Best BBQ Burger (Lark Creek Steak’s “Cowboy Burger”)

Cowboy (bacon & cheese BBQ) Burger

Best Bacon Cheeseburger: Lark Creek Steak's Cowboy Burger

I love bacon cheeseburgers with BBQ sauce. It’s a combination of hearty flavors that seems quite natural and, while each of the flavors of bacon, BBQ sauce, sharp cheddar, and onion are individually powerful and can overwhelm any dish, within a burger context they somehow seem to play well together. When the burger is done properly, that is. Everyone and their mother has a bacon cheeseburger, but very few places make one that stands out as strongly as the cowboy burger from Lark Creek Steak.

The Best BBQ Bacon-Cheeseburger on the West Coast

Of the 40+ burgers I’ve tried in the past 6 – 8 months, the “cowboy burger” at Lark Creek Steak is far and away the best BBQ burger or the best bacon-cheeseburger of them all. So (at least for now) I can confidently proclaim Lark Creek Steak’s cowboy burger as the best bacon-cheeseburger on the West Coast. Nothing else has come close over the past year. 

Described on menu: Cowboy Steakburger (8 0z.) – bacon, cheddar, barbecue sauce, crispy onions

Cowboy Burger, detail with crispy fried onions

Why Lark Creek Steak’s burgers are so good: 

MEAT

• meat is not ground chuck (typical, low-cost burger meat)
• meat is trimmed from regular Lark Creek Steak steaks (filet mignon, New York strips, sirloin, etc.)
• meat is double-ground, making it extremely soft and tender
• meat is ground fresh, sometimes 3 or 4 times daily (depending upon demand)
• bacon is perfectly crisp, and sustainable ranch-grown 

COOKING METHOD

• burgers are grilled over open wood fire for slightly smoked, healthier grill flavors (not over flat surface that accumulates grease and fat)

OTHER INGREDIENTS

• fried  onions are thin, perfectly crisp, and perfect in flavor
• terrific buns; toasted on the inside slightly (so condiments don’t make bun soft inside) and served warm
• burger accoutrements are perfectly proportioned and flavorful (butter lettuce has more flavor than typical iceberg lettuce; pickles are crisp and long-sliced to fit flat across burger;  red onion is also well-sliced and grilled to mildly caramelize flavors)

The Grade: Awesome / Phenomenal (highest grade)

The Damage: $15.95

The Skinny: Lark Creek Steak

Westfield® San Francisco Centre
845 Market Street, 4th Floor, Ste 402
San Francisco, CA 94103

Phone: (415) 593-4100

Reservations: http://www.larkcreek.com/larkcreek_steak/index.html

Lunch:
Mon.-Fri. 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
Sat. & Sun. 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Dinner:
Mon.-Thurs. 5:30 pm – 9 pm
Fri. 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Sat. 5:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Sun. 5:00 pm – 9 pm

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Burger (Filet Burger, Frisee Restaurant, SF)

FILET (MIGNON) BURGER

THE SPOT: FRISEE RESTAURANT, SAN FRANCISCO CA

Frisee restaurant is one of those places that you discover, bring friends to, they pass it along, and so on, but it doesn’t get enough good press. So eat there now, whilst you can. The décor is lime-fresh, with a small counter in front of high windows looking out onto Market Street, and seating lined down a long banquette that feels like a groovy lounge.

But it’s not so hipster that you can’t bring your Mom to enjoy a meal there. That’s because Frisee staffs genuinely nice (but not overbearing), professional, and caring servers. Even if you’ve never been there, they make you feel like you’re coming back to a friend’s house. The staff, the food, the cool hidden gem vibe all make Frisee a great find and a great place to chow when you’ve got that burger urge.

Filet Burger with Kinnebec fries, Frisee, SF

THE DISH: FILET BURGER

So we’ve been on a steady burger diet, for the benefit of the people and Mr. Kite, and among San Francisco’s burger purveyors, we’ve got to rank Frisee among the top (so far). One thing that makes Frisee’s burger more enticing from the get-go is its plush menu vocabulary. To wit: All-natural (hormone-free, antibiotic-free), grass-fed, filet mignon hamburger.

Be still my bloody heart.

But there’s more. Point Reyes blue cheese, toasted red onion, tomato relish, butter lettuce, Dijon mustard and mayo on an onion roll. Wow…seriously?

Plus, it comes with crisp, Kennebec fries topped with a balsamic drizzle. Compare the Filet Burger @ Frisee by price and value to other burgs in town, and you’d be hard pressed to eat burgers anywhere else in SF. (Prove me wrong.)

The Filet Burger is available during brunch, lunch, or dinner.

THE GRADE: AWESOME (5 out of 5)

THE DAMAGE: $14 lunch; $15 dinner

THE SKINNY: FRISEE RESTAURANT

2367 Market Street, San Francisco CA

Phone: 415-568-1616

Menus: http://www.friseerestaurant.com/Menu/menu.html

Hours: Mon – Fri Dinner only 5:30pm to 10:00pm

Sat & Sunday Brunch 10:30am to 3:00pm

Sat Dinner 5:30 to 11:00; Sun Dinner 5:30 to 9:00

Burger (Kobe Beef Burger, Alice’s Restaurant, Woodside, CA)

KOBE BEEF BURGER

THE SPOT: ALICE’S RESTAURANT

We happened across Alice’s Restaurant by accident, en route to the lighthouse out at Pigeon Point. The place, made famous by the eponymous Arlo Guthrie song, is an old wooden roadhouse at a crossroads, where Highways 84 and 35 meet. On sunny California days, it’s a nice place to grab some grub on the outdoor deck, and it’s got live music Thursday nights starting at 7pm.

 

Alice

 

THE DISH: KOBE BEEF BURGER

Alice’s Restaurant has 19 burgers, typically built with a third-pound of sirloin and your typical lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayo. Alice’s burger combos are named after motorcycle makers: BMW, Moto Guzzi, Harley, Indian, etc.

Coming in hungry, I opted for the Kobe Beef Burger, made with a full half-pound of Japanese Kobe Beef. While it was very good, it doesn’t warrant Alice’s Restaurant’s propitious claim that it’s “home to the best specialty burgers in the world.” A burger, after all, is not just about great meat…

Perhaps some of the other burger options would make a better grade, like the Indian (bacon, grilled onions, and Swiss cheese) or the Jalopy burger (BBQ sauce, grilled onions, and jack cheese).

Burger list: http://www.alicesrestaurant.com/index-2_Burgers.html

Detailed Menu: http://www.alicesrestaurant.com/PDF/AliceDay.pdf

THE GRADE: GREAT (3 out of 5)

THE DAMAGE: $10.95 (most of the other burgers are either $8.50 or $8.95; you can upgrade any burger to Kobe Beef for $3.50)

THE SKINNY: ALICE’S RESTAURANT

17288 Skyline Blvd
, Woodside CA 94062

Telephone:  (650) 851 0303

Website: www.alicesrestaurant.com