The Humongous Hamburger Hunt

The Great Humongous Hamburger Hunt

To put it simply I love hamburgers!.. The first ones I remember eating were at a Foster’s Freeze and were four for a dollar. Of course that was also about the time that you could also get four gallons of gas for a dollar. But since that was in my youth and a few years ago and because we are not here to discuss what a few years are, let’s move on to the present and the great humongous hamburger hunt.

We, by that I mean me and my trusty helpers, decided that we would search the bay area for the best of the best when it came to hamburgers. We needed it to be we because one stomach couldn’t do it all! We decided we would divide them into two groups, moderate and pricey. Wow! We never expected to receive so many recommendations. What we found out in very short order is that people are really loyal to their hamburgers and will argue right down to their last pickle to win the argument. So we set out to eat our way through the list. Hey somebody has to take on these jobs. Right?

We narrowed our search to the following burgers that were moderate in price and started to eat! Taylor’s Refresher, Mikes at the Crossroads, Phyllis’ Giant Burgers, the Great American Hamburger and Pie Co., and Pearl Phat were the burgers we set out to sample. We ordered cheese burgers at all of our picks so that we would be uniform throughout our search. We also decided that we would give each a rating of one to five napkins. Five being the best juiciest burger of them all!

We had a tie for our five napkin burger.. Pearl Phat and Mike’s at the Crossroads took top honors although there was a lot of discussion that it should be a three way tie with Taylor’s.

Anyway let’s start with Pearl Phat. Located in downtown Mill Valley, it is in a perfect spot to wander the town after you have finished eating. This is a very clean, but very tiny spot on E. Blithedale. Only 5 small tables. This half pound burger uses Niman ranch beef for their burgers. It is all natural, vegetarian fed with no antibiotics or growth hormones. You are asked how you want your meat cooked as well as given your choice of cheese: American, Swiss or Cheddar, along with onion, tomato, lettuce and mayo. You can add catsup if you want. From the first bite this is one big juicy burger. In fact it was recently awarded first prize for best hamburger by Bobby Flay at the Great American Food and Music Fest. At 6.29 this is one really yum burger.

We awarded this burger 5 napkins.

Pearl Phat

8 East Blithedale, Mill Valley, Calif.

Mike’s At the Crossroads is the next contender. This is a plain but very clean restaurant, not much going on as far as the decor is concerned, but then you are going there for burgers not décor. Wow, Some in our group voted hands down that this was the best of the best. Mike’s uses Harris Ranch beef for their half pound burger. Cooked medium unless you say differently, Mike’s burger has tomato relish, onion, American cheese on a sesame seed bun. It is big, juicy and conversation gets very quiet as you savor each bite. At 8.75 this is one fantastic burger. They also serve a side with it, a choice of potato, macaroni or green salad which are nothing to write home about. It’s all about the burger!

We awarded this burger 5 napkins

Mike’s At the Crossroads

7665 Old Redwood Hwy.

Cotati, Calif.

Taylor’s Refresher has three locations: St Helena, Napa and the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Taylor’s also uses Niman Ranch beef. (see above) and all half pound burgers are cooked medium well. Taylor’s cheese burger is topped with American cheese, lettuce, pickles and their secret sauce on a toasted egg bun. First bites tell the tale and this first bite was wonderful. Since the bun is toasted it has a slight crunch that adds another dimension to the taste.. The sauce is tangy and the meat is juicy and flavorful and at 7.99 it is worth every penny. The décor is the 1950’s, and everything is clean, clean, clean. Bon Appetite says that Taylor’s burger is one of the best in the U.S.

We awarded this burger 4 napkins

Taylor’s Refresher:

644 1st Street, Napa, Calif.

1 Ferry Building, space 6

San Francisco, Calif.

933 Main St.

St Helena, Calif.

Great American Hamburger and Pie Co.

This was the least expensive burger we tasted , 4.45. Located in a small free standing building in Point Richmond, the place is really busy. A real cross section of American life, all there because they love hamburgers. Given that the place is very clean but the décor is really dismal, it is probably better to walk across the street and have a picnic in the park. The burgers are 1/3 of a pound which are smaller that the above ones reviewed. The patties are the kind that you would buy at Costco, nothing wrong with them but not much flavor either. Each burger comes with the usual, tomato, lettuce, onion, mayo , catsup, American cheese on a lightly toasted bun. It is at first bite a juicy but greasy burger. Definitely would grab one again if in the area, but we would not cross the bridge for one.

We awarded this burger 3 napkins

Great American Hamburger and Pie Co.

35 E Richmond

Richmond, Calif.

Phyllis’ Giant Hamburgers

Phyllis’ giant Hamburgers started out at a tiny space in San Rafael, in fact this flagship is still there and is still crowded. There are now two more spots to get their hamburgers in this mini chain, one in Novato, and another in Santa Rosa. Obviously the burgers are popular, so we were really disappointed when we did our taste testing. Maybe it was a bad day or the mustard guy didn’t notice how much he was slathering on or…but the half pound burger which should have been good wasn’t. Even though we were asked how we wanted the burger cooked, medium, it was very well done, really dry and tasteless. It comes with the usual lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard and mayo on a sesame seed bun. Our first bite, the true taste test, was of overcooked meat, overpowering onion, and ball park mustard. Not good! At 5.75 it wasn’t worth the price.

We awarded this burger a ½ napkin

Phyllis’ Giant Hamburgers

924 Diablo Ave.

Novato, Calif.

2202 4th Street

San Rafael, Calif.

4810 Sonoma Highway Suite B

Santa Rosa, Calif.

PS We promised to go back to the Oxbow Market to see what was happening when the Farmer’s Market opened. Well the market has moved down the street to the parking lot of the train station so it doesn’t help the Oxbow. Inside the Oxbow half of the building was being remodeled so I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.