Uncle Boy’s – San Francisco, CA

A few months ago, a friend of mine was telling me about a burger place that had recently opened up in his neighborhood called Uncle Boy’s. He had only been once and he had an ok experience, but it didn’t really knock his socks off. Since it was a new place, I figured that they were probably working out the kinks and going through the growing pains that most new eateries deal with. I added it to my mile long list of places to try and had sort of forgotten about it until one day I drove by it right about the time that my stomach starts begging to be fed.

Uncle Boy’s is smack dab in the middle of the predominately residential area of the Inner Richmond district. They have been open for close to a year now and during that time they have evolved and undergone several changes to their menu. For example, they used to use an Italian French Bakery bun but stopped using it when the customers complained about it being too bready. I personally like the buns from the Italian French Bakery – Don Pistos uses them for their mouth-watering hamburguesa. The owners at Uncle Boy’s definitely listen to their customers and are active in responding to complaints and compliments on Yelp.

It was after the lunch rush on the day that I dropped by Uncle Boy’s – the cook was taking a break out front when I walked up. The menu was full of specialty burgers with names like the Unhorsed Cowboy and the Hip-Popper that was topped with two fried jalapeno poppers. They make good use of the deep fryer once again with the Mama Mia that has a third pound patty loaded with fried Mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce. Abbodanza! I’m a simple man and wanted to have something that would give me an idea of their quality on my first visit so I overlooked the deep fried stuff and went straight for their basic third pound burger with cheese ($4.95 + $.85 for cheese).

The cook took a freshly ground beef patty from the stainless steel refrigerator and plopped it down on the their tiny gas grill. Uncle Boy’s has their burger meat ground daily at Ping’s meat – their next-door neighbor. As I waited I looked at a handful of perfectly aligned San Francisco Forty Niners team photos and four pretty pictures of local landmarks – the only decorations in the small dining room. The place could really use a good makeover, or at least a few more things on the walls – it’s a little boring. Luckily, there wasn’t much of a wait for my burger to be cooked and my time getting acquainted with every single Forty Niner player from the Super Bowl years was cut short.

I was expecting the cheeseburger to be on the small size but was pleasantly surprised at how bulky it was. The third pound patty was pushing the limits of the lightly toasted sesame seed bun and a thick mass of softened bright orange American cheese clung to the meat. Coarsely chopped iceberg and a few thin slices of tomato and pickles mingled with the mixture of ketchup, mustard and mayo. There was no shortage of flavor or grease. My hands became coated in a thin layer of the grease and a pool of juice developed on the plain white wrapper. I was fully involved in the burger and loving the flavor of the charbroiled beef.

While Uncle Boy’s isn’t the sexiest place around, their burger was pretty tasty. They may have had a hard time getting things going in the beginning but seems like they are figuring it out and listening to their customers. They make life easy for people by providing free delivery and also offer a ten percent discount to students from nearby University of San Francisco. I have also heard that the same ten percent discount is extended to folks wearing SF Giants gear. Although, I think if you’re wearing a Barry Bonds jersey, you should pay double. Hell, make it four times the price – in honor of one of his illegitimate home runs. One last note for the drinking crowd, or the people that work at bars – Uncle Boy’s is open until three in the morning on Friday and Saturday nights. Greasy burgers are always a good idea after last call when you aren’t sober enough to count calories.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

Uncle Boy’s
245 Balboa Street
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 742-4468
www.letseat.at/uncleboyz
Hours:  Sunday – Thursday 12:00PM – 12:00AM
Friday – Saturday 12:00PM – 3:00AM

Tagged as: burger, burger joint, burger review, burgers, cheeseburger, food review, greasy, hamblogger, hamburger, photo, photographer, photography, photojournalism, photojournalist, san francisco, uncle boy's