Mike "Burger and Destroy" M.'s Profile

Growing up in Novato, there were only two places I held as truly special to go out and get burgers; Henry's Burgers in Novato, and In-n-out all the way in Santa Rosa. Novato, and even most of Marin, has had a serious lack of Burger Joints for as long as I've been around and kicking.

Henry's was on the opposite end of town from me, and I usually only went for a friends birthday, or after riding my bike across town (awesome to note a bmx bike was waiting outside when I got there. Some things never change). It's been awhile since I had been back, and it is still pretty similar. They ditched the artwork of human shaped vegetables in the middle of very human activities for retro car prints and typical diner art. I can't say if this is a plus or a minus though, those ridiculous posters were very deeply tied into what this place was. They do have a lot of new signage out front, which is great because they are located in what seems to be a dying shopping center, with only Tagliaferri's Deli (delicious, by the way) seeming to help bring people in. Henry's is a Novato staple, in a small city with very few staples. It seems there has been a lot of turnover of restaurants here and its great to see our little burger joint last for over 30 years now.

Henry's still has that small hometown feel, though the menu has grown tremendously. Someone obviously has been having some fun here with all kinds of crazy burger combinations, and a ridiculous spicy and huge burger challenge to boot. There are pesto burgers, a nacho fries burger, mozzarella stick burgers, and all kinds of subtle twists on what we known and love. These definitely aren't the gourmet gruyere type burgers, moreso just fun variations of whatever sort of diner food they can add on with it.

No surprises with me, I went with a Western Bacon Cheeseburger, and my buddy ordered the Garlic Ranch burger. I got mine with fries, and instantly wished I went with curly fries, but that one is all on me. These specialty burgers are available in a combo with fries and a drink for $8.99, which is a great price considering what I normally pay in the city (a la carte they are $5.99).

The burger was big, and juicy. First off, I have to give them props for melting the cheese over the onion rings. Little details like this always impress me. I was only a few bites in and my friend was already done with his burger, a good sign. The bacon here had some nice crusty edges and just the right amount of crispiness. The buns were airy and buttery, which are probably the best qualities a bun can have. The Cheddar melted across the onion rings was rather delicious, and also helped keep things in place. As for the burger itself, it was probably the perfect sized patty. Just the right thickness to be substantial but not overwhelming, and I was more than full after eating it and my fries. The meat was tender and carried the flavor of the rest of the ingredients very well. The barbecue sauce was solid, nice and sweet, but not the most memorable.

I am a huge fan of small burger joints like this, and this is my hometown burger place. I didn't go often, so I am only mildly sentimental for it, but they are serving up some pretty good burgers here. My friend and I were both very satisfied with ours, and after that lunch we really didn't even need to eat dinner. The prices are reasonable, and the service was nice too. These are the small places I feel good supporting.

The only negatives are they are calling themselves "the chronic burger joint" which, to put it mildly, is rather juvenile sounding. Sure, if this was a bustling college town or if you are solely marketing towards bros that might make sense, but that isn't really Novato's demographic (and the bros here are most likely not the wealthiest consumers). It sounds like the owners son got a little too much responsibility or something...

So if you happen to be in Novato or just passing through, they are definitely worth the stop. A wide variety of burgers for everyone, and more than enough food to make everyone full.

-Burger and Destroy

Pictures and more are up on http://burgeranddestro...

Well this was a surprise. I spent 4th of July weekend in LA, and I have built up a decent selection of burger places to try out there. We ended up being rather busy the whole time and never made it to any of those places, but I still got a burger in. After a long and almost stupidly-hot day somewhere in "the valley" (my LA geography is terrible) we wanted to grab some food on the way back. Johnny Memphis' Smokehouse Barbecue was mentioned, and thankfully the whole car agreed.

I hadn't heard about this place before, and it was a typical strip mall location. It has somewhat recently changed names and ownership. Not being a local I am unsure if there were menu changes or just behind the scenes stuff, and their website is absolutely of no help (I really need to push my web design to all these restaurants, but that is a whole other story). Anyhow, this place is totally non-assuming from the outside. I have no judgement over being in a strip mall, as I have had great and terrible burgers in terrible and great looking places.

The menu is large, and has a good variety. They offer 6 burgers, which seems like a lot for a BBQ smokehouse. They have plenty of other meaty goodness, and the giant stuffed potato and pulled chicken sandwich my girlfriend and her sister ordered also looked great. A little something for everyone, which isn't always the case at a place like this.

