RECON: SLATER'S 50/50

San Diego, CA

   

     I popped down to San Diego over the Thanksgiving holiday and couldn’t wait to hit up a new burger joint that my dad had told me about: Slater’s 50/50. Located in the fast-developing Liberty Station, Slater’s has a nice outdoor patio, a healthy obsession with bacon and fantastic service.

     I went with the Canuck and my Dad, and since it was unseasonably warm, we sat on the patio. They ordered water, but I was in the mood for a beer and the manager suggested the Hofbrau Hefe Weizen, which turned out to be a nice contrast to the burger I ordered. We started with the Onion Strings that come with BBQ sauce, but as always I requested Ranch. They were solid, not out of this world, but solid and we ate every last one. 

     Then it came time to order our burgs. Slater’s is famous for their 50/50 patty, which is half ground beef and half ground bacon!  Obviously I was having that patty no matter what, even though they offer a variety of meats (and non-meats) to choose from. Both the Canuck and my dad ordered the 50/50 burger, which is the first burger in their ‘Burgers Designed’ category. It comes with an egg sunny side up, avocado, pepper jack cheese and a chipotle mayo:

My dad swapped out the chipotle for baconnaise on the side, the pepper jack for cheddar and added bacon, so he kind of designed his own in a round about way:

I chose to build a burger: 50/50 patty, (which must be cooked medium well to get the bacon right) baconnaise, brie, tomato, grilled onions and thick cut bacon. Like other places that have a build-your-own menu, they provide half-sheets for you to create your burg, only Slater’s takes it a step further and gives you a space to name it. I named mine The Heart Attack:

  

     The burgs come out stacked tall, with a knife stabbed through the center, and trust me you need the knife. {And Side Bar: If you name your burger, they say it when they bring it to you: "And who had the Heart Attack?" I raised my hand, "I did!" Now that I know that, I will have to abuse this privilege.}

     The Heart Attack was delicious! I built a winner. The brie and bacon were awesome, the patty was perfectly cooked and I could definitely taste the ground bacon. After a few bites, the onions were too slippery and the yummy baconnaise was oozing out, getting burg juice all over both my hands and my face. I looked like the fat kid that’s in every camp movie ever made stuffing his face with sloppy-joes. The point is, I ended up using a fork and knife. 

The egg escaped the Canuck’s burger; it slid out the back while he was taking a bite. Eggs and grilled onions are awesome on burgers, but sooo slippery. The Canuck also said the chipotle sauce overwhelmed the mild avocado, so maybe ask for it on the side if you go that route during your visit. Next time I want to design my own mac n cheese (yes, they let you do that!) and do a combination plate for the appetizer so I can try the fried artichoke hearts.  

Oh, and by the way, my dad managed to keep his burger together the whole time and never resorted to silverware; he says the trick is to never put it down.  

Mini-Recon: CAFE BLEU

San Diego, CA

For mother's day brunch we went to Cafe Bleu in Mission Hills.  I ordered a croque madam which is basically ham and cheese with a sunny side up egg, and it was delicious and very unhealthy.  My father and step mom chose the Bleu Burger.  

This juicy burg is made with kobe beef, Point Reyes Bleu Cheese, pickled onions and fresh tomatos.  The cheese made the burger.  Bleu cheese is obviously a strong cheese so anytime you put it on something it will stand out, and the pickled onions tempered it slightly, but it was still strong and fantastic.  They even brought out their bleu cheese dressing for our fries. Yum!

Recon: DADDY-O'S

San Diego, CA


The Friday after Thanksgiving, instead of eating turkey leftovers, my dad and I visited San Diego's newest burger joint, Daddy-O's, over on Point Loma Blvd.  He had recently gone with a friend, so I knew when I came down for the holiday I'd be sampling the new fare.  

The decor is red, black and white with diamond plate on the walls and rat fink pieces all around. It reminded me of that song in Grease when they build the grease lightening car. I stole this phrase from the Daddy-O's website, because its accurate and I always enjoy an excessive use of adjectives, its a "hot rod, honky tonk, rockabilly, retro diner."  Thank you for summing it up so well. They have booths, regular tables, and a few bar tables.  Various TV's had football, and Fuel TV on, while the kids section had cartoons.  Don't let the thought of a kids section scare you off. I can assure you the nosier and more crowded this place is, the better an  atmosphere it will have.


