This week I tried three more burgers on my hunt to find the best burger in San Francisco. The burger from Black Sands Brewery has been winning for awhile, but there must be something out there that can compete. This time, I got burgers from Fog City, Marlowe and The Royal Exchange to see if they could finally topple the winning burger!
1. Fog City
I’ve walked by Fog City a few times on strolls up and down the Embarcadero. I had heard decent things about the burger, so I headed in to check it out. The venue looks a lot more posh than I expected, and I started to get a bit more excited about the burger. It’s a fairly simple burger, with just mayo, lettuce, onions and house made pickles served with a side of fries. I asked for medium rare (but it ended up being a bit more medium). The bun was covered in poppy seeds and held up really well to the burger juices, and the pickles were a really nice addition to the burger. However, the meat itself wasn’t that exciting, and it felt very underseasoned. The fries were also cooked really well and had a great amount of crispness to them. It really was a solid burger.
2. Marlowe
The first time I came to Marlowe was for Brunch with some friends, and I planned on ordering the burger, but I was swayed by the sound of a crab cake Benedict on the menu. Sadly, that turned out to be a mistake, because the only way I could describe most things we had that day was average. The burger does have quite a good reputation, so I decided I would come back to give it a go. The first time I had it, I remember the mix of beef and lamb being quite good, but the burger and the fries were really salty and overseasoned. Sadly, I had a bit of a camera kerfuffle involving deleted photos, so I had to return for the burger in order to get a snapshot of it. This time, I had it with salad, hoping to avoid the salt bomb of a meal I had the last time. Weirdly this time, the burger was underseasoned and really felt like it was lacking a bit of salt. I did like the horseradish aioli on the burger, but it could have used a bit more for my taste. All in all, the burger is good, but I’m not convinced it’s worth the price given the variability in seasoning.
3. The Royal Exchange
Finally, I stopped into The Royal Exchange. I walk by here often, and I always see a sign in the window saying “Best Burger in SF”. With such bold claims (apparently they were voted the best by Citysearch at some point), I knew it was one I was going to have to try. I had the single burger (1/3 lb) with mushroom and blue cheese with a side of fries. The burger didn’t look like anything special when it came out, mostly just slopped on the plate, and there were no condiments on the burger, although they do have mustard and ketchup available at the table. The fries were fairly basic, and they needed salt. The burger was actually better than I expected from seeing it, and it was cooked really well, with a really fluffy, yet sturdy bun to help soak up the meat juices. It was quite meaty as well, but it didn’t really wow me. It may have won in Citysearch, but the burger really didn’t win me over.
Winner: Black Sands Brewery
I’m beginning to think nothing will topple this beast of a burger. The recent places I’ve tried clearly haven’t stood up to it, but I’m hoping to find something soon that will come close! I’m also not convinced that any of the three burgers I ate are in the top ten, but a couple of them might be just below it.
Ranking:
1. Black Sands Brewery
2. Wayfare Tavern
3. Gaspar
4. Wes Burger ‘n’ More
5. Epic Steak
6. Umami Burger
7. ABV
8. 4505 Burgers and BBQ
9. Super Duper Burgers
10. Prospect
At this point, I’m dying to try Black Sands!!!
Hahaha. I hope by now it’s not just become something I remember being great and will be disappointing the next time I go….