There are two reasons to go to Santa Cruz – the boardwalk and the beach. Well, ok, I guess there are other reasons, but those have always been the two things that have drawn me to the seaside town. One of the big highlights for me is the eighty six year-old Giant Dipper roller coaster on the boardwalk. I made a trip down to the boardwalk this past weekend with a couple friends specifically to ride the old school wooden coaster – one of the oldest in the country. After a couple of adrenaline producing rides on the Dipper, hunger had set in and we were in desperate need of food. There is no better cure for hunger than a nice juicy burger so we made a bee-line to the newly opened Burger., which we were calling Burger Dot since they use a period in the name.
Burger. is the latest burger joint in Northern California to support the growing sustainable food movement and has been pleasing Santa Cruz residents with tasty burgers since it opened about three months ago. The location was perfect for us – right on highway one – making it a perfect stop on our way back to San Francisco. Situated in what used to be a sushi restaurant, Burger. can be a little confusing to figure out on your first visit. We walked in a door that we thought was the main entrance but ended up being an entry to the dining room and bar. We stumbled around for a minute trying to figure out where to order before a group of people directed us to the counter in a neighboring room. As we walked away, a woman at the table proclaimed “get ready for the best meal of your life.”
The “counter” is in a small room that also has an entrance – all in all, I think there are three entrances to this place, hence the confusion for us first timers. A chalkboard menu takes up the wall behind two young ladies who are more than happy to take your order. Several specialty burgers are available with your choice of Humboldt grass fed beef, Diestel turkey or their house made veggie patty. All burgers come with your choice of regular or sweet potato fries. With a variety of burger concoctions to choose from, most are named after movie characters or celebs like “The Dude” – think Big Lebowski – and “The Spicoli” – an homage to Sean Penn’s stoner character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. There is even a Chuck Norris burger. The Spicoli ($7.75) is topped with fries, swiss, guac and jalapeno aioli while the Dude ($7.00) has avocado, jack and bacon. I ended up going with The Dude, mostly because the Big Lebowski is one of my favorite movies and I like the word dude.
In lieu of a number or giving your name, you get a white frame on a stand with a jail mug shot photo of a celebrity. We got Hugh Grant from his arrest following a rendezvous with Divine Brown. When I was getting napkins, I noticed that someone had abandoned their Winona Ryder mug shot by the ketchup dispenser. Once you have your incarcerated celeb you move to the dark walled dining room where you find a table and order drinks. They have a great selection of beers, from dark to light and everything in between. There are 37 beers on tap and 75 in bottles, most of which are Belgian or craft drafts.
Our burgers were delivered soon after we ordered and came in paper lined loaf pans. The Dude was half-wrapped in paper and I should have left it that way. Once I removed the paper, the thing started to fall apart. There was a lot of iceberg lettuce and it was sliding out between the mashed avocado and melted jack. Adding to the mess, tangy house made sauce –similar to 1,000 Island – dripped down the sides of the lower bun. I took of a few leafs of lettuce and did my best to consume The Dude without having full blowout.
Even though it was a little messy, the burger was delicious, especially the fresh meat. It had a savory beef taste with a little kick of spice. The bacon was completely encapsulated in the jack cheese and wasn’t that crisp. It lacked flavor and ended up getting lost in the mix of cheese and beef. I liked the secret sauce and the avocado was nice and buttery. I thought the bun could have been toasted a little bit more, but was still ok for a standard sesame seed bun. There were also some pickles and tomatoes on the burger, but they didn’t stand out. Next time I will get extra pickles.
Overall, Burger. makes a really good burger. With the exception of the bacon, I was pleased with the flavor, size and use of fresh ingredients. The meal definitely curbed our hunger and the cold beers really hit the spot. In addition to the woman who told us to get ready for the best meal of our lives, we also overheard at least two others say “wow, that is a really good burger”. I have to agree with that.
RATING: 4 out of 5
Burger.
1520 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 425-5300
http://www.burgersantacruz.com
Hours: 7 Days a Week 10:00AM – 10:00PM
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
This place is okay…I had it before, it seemed to be ever changing with the fries and bread. Your pictures look better then what I had. Also you should try Betty Burger on the other side of town near the boardwalk.
Ate at burger. on a recent holiday and can confirm it was pretty damn good.
My wife and I went there this Sunday. Mediocre at best. Certainly not a 4.
I live nearby, been there plenty of times now, and they’re definitely a 3 (of 5) star place. Tonight (and last time I was there) I had really bad service. I just sent the below email to their Contact address:
Dear Burger.,
I’ve been to Burger. twice now when this tall red-haired guy has been bartender (I prefer to sit at the bar). Tall is good. Red hair is good. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but he’s a terrible bar tender.
Tonight.
Sat down at the bar. 5 minutes pass. I’m ignored. Finally I ask the girl making pizzas if I can get a beer menu. I decide on a beer. Try to get bartenders attention. Another 5 minutes pass. Trying to make eye contact and flag over the bartender. No luck. I ask the girl making pizzas if she can take my drink order. She does, and yells it over to the bartender (I guess I should just yell my order at him next time). A couple minutes pass. Bartender comes over without a beer and says, “did you order the Double Barrel?”. “Yes.” (Apparently he didn’t believe the pizza maker). Bartender goes over and FINALLY starts pouring me a beer.
Bartender brings beer over, and I force the issue of food before he can escape.
Random server brings my burger, fairly quickly, drops it in front of me, no, really, DROPS it in front of me, and says “Hank Williams” and walks away. Ok, um, thanks. Later, while I’m eating, that same server stands next to me watching the football game and proceeds to vocalize all his thoughts about the game into my ear. Yeah, kinda annoying.
Done with my burger. Done with my beer. I’d like to pay. Can’t get anyone’s attention. Try to make eye contact with pizza person. With bartender. No luck. Try some more. No luck. 10 minutes pass. Bartender has now been served a veggie plate made up by pizza person and is eating behind the bar. Paying less attention to the customers than he even was before. This is getting ridiculous, I think to myself. I consider just waking out. I say loudly as the bartender walks by, “Can I pay please?!?!”. Nothing.
Instead I go up to the front counter and ask if I can pay there. They look perplexed and say my tab is at the bar and they’ll meet me over there. I get back to the bar. I give the bartender, who’s now been made aware of the fact that there are customers present, my debit card without even seeing the bill. He doesn’t remember what I ordered, so I have to tell him.
I pay the bill.
Tip = $0.
You get shit for service, you pay shit for tip.
Please hire bartenders who actually have a clue on what they’re doing. Otherwise, I won’t be back.
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Note, this is the second time I’ve had this type of experience at Burger. Bother times with this bartender.
wow, that’s a bummer. nothing worse than a lame bartender