We started with a chocolate malt, because why the hell not? You could taste the malt flavor nicely, but I wish they had made it with chocolate ice cream, not vanilla with chocolate syrup. (Is that common in restaurants?)  We ordered the Frings to get started. I loved the onion rings, they were crisp with good flavor. Fries were crinkle cut, and both had a lemon pepper seasoning sprinkled on. The onion rings were definitely better than the fries due to the salt/crisp factor. They bring out dip cups, but the condiments are on the table so you get to make your own sauce, which I love. They also have a ROLL of paper towels on the table.  These people KNOW the mess a big juicy burger can cause and they are prepared.  

I ordered the Honky Tonk burger, which is angus beef, caramelized onions, fried onions, american cheese, lettuce, tomato and bacon.  The two onion textures were perfection.  The fried onions and bacon gave just enough crunch and salt to balance out the tomato and caramelized onions. It's a big patty with great flavor, and it got messy mostly because of the size of the thing, not because it fell apart. They stacked their ingredients well to minimize sog from the caramelized onions. My dad ordered The Hemi, which is two 1/4lb angus beef patties, red onion, bacon, swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato.  Appropriately named. He enjoyed it immensely. Previously he had the Gonzo, which has caramelized onions and gorgonzola cheese, but when I went to order that one he told me the cheese was a little on the strong side, so if you're not into a manly cheese on your burg, I'd go another route. I couldn't finish my burger, but I ate the rest of it when I came home from bars at 2am and it held up well.  So have part of it for lunch, the rest of it for second dinner.  

I want to try The Greaser. And then I want to build my own. Customer service was fantastic; very attentive. And I was pleased to discover they offer a 'uniform discount' which applies to military servicemen and women, among others.  So, if you have a busy morning, you're hard at work and you wear yourself out and are in desperate need of a solid meal (or you're not hungry, but you're an emotional eater and just feel like gorging) head over to Daddy-O's and fill up!

Recon: THE LONGHORN

San Diego, CA


Last Saturday I traveled across the space-time continuum to a burger joint called The Longhorn. 

With Texas cattle horns, cowboy relics, and old beer posters lining the walls, it felt like a lonely trucker’s outpost along some county line with one sweet but over-worked waitress, the usual old man watching football and bundled up men hunkered down over the bar hiding from the weather.  One dirty window let in dim light, but the wood paneling crowded it out and the steam from the grill took care of the rest.

Menu’s simple enough, my brother and I split the bacon burger and added American cheese, and opted for the chili cheese fries- a dish I enjoy immensely but haven’t yet encountered on this blog.  Marie chose a bison burger with mushrooms and provolone and my Dad opted for the bacon burger with cheddar cheese.  They shared regular fries. 

Fries came out first, huge portions.  Chili was good- exactly what you’d expect .  Fries were crispy, which we loved, but Marie not so much.  All the fix-ins, so to speak, rest at the end of the table so it was a mad dash for ketchup, mustard and mayo- my favorite ingredients in a sauce for fries and burgers.  Chopped onions came in their own side cup, gotta keep your options open I guess.

 Burgers came out right after.  Open faced, toppings on the side of the plate.  Bacon was thick and crisp, our waitress was kind enough to cut the burg in half for us (You are probably wondering why I needed to share a burger, which usually is not my style: the night before we went to the Red Fox Room to celebrate my birthday and I ate a giant steak, baked potato, salad, garlic bread and carrot cake.  Needless to say, my appetite had been satiated 5 times over and retreated to recuperate!)  I instantly set about putting the delicious aforementioned sauce on my burg, a few white onion rings and the tomato slices.  I skipped the lettuce.  This was a classic American burger. The best word to describe it is dependable- hasn’t changed since the first one they made when the joint opened.  Marie wasn’t too pleased with her mushrooms- turns out they were canned, so I’d avoid them if you are a mushroom person.  But the meat was good, bacon flavorful and tableside sauce is always a plus.

They have the usual array of fountain sodas and domestic beers. I would recommend The Longhorn to anyone looking to avoid the po-lice, to make a backroom deal of some sort, or if you want to reenact a bar fight from an 80's movie… but especially for those looking to time travel.

Recon: FIVE GUYS

San Diego, CA


The east coast staple has finally hit the west coast.