I went with the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Onion Rings, Sharp Cheddar and Barbecue Sauce. I am capitalizing these words because they are all important. This was one hell of a burger. $8.99 and it came with seasoned shoestring fries. 4 items on a bun, and nothing more could be needed. Where do you even start when breaking this burger down? It requires some serious smashing if you are trying to go bun to bun on your first bite, but you will be doing yourself a favor if you can manage the complete bite. They have house-made bbq sauce in two varieties, and it is great. Real sweet style barbecue sauce, and you can really taste the honey. Even in the pictures you can see how strong a base honey is in the sauce. My mouth is literally watering thinking about it. Not in the cute writery sense, but am I actually wondering why I didn't smuggle a few containers of it back on my plane.

Ok, so a delicious barbecue sauce does not an amazing burger make. But that onion ring. It was a beautiful thing. I have never had a better onion ring on a burger. At one point, I thought there was some cornbread involved (which I later may be experimenting with in a segment on my website possibly titled "Failures in my Kitchen" or "How I Lost Everything in the Fire"). The batter is just absolutely stellar. And that ring was massive, and covered just about every bite of the burger. Success. The bacon offered its own hint of unique flavor too, and though it was much more subtle it was another reason this was so good. A blt with that barbecue sauce would make a killer sandwich on its own, that is if you ended up there for breakfast.

The patty here is large and mine was cooked just right. And while it was large, it had the perfect thickness to surface area ratio. With the bacon and onion ring on top, you definitely want a lot of area, and it delivers. This was a messy burger, but the meat was nice and juicy without sogging up the bun or getting everywhere. I thankfully was only covered in sauce and not grease. It reached a point where I was dipping fries on my hands, but what more could you ask for from a bbq sauce claiming to have the best sauce west of the Mississippi (I think they have a chance)? The bun was nice and airy, and complemented the rest of the burger well. Nothing out of the ordinary, but definitely tasty.

This was a total surprise for me. We stopped here so randomly, and it's now a go to place whenever I head back into LA. I haven't had a western barbecue bacon onion-ringed burger this good in a very long time. If you are anywhere nearby I highly recommend you stop go!

Visit my site for pictures of the beast!

~Burger and Destroy

I recently took a long weekend in Seattle for a graduation, and after getting a lot of good recommendations, we were only able to squeeze in one burger place. The consensus from the locals was that Red Mill had the best burgers. It also happened to be close to where we were staying, so we gathered up everyone and headed over, only to find out they are closed Mondays. Panic set in; we had a flight to catch and to make it easy on everyone we may just end up at the closest restaurant. But a quick search showed Uneeda Burger was close enough, so away we went.

Uneeda burger is a nice casual place; the building opens right out onto a large patio, and the covered portion was actually necessary for the surprisingly warm weather. The inside had a lot of dark wood, and made it classier feeling than just a burger shack. Now I had no recommendations for any specific burgers here, I was just told this was one of the better places in Seattle. Their choices here are not very traditional, with Gruyere being the most common burger topper. Uneeda Burger's menu was created by a chef with two other restaurants to his name, and although I know nothing about them I am sure they are higher end dining experiences, as a burger with Crimini mushrooms, porcini & black truffle salt, shallots & Gruyere cheese would lead you to believe.

I went with the BBQ Smash burger, and held off on the onions. 1/3lb local beef, cheddar, bacon, and barbecue sauce for $8.50. I added a side of waffle fries and an Oreo shake for $2.50 and $5 respectively. Waffle fries are not offered often, so I felt like I had to go for it. The food was ready pretty quickly, and it looked real good. Huge bonus points go to giving you the extra milkshake in the mixing cup, even if the serving glass is on the smaller side. Milkshakes have gone up lately, and if anything they are getting even smaller in size, so getting the additional cup is always appreciated. Small touches like this can really make a burger place stand out.

Now for the burger-this thing looked really good. Too good in fact, as I was a bit disappointed. Now this was tricky for me, as right away I was just not liking the barbecue sauce, and there is no way around that when your burger is covered in it. I need to bone up on the complexities of barbecue sauces to be clearer, but this was bbq sauce was a red sauce, where I favor a more brown sauce. It wasn't a bad bbq sauce altogether; I am sure many prefer this type, I am just not one of them. So that puts me in a bit of a hard position, but I can't recall another burger I've had in the past few years where I've disagreed with the sauce as much. I've had plenty of bland sauces, which this was not, but it just was not for me.

The patty itself felt... soft. It wasn't that it was undercooked, it just wasn't very firm. The bacon was nice and crispy throughout, and the cheddar took a backseat to the bacon and bbq sauce. I just didn't feel like a cowboy biting into this burger. The size was substantial enough, but the patty just didn't have a great texture. The waffle fries were also pretty standard fare, as they tasted more like a blanched potato. I was hoping they would have a little seasoning to them, but they seemed to just be french fries served up a bit differently.

