Welcome to the first entry of The Great Burger Hunt for 2019! Previously, Comstock Saloon was still at the top of the list for the best burger, but this time I tried burgers from Belcampo, Starbelly and City Beer Store to see how their burgers fare!
1. Belcampo
As suggested by a reader of the blog, I decided to give the Belcampo Burger at Belcampo Meat Company a try. He suggested going to the Belcampo at Jack London Square, but it’s not quite as convenient to get to by public transit at the one in San Francisco, so the easier one to get to won! ) The location in San Francisco is quite small, as it’s mostly a butcher/tiny market with a few hot options to eat in or take away. (Although I think this location has recently closed.) I had the Belcampo Burger (a half pound thick patty with lettuce, cheddar cheese and special sauce). It is a bit pricier than the one at Jack London Square as it was $15 plus $7 for fries and a drink. (I think the one at Jack London is around $18 all in, but of course, the cost of getting there is more, so it all kind of averages out in the end). When it arrived, it did look pretty fantastic with a thicker patty than other places. While the meat tasted great, it was slightly over cooked for me (I did ask for it medium rare). The only issue I had with the burger was that it was quite dry overall. The burger itself could have been slightly juicier and there wasn’t much special sauce on top in order to lubricate it. The fries were tasty and well cooked, and I really liked the house made ketchup (which also went on the burger to help with the dryness somewhat).
Belcampo Burger
2. Starbelly
Next on my list of burgers recommended to me was the burger from Starbelly. I had major FOMO after seeing a photo my friend sent me of her husband’s burger because it looked amazing, so I headed here for their weekday brunch to see if it was as good as it looked. Of course, the entire time I’m there The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss is running through my head, because that’s just the type of weirdo I am. I ordered the burger with a side salad. The total for that isn’t too bad, running at $15, but the addition of toppings for $2 a pop can definitely ramp up the price quickly. I tried to have a modicum of restraint and only added the grilled onions and blue cheese. The burger did look fantastic when it arrived, and the side salad was lightly dressed (which is my favorite way to have salads). I turned down offers for ketchup or condiments, mostly thinking that I since I didn’t have fries, I wouldn’t need it. Little did I know that they don’t actually add any condiments to their burger. However, after the first bite, I realized I didn’t need it because the patty was incredibly juicy and moist. The bun was soft, but firm enough to soak up the meat juices without falling apart. The blue cheese helped a bit with the moisture as well, and the onions were really flavorful. It was a pretty good burger, so I was quite happy with what I had. The only downside was the the restaurant has tables that are quite close together, and I’m really not a fan of trying to have a meal with someone in such tight quarters.
Starbelly Burger with onions and blue cheese
3. City Beer Store
I actually found City Beer Store when I read somewhere that they have the best fries in San Francisco. That was a bold claim, so when I researched it, I saw they also had an interesting burger on the menu, so of course it had to become my final stop for this edition of The Great Burger Hunt. I really loved the venue with funky art on the wall, and I sat down at the bar to order a beer and a burger (with fries of course). The burger runs $15 with the addition of fries or a salad for an extra $3. The burger is two 4-ounce patties with sharp provolone, porcini-braised onions and miso dijonnaise on an Acme burger bun. It sounded heavenly to me. It looked really good too, with the cheese oozing off the patties. I did really like the onions, they were really cooked down and had a great flavor. The meat was also moist. The only problem was that the burger was a salt bomb. There was so much salt it was hard to get a lot of the other flavors out of it. Which is unfortunate, because a lot of the flavors were great when they managed to shine through. Perhaps it’s to try to get people to drink more beer. Or perhaps it was just a bad day, but it was really hard to get over. And how were those “best fries in San Francisco”? They were really tasty (and somehow less salty than the burger). They are paprika and roasted fennel seed coated, so they really had a great flavor.
City Beer Burger
Winner: Comstock Saloon
Sadly, none of the burgers came close to Comstock for deliciousness. I think that City Beer could have been amazing if it wasn’t so salty! But I would probably prefer it over Super Duper Burgers. And while I did enjoy the burger from Starbelly, it wasn’t a wow burger. So I’m sliding the burger from City Beer close to the bottom with the possibility of moving it up if I go back and try it again (because I’m tempted by a lot of the other stuff on the menu, so I do want to head back and try it out again). Any great burgers out there I should know about? Please let me know in the comments! And otherwise, keep on the lookout for the next edition of The Great Burger Hunt!
