Alameda’s New Burger Joint

The much anticipated opening of Burgermeister in Alameda cam to fruition this past Tuesday and give the crowds over the past couple of days it looks to be a hit with locals. If you go for dinner and want to sit down be prepared to wait, I went on Wednesday Night and it was a 20 minute wait for table for two.

With any new place there are hiccups, and Burgermeister had a few this evening.

We started with cocktails, the Strawberry Margarita was not good, it was the first time I have sent back a drink in a real long time, and the staff did create the drink but not a good start. The lemon drop was solid, but not great. The bartending needs to be improved.

The real bummer was not wait for table but the long wait for food. Our server forgot to put our order in, and after 20 minutes she noticed. She did apologize and put a rush on the new order, which came very promptly. In the meantime I had twice ordered a beer and never received it, I guess the good part was I did not get billed. I have to say they failed on the execution of service.

The positive was the food. The burger was perfect and the chili cheese curly fries were AWE-Some. So the food was good and I was glad to see all the people dining out in the Park Street District. Of course we ran into several people we know, typical in Alameda. The evening was not a total loss.

I would go back because of the quality of food and give them another shot at improving their service.

2358 Central Avenue (between Oak St & Park St)Alameda, CA 94501
www.burgermeistersf.com/

Slide into the Windy City

Part deux of the trip to Phoenix.

So I was looking for a place close to the office to grab lunch and a burger is always a good call. So I did a quick Yelp search to map any and all burger place within a mile of the office and I found the Chicago Hamburger Company.

The place gives you a taste of the Windy City in the middle of the desert. The Daly for Mayor Signs, the Bears, Cub and White Sox memorabilia adorns the walls and would make any Midwesterner feel the breeze is about to come off the lake at any minute.

The Chicago Hamburger Company, specialty is Original Windy City Slider®. In addition to the slider this Chicago style burger stand that serves Vienna hot dogs and polish, char broiled sandwiches, wings, salads, and daily specials. They have the daily specials listed on their website so check them out before you go.

The sliders are not White Castle and that is a very good thing. I had four double sliders with cheese and they were full of flavor and went down very easy. The buns really made the burger. Overall they four doubles were very filling and tasty. The cost is very reasonable $1.04 for a single cheese burger and $1.64 for a double cheeseburger.

The fries are top notch; the local magazine twice gave the Chicago Hamburger Company top honors for their fries. The fries are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

They also serve old fashioned milkshakes so I decided to have a coffee flavored shake for dessert. It was a good call for the 94-degree day.

This is a very family friendly environment, with kid menus, pinball games, including an old baseball Pennant Fever game and Pac-Man. The TV was tuned to WGN for Cubs baseball.

The Chicago Hamburger Company
3749 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, Arizona
(602) 955-4137
Open Mon-Sat: 10:30am-8pm
http://www.chicagohamburger.com/index.htm

F.O.

When I travel to Los Angeles, there is only one dining place that is a must stop. Father’s Office (F.O.) in Santa Monica. This pub is not that big and the bar is simple; draft beer. What F.O. delivers is great food and a beer for anybody.

The “Office Burger” is not your typical all American burger, and if you need to have ketchup on the burger this is not your place. The burger is served just one way. There is no substitution, there are no changes, do not try asking. The burger is awesome, but comes with a side of attitude. The Office Burger made from dry aged beef and contains, caramelized onions, applewood bacon compote, gruyere, matag blue cheese, and arugula. They meld all of the additional ingredients together before placing them in the bun. Not a cheap burger around $12.


The sweet potato French fries are worth the trip to the West Side. The Sweet Potato French Fries are seasoned with roasted garlic, herbs, and served with a blue cheese aioli. Their regular fries are also great, but these offer a nice complement to the burger.


F.O. has 36 Beers on Tap most are staples but they do rotate part of the stock. This is a beer drinkers paradise. Plus Santa Monica is not a bad place to hang out while visiting SoCal.

Go early! F.O. opens at 5 PM most nights, 4 PM on Fridays and Noon on the weekend. If you go on the weekend, go before the 20-somethings awake from a night of clubbing. The Santa Monica place is small, and gets packed very quickly. Also when its crowded expect dealing with the door-man, positioning yourself for a table and waiting. When I mean staking out a table I literally mean boxing other people out for a table. To snag a table you pretty much just have to hang out over someone's table till they clear.

If you don’t like the crowd, phone your order in and head down to the beach.

F.O. has just opened a second location in Culver City, in the new trendy redeveloped area. Same hours, same menu, slightly larger place to serve the hungry and thirsty.

Santa Monica
1018 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90403
TEL: 310 393 BEER (2337)

http://www.fathersoffice.com/

Old Standby

Just like anything in life, we have things we like to experiment with and some things we always fall back to out of comfort. A favorite t-shirt, a date buddy (someone that you can always call-on), and places we go to to eat, drink and be merry.