My girlfriend got the veggie burger and onion rings. The onion rings were rather good, but her veggie burger was nothing out of the ordinary. Everything we all ordered looked amazing, but just didn't quite hold up. I'd be willing to give this place another shot if I were in the area again, but I can only think of what could have been at Red Mill instead.

If you are looking for a more gourmet-styled burger, this could definitely be your place. But if you want a typical cheeseburger and fries, you might want to look elsewhere.

-Burger and Destroy

A coworker and I had been excited about Super Duper Burger opening since we first heard the news, so when she was finally free for lunch one day we went over. I had already been once before they officially opened, and did a review on the whole restaurant experience which you can read at http://burgeranddestro.... We had to grab our food and go because of a meeting, but even though it was fairly crowded inside the line moved quickly and we got our food fast.

I was feeling hungry, so I ordered the 8 ounce Super Duper Burger for $6.50. I added cheese for 50 cents and bacon for an extra dollar, so $8 total. Also grabbed a vanilla shake for an additional $4.75. Our food was handed to us quickly, and we headed back on our one block walk to the office. Once I dug into my bag, I found that my burger was in a foil wrapper, like it was wearing a space blanket. Their motto is "Fast food burgers, slow food values" and it's these touches that play into it. I'd never really think of it as "fast food" but it strikes a real good balance between the two.

The 8oz. Super Duper burger is actually 2 patties. I didn't even realize this at first because my burger suffered some serious patty-creep. But this is a pretty hefty burger, especially with the bacon. The bacon was pretty crispy, but had some chewier parts. I had to do the rip-bacon-and-stuff-it-back-into-the-burger maneuver, but only once. They do add bacon above and below the patties; it is kind of hard to see in this last picture, but bonus points for that. Much more obvious is the cheese that is all kinds of melted deliciousness.

Unfortunately the further I delved into my burger, the soggier my bun got. I've been experiencing this more than I ever have lately, and really am going to try my best to eat right after ordering, not bring it anywhere else. My co-worker didn't have this problem, so I'll see how it goes next time. But the last few bites were impassable, as the bun was beyond saving. With the large amount of bacon, this ended up being a very rich burger and relented to it, leaving a few bites left. The cause of my soggy woes were the juicy patties, which are cooked real nicely, and you can tell the meat is high quality. The consistency is very good, and it is never too tough even on the edges.

I really want to love this burger, but its not an all star for me. It is a very decent burger no-doubt, but it seemed a little off-balance. For the neighborhood though, it is the only way to go. The milkshake was real good, but on the smaller side for just shy of $5. The fries I had previously are also tasty, but I don't know how often I will specifically be craving a burger here. That's probably for the best, as falling in love with a burger a block away from my work could be a dangerous thing.

I will definitely be adding this in to my lunchtime rotation, and if anything changes I will be sure to update. You won't be making any mistakes coming here, but you probably wont be trying to have them name a burger after you either.

-Burger and Destroy

After going to a few bike shops with a friend, we looked up places nearby to eat, and realized we were two blocks away from Burger Meister in Cole Valley. I didn't even know they had a location there, but I have been to their other two in the city a few times. The Cole Valley location is the most tucked away of the group, and they have a handful of tables inside and outside.

From my previous few trips, I had the notion that they lean on the expensive side for a typical burger joint. After my last visit I think their prices are fairly standard, though the sides and add-ons are where the cost will creep up on you. They use all Niman Ranch beef, so the quality is definitely there. I ordered the Western Burger, which for a 1/3 pound burger is $10.25 including a side of fries. I believe the 1/3 pound option is relatively new, and does help make the price more reasonable. A standard 1/3lb cheeseburger and fries is $7.75. Sides of sweet potato fries, onion rings and the like are from 4-5.25 dollars.

Somehow on this visit I managed to escape the wrath of my BBQ sauce, but my friend was subsequently drenched from his Meisterburger. I am a staunch believer in that once you pick your burger up, you never set it down again, and I am usually not so lucky. These are all messy burgers, usually at least a 3 napkiner.

The western burger is a solid burger. The bbq sauce is nice and sweet, the onion rings are massive and perfectly crisp, and the bacon and cheese tied it all together. No soggy bacon here. The burger is thin and wide, giving enough surface area for their variety of toppings, which is one of the main reasons Burger Meister is so good.

There are no complaints here, the 1/3 lb burger and curly fries filled me up just fine. Everything tastes real good consistently, making it a great go-to restaurant. Nothing too memorable, but you'd have a very hard time being let down here, as they have something for everyone.

