Wow! Welcome to Part 20 of The Great Burger Hunt. It’s been over two years, and I’ve finally tried sixty burgers in San Francisco! Where did the time go? Comstock Saloon has been top of the burger game for awhile! However, I’m always willing to give new places a try to see if they manage to be even better! This time, I tried burgers from Mission Bowling Club, Curveball and Magnolia Brewing. Will any of them end up as the best of sixty?
1. Mission Bowling Club
Mission Bowling Club was another burger club outing. It was partially my suggestion, as I’ve been wanting to try it for ages, as it often is listed as one of the best ones in the city. Well, I’m not sure who is making these lists, because it was a pretty sad burger all around. The patty itself was kind of bland and had a really poor textural quality. The cold toppings were crispy, but nothing else was really all that exciting. Their aioli also had no flavor, as I discovered when I ordered extra for the fries. However, speaking of the fries, they are absolutely fantastic, so it’s definitely a great place to stop in if you are trying to fulfill that craving.
Mission Bowling Club Burger
2. Curveball
Do sliders count as burgers? Sure why not? I found myself at a food truck park, and I decided I needed to try the sliders (mostly because the place I really wanted to try wasn’t there that day). I opted for the Curveball Sliders which were beef burgers with bacon, grilled onions, cheese, chipotle mayo and barbeque sauce. I also opted to get some salt and pepper fries on the side. The sliders were fairly decent, and the meat was really well cooked and beefy with a bun that held up really well. The toppings really left a lot to be desired though, so I was kind of disappointed in them in the long run. The fries were quite hot and tasty though, so that was a nice surprise!
Curveball Sliders
3. Magnolia Brewery
Finally, I headed to Magnolia Brewery to give their burger a try. I had seen good things about it online, so I finally found my way here to try it myself. The burger is grass-fed beef with special sauce, house pickles, gruyere cheese and shredded lettuce. It comes with a salad or fries, and since I knew I was going to be having a fry-heavy week ahead, I decided to take the greener salad route. The burger looked pretty fantastic when it came out, with a huge pile of greens next to it. The bun held together fairly well and had a nice toasted interior that added a bit of texture. The burger patty itself was really nice, with a fairly good beefy flavor (although there could have been more), but the texture was slightly weird for me. The toppings were fresh and all around it was a fairly solid burger. The salad was surprisingly good. It wasn’t too over-dressed and there were shaved fennel and radishes mixed in that really gave it a bit more. It does come in at a hefty $16, so I guess I was hoping for a bit more for the price.
Magnolia Brewery Burger
Winner: Comstock Saloon
Comstock Saloon still takes the top spot, and the burger from Magnolia was probably the best for the week. It definitely was better than Super Duper, but just barely, so it’s coming in low on the list.
Ranking:
1. Comstock Saloon
2. Black Sands Brewery
3. Wayfare Tavern
4. Son’s Addition
5. Gaspar
6. Wes Burger ‘n’ More
7. Epic Steak
8. Tank18 Winery
9. City Beer
10. The Saratoga
11. ABV
12. 4505 Burgers and BBQ
13. Biergarten
14. Papa Mak’s
15. Magnolia Brewing
16. Umami Burger
17. Super Duper Burgers