I tend to write about new places that I have tried in the last couple of days, but this past weekend I went back to a couple places that are tried and true. Places were you feel comfortable and treated like you are the friend of the owner. Think of "Cheers" without Sam Malone/Ted Danson.

On Friday Night, after sailing (opening of the season, very happy) and a few cocktails at the Fireside, my buddy and I traveled across the street to Nations Giant Hamburgers on Webster Street in Alameda. It had been a while, since I stop into the old burger joint and much of it had not changed over the years. It a simple menu, big old greasy burgers, but for a moment it brought me back to the countless runs we made to Nations for burgers over the past 20 years. These are burgers have all the fixings and my option of grilled onions and pickels. Fries and pie round out the menu. After midnight this is a great stop, not the best burger I have ever had, but a lot of memories waiting for my burger to come up. Some of the memories are little more difficult after some very late nights.

On Saturday, headed into McGees Bar and Grill on Park Street in Alameda. Owners John and Linda Costello are great people and treat every customer with care. Tim, the bar manager always calls me by name and looks to see if I have a drink. The NCAA Basketball games were on so it was a full house. McGees has a great pub menu burgers, wings, fries and few items with a slight mexican slant. I end up at McGees more often than I will admit because of their diverse menu. You don't need to know what you want until your are ready to order. McGees has a full bar and is well worth a stop.

Nations http://www.nationsrestaurants.com/

McGees
http://www.mcgeesbarandgrill.com/

See old review of Fireside
http://cocktailcocktailscocktails.blogspot.com/2007/12/fireside.html

Simple Eats: Eureka and Noe Valley

The Meister Burger

If you are heading out to Noir City, I have put together a couple places for you to try out before or after the film festival. I have tried to keep it close to the theater, so you could be within walking distance, so you only have to park once if you are driving. I know that there is a big-old hill between Noe Valley and the Castro, but if you park between the two neighborhoods on Castro, Church or Noe Streets it is not that bad (no Billy Goat jokes).

But on to the food and drink . . .

The Eureka Valley/Castro is a great neighborhood for food and drink. The neighborhood has its share of diverse dinning from the casual to the elegant. Since, it’s a local film festival I thought I would stay on the casual side.

Nothing is more casual than Burgers and Fries, so here are two Castro recommendations: Sliders (449 Castro) and BurgerMeister on Church at Market (138 Church Street). Sliders is a dive and the food is very average, but a burger is under $5. Good choice after having a few drinks. BurgerMeister has four locations in the city and they go all out it creating your ground up dinner. First it cost a lot more than Sliders, but this a place where you get what you pay for, patties are ½ lb Niman Ranch Beef and are loaded with toppings. Here are two examples: Bacon Cheeseburger Niman Ranch's Applewood Smoked Bacon w/ Cheddar and The Meister Burger Everything Burger with Avocado, Bacon, Mushroom, Onions and your choice of Cheese: Cheddar, Jack, Pepper Jack, Bleu, Swiss, & White American. Need large hands and lots of napkins for this burger.

If you are looking for comfort food, head over to Home (2100 Market St), to fill your belly and in my case remind me of my childhood family menu. Pot Roast, Macaroni and Cheese, Meatloaf, Sloppy Joe Dip and Apple pie are staples at this diner. Prices range between $12-$20. If you looking to save a buck or two, Home has an Early Bird Special Every day from 5-6 pm, this is a three-course prix fixe menu with glass of wine. The prix fixe menu changes daily. Also a full bar, Saturdays & Sundays Build your own Bloody Mary Bar from10 am—2 pm.

If you want something a little different try La Mediterranee (288 Noe Street between 16th St & Beaver St). If you want to sound like a local call it La Med. I have been going to the location on College Avenue in Berkeley for years and have always been fed well. I can recommend the Levant sandwich, chicken pomegranate and filo dough specialties.

Bars: Café Du Nord (2120 Market) and Lucky 13 (2140 Market). Two real different places, give a try. Café Du Nord has music most of the time, check their calendar http://www.cafedunord.com/. Lucky 13 is young and the jukebox is loud, they have a pool table, foosball table, a couple of pinball machines, and some shooting video game. This is a typical dirty dive bar with cheap drinks, loud music, and smelly bathrooms

Since Noe Valley is a little hike I will keep it simple, 24^th is the main corridor and you can find tons of places to eat, but very few places for a drink.

Burger: Barneys (4138 24th Street) http://www.barneyshamburgers.com/

Food: Firefly -- the prix fix menu, which is only $35. http://www.fireflyrestaurant.com/

Drinks: The Dubliner and the Bliss Bar