-Burger and Destroy

Zazie is a romantic little French restaurant that gets very little ink for just how good it is. Every dish has been delicious (I've heard, as I only order one thing, save for the surprise Prix Fixe menu on Valentine's Day). Zazie is perfect for a special occasion; the atmosphere is really great inside, which you will almost never hear me talk about, but for a nice place it lacks the snobbishness of many others. Every meal starts with an incredibly fresh and hot roll, which is far too small for how delicious it is. This roll was definitely a precursor of what was to come. And to end the meal they have some insanely decadent desserts. My favorite is the chocolate-coma inducing Baked Chocolat Chaud, which tastes almost like brownie batter topped with tons of melted marshmallows. Absolutely delicious.

But none of that matters here. What is important is that Zazie is hands down the best place to take your significant other for a special occasion/romantic dinner, and still have one of the best burgers you can get your hands on. They offer one burger, the Zazie burger, with white cheddar, tomatoes provençals, and a side of grilled potatoes. I don't know what tomatoes provençals are, so they are swept off to the girlfriends plate. The bacon for a $2 additional charge is well worth it, and brings the total for this bad boy to $14.

The whole time you wait for your burger, all you can do is think about that tiny roll they served you early on. I think the service is reasonably quick, but after eating that little roll the only thing running through my head is how I could probably eat about 20 more, or if the people at the table next to me won't be looking when the waitress drops off their rolls. Time seems to just crawl, which is just about all I can do after eating the burger and then the dessert. Finally the burger arrives, and it delivers. The bun is just as good as that little roll, buttery and crisp on the outside. White cheddar has been popping up more often lately, and it is a trend I like (hopefully it becomes the next pomegranate or avocado or sweet potato fries). The white cheddar and bacon, again a crucial addition, are a stellar combination. It's obvious Zazie takes pride in what they serve, and both the cheese and bacon are rich and flavorful. The bacon is crispy enough where you won't have to worry about pulling the rest of it out when you first bite into it, which as we all know can throw off the whole balance of a burger. Surprisingly, the fancy leafy greens on top also compliment the burger very well.

This has to be one of the most well-balanced and refined burgers out there, while still being a true burger. I didn't know this burger existed when I went to Zazie for the first time, and was expecting to have to eat something way too "fancy" where I'd just end up pushing about half the plate to the side. Instead I was absolutely blown away by this burger. Wouldn't matter if this was from a burger shack, a trailer, or the fanciest restaurant, this is a top 5 burger all the way. Add in the killer dessert, and the fact that you can impress your date there, who will be more than happy with their menu whatever their taste may be, and you've got one of best experiences for any burger lover.

If this burger were any cheaper, I'd be there twice a month for sure.

-Burger and Destroy

Seeing as my flight got delayed, it seems appropriate that I type this up now.

Being hungry at the airport can be scary, for both your wallet and your internal organs. My flight today is out of the brand new terminal 2 here that they were espousing as some sort of wonderland. Turns out that is the wonderland of waiting. Power sources abound, but that is it for the excitement. We were supposed to be meeting up with family in Seattle for dinner, but with the delayed flight I decided to go with a burger from Burger Joint.

The name sounds familiar, but I don't quite know why, besides for it being super generic. Have I ever been to one? Is that their rational; that you can't remember if you've had it or not? Are they only in airports? Will I instantly regret this?

At this point, I wasn't even going to bother to look up more information on them, as I am already irritated at the airport. Gave it a shot anyway, and all their website shows is their logo and "new website coming soon". I guess it is still 1999.

That means we as a group will not be getting any answers. Now to the actual food. With tax, a cheeseburger came out to just under $11 and comes with fries. Though mind you this is at the airport, where everything we've learned about numbers-money and time, don't exist in the same way as the outside world. I wonder if calculators have issues here too...

First thoughts. One giant piece of lettuce. Ultra thick steak fries. Suspiciously familiar looking patty. I went for a fry first, as I reached for the ketchup. Mistake, as for my entire meal was spent trying to figure out what the aftertaste of the fries reminded me of (and yes I am ending this sentence with "of"). At this very moment, it still befuddles me. The leafy part of a strawberry that you shouldn't eat? That multicolored insulation that looks like lint? Those edible photos they put on top of cakes? I really haven't a clue, but there was some bizarre aftertaste making an appearance on those fries.

Now onto the actual burger. I said it seemed familiar, and I think I've at least got that figured out. Those large stacks of frozen patties you get at Costco that always get cooked by someone you don't know no matter how small the party you are at is... Yeah, it was just like that. Oh it looks big, but the whole time you are eating, it seems like very little is happening. I read some mumbo jumbo about where the meat was from, but stopped caring. The consistency of the patty just was not there, it had some weird crunchier parts that no one likes to think or talk about. The cheese was fine, but this was a grade A blandburger. Nothing terribly wrong with it, just tasted like some frozen company picnic burger.

