Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "burger"

Dad's Sandwiches owners buy J's Cafe

2011-08-18T00:59:05Z

The owners of Dad’s Sandwiches recently bought a longtime downtown eatery and plan to add some of their signature sandwiches and rename it Dad’s on J by the beginning of next year.

Mick Stevenson, co-owner of Dad’s Sandwiches at 13th and S streets, said he and his business partner, DJ Rogers, have been looking for a second location for several months. When J’s Cafe, 1004 J St., went up on Craigslist about four weeks ago, they had the keys within a few days.

“We bought Dad’s two years ago, and we made money on the first day we were open,” Stevenson said in J’s Cafe Wednesday morning. “It’s the same with this place. Those turnkey businesses are great in this economy.”

The J’s Cafe menu will remain intact with the same prices. Stevenson said he brought in a higher-quality meat for the cheeseburgers and a higher-quality fish for the fish and chips, but he kept the same two-person staff, so customers should notice little difference.

The cafe features breakfast and lunch, including egg, hash brown and sausage platters as well as several types of burgers and sandwiches. Fish and chips are another popular option.

Around Jan. 1, Stevenson said some of the more popular items from Dad’s Sandwiches – between seven and 10 sandwiches and probably a couple of salads – will be added to the menu.

Customer Brittan Jones said Wednesday that the vegetable burger tastes slightly different, but it’s good.

“Having some salads will be nice,” said Jones, who goes to the cafe about once a week and added that healthier options would be welcomed. “I know I shouldn’t eat fried food as much as I do.”

Stevenson, who worked at the Fourth Street Grill for four years, said he bought Dad’s Sandwiches two years ago so he could follow his passion for food without working to make someone else rich.

“I’m living my dream right now,” he said.

Despite Fog Mountain Cafe – a block away – closing earlier this year, Stevenson said the economy didn’t discourage him.

“This is 10th and J,” he said. “This place looks like New York City at lunchtime. There’s tons of people, and they’ve always gotta eat. I ain’t scared.”

He said Thursdays and Fridays are the busiest days, but he averages about 75 customers through the restaurant from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on weekdays.

When the cafe re-brands as Dad’s on J, along with new paint and added menu options, he will open earlier, around 7 or 8 a.m., to bring in more customers for breakfast.

It is closed on weekends.

“At Dad’s (Sandwiches), we have our regulars who come in for early coffee at 7 a.m.,” he said.

He added that having a full grill at J’s Cafe will allow him to cater more than he currently can with the electric-only equipment at Dad’s Sandwiches.

“We can really add some hot items,” he said. “Right now, we only do meat-and-cheese trays.”

Deena Smith said she has been patronizing J’s Cafe for five or six years, and she picked up some food to go Wednesday morning.

“I was concerned it wasn’t going to be the same,” she said. “The food is really good and reasonably priced, and the people were really nice.”

She added that she enjoys the food under the new ownership.

“He seems like a really nice guy,” she said. “I hope he does well.”

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

I Like Mine With Lettuce and Tomato. . . .

2010-03-29T02:49:16Z

The cheeseburger. Is there anything so uniting and yet polarizing at the same time? Everybody loves cheeseburgers. What about the tree-hugging vegans, you ask? They love cheeseburgers too, but the burger is made of bulgur and whey and twigs, and the cheese is made of soy, whatever that is. The top-selling vegan product today is the veggie burger. That's a fact. Look it up. And when you do, let me know what you find out, because I'm using the word "fact" very loosely here.

The point is, everyone loves burgers. There you go, we're united. So if we can agree that everyone loves burgers, why are they so polarizing? Because your favorite burger probably isn't my favorite burger. And that bothers you. That's not true? Well, how about this: My favorite burger isn't your favorite burger. That does bother me.

We Americans are passionate about our burgers. We don't think that such and such is the best burger in town. We know that such and such is the best burger in town, and to disagree with us is a personal affront.