I went down to San Diego last weekend, where my family was eager to take me to Five Guys, a burger joint they already held in high esteem. Tucked into the revamped Liberty Station in Point Loma, Five Guys has a spacious layout covered in white and red tiles with sacks of potatoes stacked around.  At first I thought there might be some construction still going on, and then I realized the potatoes are part of the décor.  The menu is simple enough, with less than 12 burger, hot dog or sandwich options, and all toppings are included in the price of the burger. All patties are cooked well done. There’s a little hanging chalkboard that tells you where the potatoes are from- that day’s hailed from Rich Lance Farms in Blackfoot, Idaho.  At the counter where you order there’s a bin of peanuts and you get to scoop some out to snack on while you wait for your burger.

We all opted for the bacon cheeseburger (what a family!) but our toppings differed: I asked for mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, ketchup & mustard.  You can also have pickles, grilled mushrooms, relish, onions, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 sauce, barbeque sauce and/or hot sauce.  My sister was raving about the Cajun fries so we got orders of both.  Food comes out in slightly greasy brown paper bags, fries spilling out everywhere on everything. 

Great flavor in that first bite.  We all know I’m a huge fan of American cheese on a burger, and it was fantastic.  Bacon was thin-sliced and crisp.  This is by far the messiest burger I’ve had yet, but it had an excellent classic flavor. It will fall apart and you will lick your fingers. The bun is sweet and doughy and there’s a light crunch to the edges of the patty.  They put more than one slice of tomato on each burger, which made me happy. I felt like this wouldn’t have been so messy or fallen apart so quickly if the components had been stacked differently. Putting ketchup, mustard and mayo next to the grilled onions and tomatoes made for a slippery burg.  Even with the mess and constant reassembly, the taste was spot on.

The Cajun fries definitely brought the heat to the equation. My sister was all about them but the rest of us preferred the regular fries. They’re naturally cut and cooked in peanut oil, and while this might make them healthier, their uneven sizes meant they didn’t cook evenly. Smaller fries were perfectly crisp while longer fries were soft. All of them needed more salt. They offer ketchup and a few other Heinz products to dip your fries in, but I would have preferred a thousand island dip with a dash of mustard.  (I probably could have asked for the components and mixed a little thousand island at my table, but I think it should automatically be offered.)

Service was friendly and fast. Their walls are covered in reviews, praise and awards. It’s definitely an all ages joint. Price is around $10 per person if you get a drink, which consisted of the usual fountain beverages –including my BFF Coke Zero- and bottled water. When the food came we got quiet- which means we were gobbling it up.  Anytime I am craving a quick, classic burger I will definitely think of Five Guys. Like right now… 

Recon: THE BURGER LOUNGE

San Diego

The minute I saw the salad menu, I became concerned.

Burger Lounge sits on the corner of India and Cedar, a prime location in San Diego’s Little Italy.  Surrounded by Italian food and specialty shops it stands out with its mod décor and strictly American fare.  Burger Lounge is certified green, offers only tall grass beef from the Red Buffalo Ranch, and markets itself as the sustainable, healthy, burger alternative.  You can choose between beef, turkey and veggie patties; white cheddar or yellow American cheese, and grilled or fresh onions.  The menu also incudes two salads and chicken tenders for kids. Burger Lounge touted their original Thousand Island dressing all over the menu, so I was excited to try it, and while it was clearly made from fresh ingredients and had a unique, course texture, it tasted exactly like all the other thousand islands I’ve ever had. 

We ordered the half and half for the table, which consists of parsley fries and onion rings, fried in 100% peanut oil. Burgers and fries came out together and fast. The simple menu made ordering a breeze: My dad, brother, stepmom and I all chose the Grilled Lounge Burger. My dad and I went for the grilled onions, which were good, but In N Out’s are better.  My brother went sans onions and my stepmom had the fresh sliced.  I opted for American cheese; Dad went for white cheddar- neither particularly stood out. The neatly stacked, misshapen burg is served with a slice of tomato and iceberg on a half wheat flour/half white flour bun, baked in-house.  The bun was delicious, but the bottom half of mine was soggy before it met my mouth. 

The only real draw here was the “roll-your-sleeves-up” good meat: juicy, cooked on a super hot grill to get a nice crisp exterior with a ‘medium’ interior.  My stepmom asked for medium rare and it came out just right. This was a messy burger, there was definitely ketchup and burger juice smeared across my face for the better half of the meal. Being a bacon and avocado family, we were disappointed in the lack of ‘add-ons’ or topping options. I thought the whole burger was lacking flavor, even though the high quality meat stood out, I got the impression it hadn’t been seasoned.