If you are at the airport, maybe you pony up the big bucks for a burger at the Lark Creek Grill here and still risk it, or do what I wish I did and get a bucket sized froyo at pink berry. Other than that I have no real takeaways here, except an oddly sore throat and a stomach that I hope doesn't turn on me.

-Burger and Destroy

Lombardi's is a great barbeque spot, and it's quite apparent from when you drive up. The front is lined with large oil-drum barbeques, and you often have to walk through a wall of smoke just to get inside. Inside its a pretty typical deli market, with plenty of barbequed meats. They also have a good selection of obscure root beers and other sodas, a great compliment for any meal there.

My girlfriend swears by the BBQ chicken sandwich, and I always rotate through the menu. Although it's only around 45 minutes away from San Francisco, Petaluma has that country essence, which is probably why the bbq is much better than anything nearer to the city.

This time we came with a bunch of friends, and since it was my birthday I decided to give the burger another shot. It had been awhile and I couldn't remember what I thought about it. They have one burger, a BBQ cheeseburger with pepper-jack and a side of potato salad, for $7.99.

The kicker for this burger is it comes on a soft and crusty Dutch Crunch roll. The bun can make or break a burger, and the crunch elevated this burger. My burger was real simple; meat, cheese, and bbq sauce. The cheese was melted to absolute perfection, and a long strand stayed attached to the paper, a la in-n-out. This is a real pepper-jack, where you can see and taste the peppers. It's not too spicy, but combined with the sweet bbq sauce it's a winning combo. The flavors aren't too strong and it is not going to blow you away, but it is a simple and delicious burger made by guys who know how to run a barbecue. This is a burger I will definitely look forward to eating again.

-Burger and Destroy

As we all know by now, the newest culinary craze, especially in San Francisco and other big cities, is food trucks. Just about anyone who writes has exhausted this topic, but I was pretty excited to have them show up a few times a week within walking distance from my work. Without a fresh cycle of trucks though, I've gotten bored of them just like the nearby restaurants, but the more options the better.

Then, everything changed.

I heard of a burger truck that would be somewhere in the Financial district. A good 20+ minute walk for me, but there is a severe shortage of decent burgers around my work. I hustled on over to a makeshift food truck get-together, as I've never heard of them being there before or after this visit. And there a good size line awaited me. All in all I waited about an hour to order and receive my burger, a fiveten burger with cheddar and bacon ($7.50). But was it worth it!

I devoured it on the way back to the office, and I believe this was the first time I've ever been burned by a burger. Be warned, these are very juicy burgers, and should be eaten immediately, or unwrapped before you transport them. My only complaint is that the juiciness can make your bun soggy quickly if you leave it all wrapped up. And that is rather problematic, seeing as these are some of the best buns I've had. They are sweet, fluffy, and flaky, on par with the gourmet Zazi burger (who make some of the best rolls in town). Apparently they are custom buns baked fresh locally at North Beach Bakery Co., which I now need to visit.

As mentioned, the patties are juicy and flavorful. Every aspect of the burger compliments each other, and nothing is too overpowering, including the bacon. It is all extremely well balanced. It's a pretty averaged sized patty at 6oz, so it's definitely good for lunch. A side of the garlic fries will fill you up, and from what I've seen they are generous with their portions. Not a big fan of garlic fries or putting my coworkers through its ill-effects so I have held off on them for now, and always end up being full afterwards anyway.

To the guy complaining about them not offering burgers without cheese... I love when burger places do that. I remember hearing about a place that charged you extra to get it without cheese, because it was just wrong. So while the rest of the world may not be "true burger fans" because we like ours with cheese, enjoy still paying for it! And their prices aren't bad, just because one place has a cheaper burger doesn't mean anything. Quality also comes into play, and I wouldn't be surprised if those delicious buns help add to the price (and are obviously more than justified).

The rest of their menu looks pretty good even though I probably won't touch it. Chicken, steak, sausage, or truffle-scented grilled cheese sandwiches for those not feeling like a burger (i.e. girlfriends). They also offer a grassfed organic burger for $8.75 that I have yet to pony up for. They are Oakland based, and seem to rotate between Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville and SF.

I've trekked to fiveten 3 times now, and I've been very satisfied every time. This is the best burger in downtown San Francisco, yet sadly it is only around once a week. You will be hard pressed to find a better burger, especially at the price.

-Burger and Destroy