Roam Artisan Burger

1785 Union St
San Francisco, CA 94123

Occasion:  Dinner after grocery shopping at Trader Joe's.  It took us half an hour to find parking, but it was worth it.  Something to compare to Umami Burger about 6 blocks down the street. 12.02.11

Drinks: Cane Sugar Cola and Ginger Lime Soda

Fry Fecta Fries 

Here we have a trifecta of fries:  Russet Fries, Sweet Potato Fries and Zucchini Onion Haystack.

I couldn't decide between the three types, so I decided to try all three.  The russet are just regular fries with what seemed to be parsley sprinkled on top.  I love sweet potato fries, but the highlight in this bowl were the zucchini onion haystack.  Graded zucchini and onion are deep fried and freaking delicious.  It's not starchy like the fries where you get to bite into something mushy.  Since they're grated, it's light and crispy.  We loved the light crisp of it.

The Classic Burger
with Butter Lettuce, Tomato, Onions, House-Made Pickles, House Sauce

The sesame bun was amazing.  Fluffy bun, with a slight crisp from the grill and absolutely flavorful! As it's name specifies, it really is your classic burger with lettuce, tomato, onions and pickles.  We selected their beef patty cooked medium rare and their house sauce reminded me of some recreation of thousand island sauce. Yum!

 French and Fries 

Truffle Parmesan Fries, Gruyere, Avocado, Caramelized Onions, Watercress, Dijon Mustard

Everything in this burger appealed to me.  I was a bit disappointed as my burger only had like 1 or 2 truffle parmesan fry, which didn't have too much of the truffle flavor to it.  Caramelized onions were sweet and soft.  The use of watercress instead of lettuce was different, but it worked as it is thinner and easier to fit into the burger.  I love avocado in anything so that definitely added flavor to it.  I though the flavor of the dijon mustard actually took over flavor wise.  It was hard to taste everything in one bite because the taste of dijon mustard was very overpowering.  Between the classic burger and this burger, I would choose this one eventhough not all the flavors were executed well.

Umami Burger

2184 Union St
San Francisco, CA 94123

Occasion: Catch up dinner/foodie session with the big bro. I finally got to hear all about his EUROTRIP, so jealous.  11.1.11

Picture courtesy of Vinny!

Ahi Burger

Their off menu special with seared ahi, wasabi aoili, avocado spread, pickled daikon, ginger and sprouts.  When we decided to order this, I knew this would be a very light burger, but I did not mind that at all.  After hearing the waitress rave about how great this "burger" was, I was slightly disappointed when we got it.  The meat was not seared, but more cooked.  I really would have wished for it to be seared with a crispy cooked outside and a raw inside...oh well.  Though I did enjoy the crispy crunch of the pickled daikon.  Ginger, wasabi and avocado spread were all very very mild.  I thought the burger was decent, but nothing great!  It was definitely lacking in flavor, which was a bit disappointing to the palette.

Manly Burger

beer-cheddar cheese, smoked-salt onion strings, bacon lardons

A very manly burgery. It's everything a man likes. It's not something that I'd usually get, but since the big one wanted it, I was down to eat half. I'm glad I had this first followed by the less rich ahi burger, which acted almost like a palette cleanser from the first burger we had. You've got the crispy texture of the deep fried onion strings and the crunchy bacon bits. Everything about the burger is extremely rich in flavor, just the way a man would like it.

Not pictured, but we also got the truffle fries and the cheesy tater tots. I was a bit disappointed because they did not drench as much of the truffle cheese as they had the previous time I came.  We ended up having a lot more fries to the amount of truffle cheese.

I came to this San Francisco location when they first opened about a month ago during lunch and I thought the food was so much better. The buns were fluffier and less dry. I

Umami Burger

2184 Union St
San Francisco, CA 94123

Occasion: Saturday lunch with Henry's siblings +1. I found out that they were opening one in SF and knew that I had to come here. We passed by it the night before after dinner at Pane E Vino about 5 blocks up and checked to see how the wait was. Since it wasn't too bad, we had made arrangements for all of us to have lunch there on Saturday, and so we did. My wish from my last LA Umami Burger post came true and they really did open one up north. YAY!  We came out with a full stomach and smiles on our faces. 10.08.11

Our condiments: house made ketchup, dijon mustard, garlic aoili, ghost pepper something?, jalepeno ranch. 

The ketchup was delicious with a slight sweetness, the dijon mustard reminded me of wasabi, garlic aoli was not garlicy enough, the ghost pepper was very very very spicy and the jalepeno ranch was pretty darn good.

Truffle fries and Regular cut fries(on their special menu)

Truffle fries for the cheese eaters and regular fries for Vinson, who doesn't like cheese at all.

Truffle fries were freaking delicious.  The gooey, rich flavor of the truffle topped on the fries were divine.  I dipped my fries into each of the 5 dressings they had.  I liked it best with the ketchup.

