In my book, it’s always time for more burgers. While Comstock Saloon has been top-ranked for quite a while now, I’m still hoping that I can find a burger that is going to knock it out of the top spot. I’m ready for the best burger of my life! Will Hard Rock Cafe, Spruce or Little Creatures Brewing be that burger I’m looking for?
1. Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe probably wouldn’t have been my choice to try for best burger in San Francisco. Ever. Thankfully, it wasn’t my choice, but my burger club decided to give it a try. We all ordered the Legendary Burger which has bacon and an onion ring on it. I opted to forgo the fries and get the beet salad. Thankfully I did because I tried one of the fries and it was disappointing. So was the burger really. I ordered it medium-rare and it came out well done. The bun was like cardboard. It was pretty much one of the worst burgers I’ve ever had.
2. Big Mouth Burgers
Big Mouth Burgers is a local burger place in the Mission. Their burgers are fairly inexpensive, so it seemed like a place I should check out. I ordered the Hangover Burger, and for around $13, the burger comes with bacon and a fried egg with fries on the side. It’s nothing extravagant, but it was a decent burger and fries. However, with so many other places in the mission, nothing about the burger really wowed me.
3. Aquitaine
Finally, I hit up Aquitaine for lunch. They were closing their FiDi location to move further down Market Street, so I thought it would be a great time to sneak in and give it a try. It was a pretty busy lunch though, so there was a bit of a wait. Thankfully, they have a really good selection of wines by the glass to keep you busy in case of such a situation. The burger comes with onion jam, and for an extra cost, you can add bacon, cheese or an egg. I ordered it with cheese and egg, but with the business, my burger arrived eggless. The burger itself was pretty good, with a nice meaty mouthfeel. Onion jam is always a nice touch, but I think the egg would have really elevated it.
Aquitaine Burger
Winner: Comstock Saloon
Comstock Saloon is still, by far, the winner as none of the burgers this time really rated well enough to end up at the top of the list. While I was hoping for more from the burger from Aquitaine, my dining partner got the duck reuben that was fantastic, so I’m certain I’ll be back, just not for the burger. Hard Rock Cafe was clearly the worst by far, and Big Mouth Burgers, while underwhelming, may be decent for the price. But with Wes Burger just down the street, it’s hard to justify coming back in. Please check out the next post to see how my burger hunt fares, and please feel free to leave me any comments about places I should try out!
My current top five:
1. Comstock Saloon
2. Black Sands Brewery
3. Wayfare Tavern
4. Fort Point Brewery
5. Son’s Addition
Honorable mentions:
Classic toppings/burgers:
Gaspar
Nopa
Epic Steak
4505 Burgers and Barbecue
Magnolia Brewing
The Showdown
Unusual toppings/burgers:
City Beer Store
The Saratoga
ABV
Biergarten
Multiple toppings/burgers:
Papa Mak’s
Brickhouse
Super Duper Burgers
Sides:
Umami Burger
Wes Burger ‘n’ More
