My burger eating has slowed down a bit with the shutdown, but now that things are opening back up, I’ve been back on the burger hunt! My current top is the amazing burger I had with my burger club at Monsieur Benjamin, and this week I’ve got the lowdown on the burgers from Longbridge Pizza Company, Frankie’s Java House and Niku Butcher Shop. Will any of them be amazing?
1. Double Patty Smack Stack Cheeseburger from Longbridge Pizza Company
Before I recently moved, Longbridge was in my hood and was pretty much my go to pizza place, so when I saw they had a burger, I decided I needed to give it a try. It’s two smash burger patties with grilled onions and cheese served with curly fries ($15). They grill the bun as well. It arrived, and the grill marks definitely made it look really appetizing, but sadly, the burger itself was just a bit bland. The bun itself was a bit soft and soggy and really made the burger hard to eat. It was a big disappointment for me, and much like the burger from Square Pie Guys, I now realize that perhaps I should stick with pizza from pizza restaurants.
2. Cheeseburger from Frankie’s Java Hut
Frankie’s is a beautiful, small restaurant on the bay just north of the Giant’s stadium in San Francisco. It’s definitely got a great view, but seems slightly more upscale than Red’s Java House which is well known for its cheeseburgers. The cheeseburger ($16) from Frankie’s is yet another double smash burger with cheese, pickles, onions and their special burger sauce (which looks a lot like the standard thousand island type dressing, but definitely has a more sweet pickley flavor). It’s served with fries. It definitely looked pretty great when it arrived, and I couldn’t wait to dig in. The bartender suggested I have some of the burger sauce for the fries, and that’s when I really got to taste just how different it was. It definitely helped add a brininess and acid to the burger to cut through the richness. The burgers themselves were juicy and cooked more well than I like, but the smashed cooking really adds a lot of crunchy texture on the outside. Honestly it was a pretty solid burger, but the fries were nothing to write home about.
3. Butcher Burger from Niku Butcher Shop
Now this is a burger that has solidly been on my list since before the pandemic. It’s lunch only, so it’s definitely something I knew I was going to have to venture out for, but now I live close by, so it was just a quick journey. They start serving burgers at 11:00, so I got there at the beginning and put in my order. They have two options, the Butcher Burger with a thick, 7 oz. Wagyu patty and the Smash burger with two 4 oz. 50/50 Wagyu patties. I went for the Butcher burger which ended up being a whopping $24! It’s topped with Wagyu butter, lettuce, tomatoes, and Kewpie ponzu mayo, served on a brioche bun. It also comes with a side of kimchi and potato chips. They also had some amazing looking fries on offer, but I figured the price tag and the size were a bit too much for one person for lunch. (Anyone want to come with me?) It was a pretty fantastic burger all around. Really meaty and juicy, but perhaps a bit underseasoned. The Kewpie mayo really added a bit of brightness to the burger and made the meat shine. The brioche bun looked incredibly appetizing and did really go well with the burger. The sides were fine, but clearly the cost here was for the burger.
Winner: Monsieur Benjamin
While the burger from Niku was absolutely fantastic, I’m not 100% sure the cost was justified, although maybe it was as I’d still eat it again. I’d say it’ll sneak in at number five on my list. The burger from Frankie’s also gets an honorable mention as it’s something that I’d swing by again to have if I were in the area, but maybe not go out of my way for. This part had to fantastic burgers, so I’m confident there could still be something out there to knock Monsieur Benjamin out of the top spot! Stay tuned!
My current top five:
1. Monsieur Benjamin
2. Comstock Saloon
3. Black Sands Brewery
4. Wayfare Tavern
5. Niku Butcher Shop
Honorable mentions:
Classic toppings/burgers:
Gaspar
Nopa
Epic Steak
4505 Burgers and Barbecue
Magnolia Brewing
The Showdown
Spruce
Little Creatures Brewery
Frankie’s Java House
Unusual toppings/burgers:
City Beer Store
The Saratoga
ABV
Biergarten
Son’s Addition
Multiple toppings/burgers:
Papa Mak’s
Brickhouse
Super Duper Burgers
Beep’s Burgers
Hoopla Burger
Sides:
Umami Burger
Wes Burger ‘n’ More