In the town where I grew up, Menlo Park (and this applies to Palo Alto as well. This dismissive wanking motion is for the $10 burger at the Peninsula Creamery), you are either a Dutch Goose person, or an Oasis person. A simple "Oasis or Goose?" status report on my Facebook page elicited 70 responses, several of which invoked the name of the Lord, others openly hostile to the nonbelievers. I was born and raised an Oasis kid (Thanks, Dad!), had a brief dalliance with the Goose during college (the fact that they were less than vigilant when it came to checking I.D.s probably had a lot to do with it), before settling back down with my first love. Some people consider this blasphemous, but I don't agree. It isn't the first time a young man was led astray by booze, and it certainly won't be the last. I was young and experimenting; it never meant anything. That's not really true, if I'm married to the "O", the Goose is my "gumar." I love them both.

Today marks five weeks since my arrival in Sacramento, and in that time, I have eaten many of the fine burgers that the city and surrounding area have to offer. Does this qualify me to pontificate on the best burger place in town? Most assuredly not, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

Let me preface this by saying that we have a thriving burger scene in and around our state's capital. Every burger I've tried here has been in the good-to-very- good range. Nary a dud in the bunch. These rankings are based on a single visit to each venue, so if someone was having a bad day, that's unfortunate. Also, I am taking other factors into account in my rankings. Ultimately, the winner is the best burger, but fry quality and cheap beer can serve as a tie breaker. Enough with the niceties, let's get some people riled up.

Seventh place: The Squeeze Inn. Sorry, but that cheese skirt is superfluous. I don't get it. If I wanted a disk of burnt cheese, well, I wouldn't, 'cause I'm not 7 years old. Worse than that is the bun on which it's served. Heavy and unyielding, it's about twice as much bun as you need. And the long lines and short hours didn't help. We got there at 6:30 p.m. and had to take our burgers to go because they were getting ready to close. It's a shame, because if put on a good, soft bun with a reasonable amount of cheese, the burger may have been the winner.

Sixth place: Jim Dennys. I'm a sucker for the old school diner setting, and the burger was solid. Unfortunately, it was cooked to death. Well beyond well done. Pink was a distant memory. The chili cheese fries were really tasty, however.

Fifth place: Jamie's. After finding out that Jamie's had been featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," I was really fired up to try it. I love the venue itself, top- notch food in a dive bar setting is tough to beat. The burger was good, but it was really overshadowed by the phenomenal garlic steak sandwich. That thing is amazing. A bit pricey, but if you want a bourbon with your burger, this is your spot.

Fourth place: The Habit. This was probably the best burger bang for your buck. At just $2.95, you get a high-quality burger at fast-food prices. The fries and onion rings are both top notch, and they have three kinds of peppers at the condiment bar. I wasn't sure whether I should even include this because it's a fairly large chain, but a great burger is a great burger, and I'd never tried it before moving here.

Third place: Nation Wide Freezer Meats. I don't think you could come up with a worse name for a burger joint. What, "Ivan's E. coli Eatery" was taken? The name aside, the burger was one of the best I've had. You can't go wrong with ground Harris Ranch steakburgers. The quality of the meat shines through, and that's what will bring me back. The steak fries and chili were disappointing.

Second place: Murder Burger. I know, it's called Redrum Burger now, but I'll always call it by its real name. I had a lot of friends at UC Davis in the late '90s, and they introduced me to the burger: "So good, it's to die for." I went back on the way to the Bay Area, and was very happy I did. The burger was big enough to split and was a cheesy, oniony epiphany. Also, the fries are outstanding; thin cut, crispy, but moist on the inside. Murder Burger would have been the best if it weren't for ....

First place: Suzie Burger. Or, as I call it, the Truth. This is the only place I went to twice. Their burger is close to perfect. Moist, juicy and cheesy on a soft, buttery bun. Free toppings include grilled mushrooms and onions, and jalapenos (I got all of them). The second time I added bacon, which was well crisped and hung out the sides. Oh my, it was good. I'm getting emotional just thinking about it. To top it off, their fries are fantastic. Thin-cut slivers of potato with the skin still on 'em. I don't know that I've ever had better. Throw in $5 pitchers of Pabst, a couple of flat screens, and an old school Chevy parked out front, and we have ourselves a winner.

If I missed your favorite, or you feel it wasn't done justice, feel free to voice your displeasure at lindol@gmail.com.

Back on the Block, Sacramento's Best Kept Secret.

2009-08-06T15:37:09Z

Traversing the Sacramento County area for a great burger at a great price can be a hard thing to do. Where Classic Burger formerly stood, owner, Steve of the Granite's family, has owned, operated and served up a huge menu of great eats, with "an east coast touch", going on one year now.

