cheeseburger, fries included)

Image Source: blogger's own

It's been a pretty long hiatus since my last review. Ironically I had a couple of great opportunities to review some substantial burgers, but failed to bring along the necessary photo documentation equipment. Today, however, I was prepared. I joined a new coworker (fellow burger enthusiast) to The Fly Trap Restaurant; within a 2 block radius from my new work location (2 1/2 blocks away from my old work location).

The restaurant is pretty upscale. My friend refers to it as "experimental"; for example one of the entree's is Calf's Brains. Feeling pretty reserved, we both indulged in their cheeseburger; I however, requested the requisite bacon. As for grilling preference, I specified "medium-rare".

Verdict: We both agreed that the grilling preference is slightly overcooked per the grilling specification. For example, mine was more "medium than medium-rare" and my coworker's was more "medium-well than medium". We both also agreed that the fries were sensational, and very delicious. The "experimental" nature of the restaurant presented the burger with a delicious french roll and butter lettuce. Also, it didn't come with any condiments other than mustard on the side, which kind of threw me off. The fries were sensational, but the burger was a little too avant garde.

Best in a While

2 September 2006-
Burger Depot: 1116 Solano Avenue in Albany
Cost: $5.25 (bacon cheeseburger, fries extra)

Image Source: blogger's own

Burger Depot is a very nondescript sort of divey restaurant in lower Solano Avenue in Albany run by a very friendly 'mom and pop'. I was the only one in the place on a late Saturday evening, and presumably the owners executed TQM over my burger, and this was definitely reflected in the burger experience.

The burger was served, piled high with fixings and perfectly golden fries. Everything else about the burger met my criteria and then some: toasted bun, crunchy bacon, bermuda onions, a juicy patty grilled about medium-rare by default, (no grilling preference specification), a fat tomato and swiss cheese.

I caught the 'pop', the primary burger preparer observe the thorough photo documentation process, and my enthusiastic ingestion of this burger feast with an amiable smirk on his face. I knew he knew what's up, and I also knew he knew I knew what's up.

Napkin Art

1 September 2006-
Mama's Royal Cafe: 4012 Broadway in Oakland
http://www.mamasroyalcafeoakland.com/
Cost: $9.00 (niman ranch bacon cheeseburger, including side salad)

Image Source: blogger's own

I had lunch with a friend on Friday, and couldn't pass up an opportunity to indulge in another burger. Ironically, he's one of the only friends who isn't an FBE (fellow burger enthusiast). In any case, Mama's is a spacious diner in between Piedmont Avenue and Rockridge. It's another one of those places that represents a good cross section of the diversity in Oakland. I think the staffs all got some serious style too. Mama's also has an annual napkin art contest where contestants can win up to 300 dollars cash in prizes and free meals.

Today I ordered Mama's Niman Ranch 1/3 lb. bacon cheeseburger with Jarlsburg and a side salad. I specified "medium-rare" as the grilling preference.

Verdict: Although I was initially impressed by the presentation; note those ski shaped strips of bacon. I was a little disappointed by the choice of bun, and lack of toastiness. Because of the lack of toastiness, the bun easily fell apart when handling the burger and contributed to the somewhat overall dry experience. The bacon and salad were great, however.