The half and half came out in a cute Chinese food to-go box; onion rings on the bottom, then fries, then rings stacked on the top. I generally prefer fries first, but they were delicious twice-cooked Kennebec fries, so I’ll let that go. Onion rings had a great texture and weren’t too greasy but didn’t have any unique or interesting flavor to speak of. I appreciate the healthy peanut oil factor, but I’m wondering if in going “healthier” they lost flavor. Maybe the batch of onions they were using that day just weren’t that tear-causing powerful? I asked for ranch and mayo - the ranch was awful and tasted store bought, but the mayo was standard.

As far as drinks go, they have three beers on tap including one called Purple Haze made with raspberries.  I opted for a root beer, but they have several specialty sodas behind the counter.  A few shakes graced the menu as well, but nothing grabbed me. The whole joint is trendy and modern, and I loved orange as their splash of color. The place was filled with families and tourists, and had indoor and outdoor seating which kept the place open and bright.  You order and sit down with your number at any table you can grab.  Our food came out quick, and we were politely “checked on” multiple times.  We weren’t overly full after and it definitely felt like we’d eaten something on the healthier side of life.  Cost came out to about $10 per person, which is reasonable. 


Bottom line: I just don’t know if they can get away with such a plain, health-conscious menu in an industry that’s innovating and experimenting with flavor and topping combinations daily.

Recon: HODAD'S

No shirt?

No shoes?

No problem.

        That 'No problem' sign hangs over the bar at Hodad's and declares the joint's vibe exactly. The driving force behind Hodad’s delicious burgs is definitely its attitude and technique: Simple and efficient.  You can get a mini, single or double size burger- the mini is an In N Out size patty, the single is a bit larger, and the double is two patties.  Comes with everything (tomato, lettuce, onion, pickles, mayo, mustard, ketchup) unless you say otherwise, and you can ask for grilled onions if you like.  One of their techniques is putting all the hot ingredients together and all the cool ingredients together, keeping each bite in perfect thermal balance.  My dad, brother and I all ordered the Single Bacon Cheeseburger.  (We subscribe to the theory that almost anything can be improved with the addition of bacon.)  Burgers come wrapped in paper- DO NOT UNDO.  You’ll need it so you can pick it up and take proper bites. 

        Now, this is where some serious technique comes into play: Because putting strips of bacon on a burger is inefficient and leads to uneven flavor in each bite, Hodad’s designed a ‘bacon patty’ to rectify this serious flavor-gap issue.  The bacon is chopped and boiled, then loosely chopped again and formed into a thick patty. They cook both sides of it, so it’s nice and crunchy, and then they put it on your burger- on f the cheese that’s already melting over the meat patty. To top it off they throw another slice of cheese over the bacon. Genius.

        We ordered a stack of ‘Frings’ for the table, a 50/50 combo of fries and onion rings. Fries are wedge cut with seasoning and as my brother referred to them: they’re “legitimate potatoes.”  Onion rings are thick cut with a crisp bread-batter shell.  They come out positively steaming and are served with ranch dressing.  I like them because they have a distinct flavor- not that generic restaurant “fried” flavor.  Ketchup is on every table and mustard/mayo are available by request.

        Hodad’s has an amazing selection of drinks.  They serve shakes/malts (chocolate, vanilla & strawberry) and each comes in a huge malt cup, with two scoops of matching ice cream inside, and they bring out an extra cup and spoons to help you get through it.  We ordered chocolate, and it definitely took all three of us to consume. Hodad’s also serves regular fountain sodas, rootbeer floats and a wide range of beers. Draft beers like Fat Tire and Sierra Nevada come in mason jars with handles and bottled beers range from PBR, Bud, and Sam, to Pacifico and Miller.

        It’s almost always crowded with a line out the door, especially now that summer’s coming.  Used to be locals only, but the tourism traffic is growing since Guy Fieri named it one of the top ten burgers in America, and chose it for Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate: With Bacon.”  The décor is eclectic: license plates from all different states and countries cover most of the walls, as well as surfboards, maps, stolen street signs, psychedelic stuff and a spattering of awards.  Just half a block from the beach, it’s a lively, casual atmosphere filled with hungry anticipation.  The Ramones were blaring through the speakers while families and friends tried to get out a few words between bites.  Depending on what and how much you like to drink, you’re probably looking at about $10-$15 per person for burger, fries/rings and a drink.

My brother got it right when he said, “It’s a necessary accident that you eat too much.”  

http://www.hodadies.com/index.html  Please note: Hodad's is located in SAN DIEGO, CA.