This isn't your ordinary hamburger stand, Steve serves up a full diverse menu of Charbroiled Burgers, Italian Meatball Subs, Steak and Mushroom Cheesesteak Hoagies, Hot Pastrami on french roll, Grilled Chicago Dogs, Charbroiled Chicken Sandwiches, B.L.T, Chef Salads, Cold Cut Combo, Ham, Turkey, Italian Salami, Pepperoni and NY Buffalo Chicken Wings 10-50pc to name a few, including 92 other menu items to savor over.

ALL reasonably priced, prices already include sales tax, very generous portions at small prices, mouthwaterin fries in big baskets, huge cheesesteaks, tempting burgers, dogs, or doggery as Steve likes it . It's a restaurant savings and taste factory explosion of greatness in the Arden / Arcade area you've probably driven by or never heard of.

Located at 2440 Fulton Av, Sacramento, CA 95825 at the Southeast Corner of Fulton And El Camino Av. 916-486-0110 business line. Across the street from Mike Daugherty Chevrolet.

Business Hours: 7 Days a week 11am - 7:30pm.

2 over head TVs, usually with ESPN playing, sports memorabilia, ample booths, posters, staff providing a clean atmosphere make for a restaurant you'll keep wanting to come back to. Catering of 4-6ft subs and Wings available.

Bring your appetites & Tell your friends.

Looking forward to seeing you at the shop!

Steve & Bruce & Brian

Granite's Back on the Block - 2440 Fulton Av Sacramento, CA 95825 - 916-486-0110

Best Restaurants - a different take

2009-07-21T01:54:18Z

It's that time of year again - time for "Best Restaurants," brought to you by Sacramento Magazine.

After reading the readers' picks for each category, it made me wonder whether the results would be different for readers of The Sacramento Press. Our focus has been primarily on events and coverage of things in the Grid, whereas Sacramento Magazine covers a larger demographic including the suburbs.

There were four categories that stood out to me in Sacramento Magazine's Best Restaurants: Best Burrito, Best Pizza, Best Burger and Best Coffeehouse.

I live in the Grid and therefore have my own biases about restaurants that live in Downtown and Midtown. I prefer restaurants in this area to those found in the outlying areas. It would be interesting to see the results had it been limited to only restaurants in the Grid.

Best Burrito went to Chipotle, with Dos Coyotes coming in second and Ernesto's coming in third. Both Chipotle and Dos Coyotes are chains. The Grid has very few chain restaurants, and I wonder if the presence of chains amidst family-owned and unique Sacramento restaurants makes a difference in reader choice. Does the quality speak for itself?

Best Pizza went to Round Table. Granted, Chicago Fire and Zelda's picked up second and third place, but I wonder how a delivery-based chain is even allowed in the running. Did Hot Italian or Luigi's or Giovanni's make it in the top five?

For the category of Best Burger, there are quite a few restaurants that come to mind that did not make the top three. Jim Denny's, Whitey Jolly Cones and Nationwide Freezer Meats were all missing from page 115 for best burger. In-N-Out, however, took first place, the Squeeze Inn (deserving, in my opinion, one of the top three) made second and McDonald's placed third.

For Best Coffeehouses, Starbucks was voted first place, Peet's took second and It's a Grind made third. When I think of good coffeehouses, I think of the unique havens in the Grid. Temple comes to mind. So does Weatherstone and Naked Lounge. If I want ambiance and a coffee or tea that comes in a mug that was washed and that is reusable, I do not go to Starbucks. If I want free wi-fi that does not require a cellular account, I cannot go to Starbucks. If I want a swirled foam design on my latte, I will not go to a mass chain coffeehouse.

My coffee choices come from currently living in the Grid, although I did grow up in the suburbs.

After reading this list, I looked at Sacramento Magazine's website. At the bottom, it reads "Find the best that Sacramento, California has to offer at Sacramento Magazine Online. With fantastic features such as a restaurant guide, an entertainment and events calendar and monthly recipes, you’ll find everything you need to know about exciting Sacramento, California."

Now, I ask you - readers of The Sacramento Press - if you were to vote on Best Restaurants for The Sacramento Press (in the Grid), which ones would make your top three for best burrito, pizza, burger and coffeehouse?