Cheesy Tater Tots (on their special menu)

Brings back those high school cafeteria moments.  I love anything made with potato and because these little things are made with it, I loved it.  These tater tots were filled with cheese, but don't worry it's not too overwhelming.  Outsides were slightly crisped and I loved dipping them into the ketchup.

Nadine's Diet Coke

My Ginger Beer

Henry's Mexican Coke

Ginger beer is freaking awesome!! It's just like ginger soda without the carbonation. YUM!

Truffle Burger

Marvin and I both got the truffle burger.  It was absolutely delicious.  I might have had a little too much truffles since we had truffle cheese fries earlier.  The burger was juicy, flavorful and delicious.  It's simple, but very satisfying.  Dip it with some of their home made ketchup and it's amazing.  Some may have a difference in opinion with the ketchup, but I really enjoyed it.

Umami Burger

This is what Henry ordered.  I thought it was a good balance of flavor and though the burger wasn't as juicy as the truffle, it was still good.  There was a fried piece of cheese in there that added a crunchy texture to each bite.  Oh and the mushrooms definitely added a plus for me.  Their buns are uniquely amazing as they are fluffy and sweet.  We were told that the buns are dipped in honey and milk for the delicious sweet taste.  It's also very nicely presented with their logo stamped on top of each burger.

Truffle Burger

Split open.

 

Ice cream sandwich with chocolate ice cream and chocolate cookies

I was so full I only tried a tiny piece.

Mission Beach Cafe

198 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: Catch up dinner session with my little sis and ended the evening at bi-rite for some ice cream!

Grass fed burger

Her's.  She asked for no mushroom and no onions. What?

 

Rabbit Pot Pie

Nothing too special to me. Lacked meat and I was not able to distinguish the taste.  Seemed to taste like chicken.

Mission Beach Cafe

198 Guerrero St
San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: Birthday brunch before a day at the SPA @ Burke Williams! 03.09.11

Cappucino

Just the way to start off my morning=]

Wild mushroom benedict

with spinach, caramelized onions, truffle mornay sauce and potatoes

Delicious and super filling.  Caramelized onions...drool!  Definitely my kind of benedict, but it's so rich in flavor I can't have too much of it.  For all you mushroom and truffle lovers..try this!!

 

Grassfed beach burger

with aged gouda, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and replaced the kennebec fries for some truffle fries with Parmesan with an additional charge

It was hard to eat something so heavy at 10am.  Don't get me wrong or anything...it was good, just couldn't scarf down too much of this rich and heavy burger as my first meal.

Monk's Kettle

3141 16th St
San Francisco, CA 94103

Occasion: Dinner with Jason 11.11.10.

Artisan cheese plate with candied walnuts, Marshall’s Farm organic honey,

balsamic reduction, fresh Bosc pear and toasted Metropolis bigio

We chose two cheeses one was for sure the Rouge et Noir Triple Creme Brie (cow’s milk) – CA, the other was either Caprino Piemontese (goat’s milk) – ITA or Pecorino Calabrese Riserva (sheep’s milk) – ITA . I really really enjoyed the brie. It was very soft and had a buttery taste. The other cheese was good too, but it had a different texture and in my opnion a less pungent taste (could be due to my lack of taste because I was coming down with something).  The cheese wasn't as soft and had a harder consistency to it. I loved dipping the walnuts into the honey and enjoyed the combination of items on the cheese plate.  I even used the pear they provided and wrapped it with the prosciutto from the charcuterie plate.

Charcuterie Plate with pate, house-cured magret duck prosciutto, house-made sausage, Hobbs salami, artisan prosciutto, cornichons, stone ground mustard, cherry tomatoes and toasted Metropolis bigio

I loved this plate too. Everything on the plate was amazing. What stood out to me was the duck prosciutto because I've never had it before and the pate. I love love love pate. I could have ate that with bread all night. The mustard was a pretty good too; as I used it as a spread on the bread. This plate went really well with the cheeses.

Maredsous Tripel (12 oz) Belgian Tripel Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, Breendonk-Puurs, BEL

My drink of choice because I wanted to order some kind of belgian beer so I could say that I tried #50. An obscure Belgian beer at The Monk’s Kettle on SF BIG EATS 2010 list.  I thought it was pretty tasty!

Superior Farms Lamb burger grilled to order, and served with lettuce, organic tomatoes, fresh red onions

and a cucumber mint tzatziki sauce on a Metropolis sweet french roll

I saw it on the highlights of the yelp reviews and really wanted to try it, since I've never had it before. I got it medium rare. It was really good!! Second night in a row having a burger and this was definitely the better of the two.  It was pretty good especially with the extra added sliced avocado.

