In-N-Out on Steroids

7 April 2007-
Holy Grill: 659 Townsend Street in San Francisco
http://www.holygrillsf.com/
Cost: $6.95 (meyer's ranch angus bacon cheeseburger, fries extra)

Image Source: blogger's own

Holy Grill is located in a section of San Francisco known to designers as SF Design Center's Showplace Square and Galleria. I've recently been contracting with Roche Bobois on a design project, which is just a couple of storefronts from Holy Grill.

It's not a very large restaurant, with very scarce seating. I worry about this, because I think business could really pick up if they expanded. To my knowledge, there's only one location.

Verdict: An excellent, excellent burger with tangy special sauce and extremely fresh ingredients. Reminiscent of 'In-N-Out' but with better, bigger ingredients. Highly recommended, good luck finding seating during peak hours though.

A Little Let Down

1 April 2007-
Darla's: 822 Irving Street in San Francisco
Cost: $6.95 (bacon cheeseburger, fries included)

Image Source: blogger's own

I heard so much hype about Darla's that I think my expectations were overly inflated. I read about their infamous shakes, the service, the burger patty quality, etc. which all added up to a pretty darn-good burger. However, when I arrived one Sunday evening, after the Sunset season-opener, I couldn't help but feel a little let down.

I was greeted by a drab ambiance, and the interior felt pretty empty and lonely. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and a strawberry shake. Other than a french roll shaped bun, there was really nothing that extraordinary about the burger. I couldn't help but feel a little let down.

Ghetto Burger Fix

29 March 2007-
1/4 lb. Giant Burger: 22nd and Telegraph Avenue in Oakland
Cost: $4.95 (bacon cheeseburger, fries extra)

Image Source: blogger's own

It was the night after a big deadline at work, and I woke up past midnight jonesing for a burger. I drove over to the scary 1/4 lb. Giant Burger stand on 22nd and Telegraph. I've honestly never approached the place, it looks so ghetto in daylight, even more at night. It was open 24 hours, and I was hungry, so I thought I'd give it a try. The place is surprisingly well-lit at night, and does offer a safe-haven among the undeveloped, sparse urban land that surrounds it. It's really just a walk-up burger stand, with plenty of counter space at the window to chow down. I ordered their bacon cheeseburger and a strawberry shake.

The burger had a surprising amount of condiments, including ketchup and mustard with the mayo. I was expecting some ghetto mayo loaded on the burger, but the proportions of the mayo was pretty modest to my preference. The rest of the burger was pretty tasty. Nothing too extraordinary, but not bad tasting either.

When I finished, I realized that I found my new unpretentious, late night, local burger-fix - that tops the Berkeley Smokehouse in my book.