Ranking:
1. Comstock Saloon
2. Southern Pacific Brewing
3. Black Sands Brewery
4. Wayfare Tavern
5. Son’s Addition
6. Gaspar
7. Wes Burger ‘n’ More
8. Epic Steak
9. Umami Burger
10. City Beer
11. The Saratoga
12. ABV
13. 4505 Burgers and BBQ
14. Super Duper Burgers
Unfortunately location really does matter. I recommended the Jack London spot because it’s their new flagship, and has a much bigger and more capable kitchen with less Ferry Building traffic to distract them. The Ferry Building location let me down previously as well but the JLS version is definitely better (perhaps I should have made that distinction more clear/specific in my recommendation). Check it out if you do get the chance, it’s not a far walk from the 12th St BART and a nice option for brunch (try the French toast as well, maybe share the burger and the toast with your husband? :-D).
I’m glad you tried the Starbelly burger, I had it on my list from long ago but had forgotten about it and never visited. Surprised it didn’t make the list though, it sounded pretty good. City Beer Store though is not my style, double patty is never as good as thick patty IMO.
As for other burgers to try, I had a surprisingly good one at the new Fifth Arrow, which is a restaurant under the August Hall music venue. I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, and the fries were sub-par (though voluminous), but the burger though simple was really well prepared, proper medium rare and juicy, which I am sad to say is really a hit and miss affair these days. I even went back to Spruce, where I’d had a great burger before, and known for being one of the best in the city, and they overcooked it, *and* forgot the cheese on it. *sigh* (I’d still be curious your opinion on the Spruce burger though :-D).
I was similarly (pleasantly) surprised by the Gott’s Roadside Patty Melt. Presumably their burger is great too (good rep, but haven’t tried myself yet), but damn that patty melt… (BBQ sauce on the side). Also Stone’s Throw’s “Da Burger” (now available at sister restaurant Corridor since Stone’s Throw closed). Of course you should also try NOPA’s burger, considered one of the city’s best, though it has never quite hit a home run for me (good but somehow not as good as it seems like it should be). And finally, top of my list to try soon, the brunch-only Foriegn Cinema burger on Dutch crunch.
Wow! Thanks for all the tips. Apparently location does matter, and in fact, the SF location of Belcampo is now closed anyway, so it’s a bit moot… I believe JLS is the only available location in the bay area at the moment.
I did like Starbelly, but if I do go back, I’m fairly certain I would try other things, and it’s not a place I would really go out of my way for, so I guess that’s why it ended up off the list. Probably just below Super Duper, but that’s my cut-off at the moment.
I did try Gott’s Roadside awhile ago, and I was really underwhelmed by it. I don’t get the hype. I even ended up back there after a night at the Exploratorium, and last minute changed my mind from the fish tacos to yet another burger, and was equally as disappointed, so it’s definitely not for me. I am a huge fan of Patty Melts though.
And I’m usually not a fan of the double patty burger either, but there was quite a bit of moisture and it was well cooked at City Beer Store, it was just incredibly salty, so it could have just been a bad night, but even with the salt I enjoyed it enough to try again at least to make sure.
NOPA is of course on my list at some point when I make it. Is it available on the regular menu or is it a walk-in at the bar only thing? Spruce has also been on my list for awhile.
I’ll keep some of your other suggestions in mind for when I have time. My time has been a bit fuller these days, so it’s not quite as easy to sneak out for burger lunches, but I’m still trying!
Appreciate the extra details about Starbelly, makes sense. A bummer Gotts didn’t do it for you, I was skeptical too, and maybe I got lucky, or maybe the Patty Melt is just superior there, hah.
As far as I know the burger is on the regular menu at Nopa. Unfortunately it’s not open for lunch at all, so if that’s your usual time to do the burger thing, that’s not an option. Burger is also on weekend brunch though, which I likewise recommend, and again especially the French toast there (custardy, soooo good). They’re also open until 1AM and will happily serve you a burger at midnight if you ever get that sort of late night craving. 😉
I do manage to get most of my burgers at lunch if I can, but I do also make it out in the evening if I need to!
If you haven’t been to Comstock Saloon yet, you should definitely get over there!
I went for brunch once and felt the food was inventive but overwrought and not ultimately entirely successful. But I didn’t try the burger and I definitely want to! Will do ASAP.
That is often a problem with brunch in general though!