Coleman Natural Hampshire beer-braised Pulled Pork with house made Porter BBQ sauce,

served on a Metropolis poppyseed kaiser bun with jicama slaw

The pulled pork was pretty soft and tender, but the BBQ sauce was just too spicy for me.  It had a sweet teriyaki like bbq taste, but the spice just got to me and was somewhat unbearable. If it were not as spicy, I probably would have enjoyed it more.

Shake Shack

1295 Madison Ave

(between 92nd St & 93rd St)

New York, NY 10128

Occasion: After a walk through the park we came here for an afternoon snack. Met up with Pia and her bf 10.17.10.

Shroom Burger

Yummilicious!! Loved it! It's a mushroom burger stuffed with cheese. The cheese was warm and gooey and soo good. I loved it!

Umami

1520 N Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Occasion: Late lunch after we checked into the hotel in LA!

Mexican Cokes

I didn't drink it, but i heard it's sweeter than the American cokes.

Port and Stilton Burger

blue cheese and port caramelized onions

I got it medium rare and it was delicious. It's not your typical burger you can get at a burgery joint. Don't expect lettuce, tomatoes or pickles of any sort. The meat itself is full of flavors. Umami is the 5th primary taste. The combination of the meats natural flavor in addition to the sweet taste of the caramelized onions , the savory taste of the bun and the sour taste of the bleu cheese makes the burger UMAMI.

Truffle burger

Italian truffle cheese, truffle glaze

The flavor of the meat compliments very well with the truffle cheese and the truffle glaze. The burger is rich in flavor as well as in aroma, making the burger extremely delicious. Out of the two burgers, this is the better of the two. I love the flavor of truffle, which is what I think makes this burger so good. We need one of these burger joints up north!

Onion rings, fries and sweet potatoe fries. YUM!

Burger Bar

251 Geary St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Occasion: Saturday night dinner. While we were there, we were able to watch the Chinese New Year Parade. Only saw the end of it. It was the reason why it took us 45 minutes to get seated because the customers were occupied with the parade and didn't want to leave!

My custom made burger

with kobe beef, mushrooms, avocado, bleu cheese on ciabatta bread with a side of fried zucchini

I was starving, but was only able to barely eat half of it. I liked what I ordered...but i'm not sure if it's really worth the price.

Ella's Custom made burger

with mushrooms, jack cheese and some sweet potato fries on the side

She barely finished her burger too. It was a big burger.

Deep fried jalepenos

SPICY! dip it in some ranch...still spicy! It was too greasy and spicy for my liking. I wouldn't order it again.

Rich's Custom Burger

with cheese, bacon and fried egg and a side of french fries

Custom Burger

121 7th St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Occasion: Grabbing a quick dinner before watching WICKED! Supposedly, this was on the travel channel.

Half regular fries and Half sweet potatoe fries

The sweet potato fries were awesome and overpowered the regular cut fries. I usually like fresh cut fries. It's good to have a taste of both!

Kobe Beef Burger

with mushrooms, bleu cheese and avocado

I honestly would not have been able to decipher between kobe beef and angus beef because it tasted like angus beef to me. Loved the bleu cheese crumbles. It was better than an In and Out burger but it just tasted ok to me. Did not stand out much. Just the way you order is different.

It came with a pickle

Hamburger Haven

800 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Wednesday Night Dinner!

Mushroom Burger

One of the oldest burger joints I have been to, where they don't take ATM/Credit cards, their cashiers looked like they belong in the early 1900's. It was great. I liked the burger I had. Greasy, but tasty. It gave me a different kind of satisfaction than In and Out or McDonald's would.

Spaghetti

I tried a bite of Diana's spaghetti and to my surprise, it was pretty good. The sauce was tasty with bits of meat in it.

Burgers and Brew

403 3rd St
Davis, CA 95616

Occasion: Came up to Davis and this is always the spot to go eat, especially late at night!!

Avocado Burger
I love avocado so this burger appealed to me. It comes with either fries or a salad. I decided I wanted to be healthy so I opted for the salad. YUM!! Their burgers are absolutely delicious and so are their garlic fries, amazing!

Umami Burger

850 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Occasion: David brought us out to eat while I was down in LA! It was one of the most tasty burgers I had without any veggies in it!

Port and Stilton Burger
Initially when I got my burger, I thought they'd left behind the lettuce, tomatoe and onions. But nope, that was it. Just the buns and the meat. I doubted how great this burger can possibly be without any of that, but as I took my first bite I realized I was wrong. The meat was cooked medium and was full of flavor. It was juicy, fresh, flavorful and filling.

Truffle Burger
This burger was also very tasty and delicious. I really like the taste of truffle, but compared to the Port and Stilton burger I thought it was just a tad bit too rich, or maybe I was getting full already. I highly recommend giving either burgers a try. So worth it.

Onion Rings and Fries
I loved how it came in these cute little bowls. Awesome presentation! It didn't taste too bad either. I love fresh cut fries.