661 replies to this topic

[mylo]

For fast food, I like Wendy's cheese burgers the best. I like mine very well done with just Ketchup on them.

McDonald's french fries are the best.

For basic menu Fast Food (excluding In'n'Out) I prefer a Whopper.

I agree McD's fries win in that category.

[Dave Burrell]

I'll be there.
Faded light blue T-shirt & dark blue shorts.
I will recognize Mylo, but not so sure on the rest of you folks.

I'll be the guy on the motorcycle



ok maybe not that one but how fitting!

[Darth Lefty]

I'll be there with the brake-free bus

I drove it! It's awful.

burger burger burger burger

[Bill Z]

For basic menu Fast Food (excluding In'n'Out) I prefer a Whopper.

I agree McD's fries win in that category.

My wife prefers whoppers as well.

For basic fast food, I think Carl's Jr has the best (they have swiss cheese).

But I do also like the famous Big Mac, except I add ketchup to the two sides of bun that are served dry and also usually a shake of black pepper.

I'm looking forward to meeting those that attend today and enjoying grilled onions and gruyere cheese on my burger.

[Dave Burrell]

My wife prefers whoppers as well.

waaay TMI!!

[Dave Burrell]

My wife prefers whoppers as well.

For basic fast food, I think Carl's Jr has the best (they have swiss cheese).

But I do also like the famous Big Mac, except I add ketchup to the two sides of bun that are served dry and also usually a shake of black pepper.

I'm looking forward to meeting those that attend today and enjoying grilled onions and gruyere cheese on my burger.

I like Carl's Jr best for their chicken sandwiches but I like McD's for a quick cheap burger - double cheese burger for a buck on the dollar menu. good stuff


looking forward to meeting you too Bill and I've got high expectations for BSB today - it should be pretty good stuff

[Dave Burrell]

One more burger down....



What a great day for burger tasting at Bidwell Street Bistro. We had a good turn out, present were myself, mylo, darth lefty, evader, bill Z and carnivore.

First I have to admit I'm a bit biased twords Bidwell Street Bistro, I really like this place - its a treat for my wife and I to go there once in a while. I've only been for dinner, never lunch, so this was a first.

Bidwell Street Bistro (BSB) is located in a non descript shopping mall that is currently being revitalized so don't mind the dust, it's still very nice inside.

We all ordered the same thing - their Certified Angus Burger served with grilled red onions, tomato, lettuce and pomme frites (fries). add a choice of gruyer, cheddar, smoked gouda or maytag blue cheese - $10.95, w/ cheese $11.95



Our waitress was nice and friendly and took care of our orders - this time we all ordered the burgers to be cooked medium. I think we've had our fill of medium rare, but later on we had to re-think this (more later)

We all had a good time hanging out, chatting and having some good laffs. After a bit, our burgers started arriving and it was time to see how good they were.

my first bite surprised the heck outta me.... juices came bursting out of the burger and squirted on the table (and my camera). Man o' man.... now that's what I call a juicy burger - I even showed mylo that I could squeeze the burger and more juices came squirting out - that was very good but sure hecka messy... thank goodness for a good napkin...

To start off with the fries were excellent, they are the nice slim size and they were cooked perfectly. These fries were similar to the kind that Folsom Bistro served, except FB's fries were over cooked and BSB's fries were perfectly cooked. Major points for that...

The burger itself was huge, I think its the biggest burger we've had anywhere yet... The beef was good and so was the cheese. I really liked the fresh huge tomato and grilled onions and lettuce - and the bun tasted nice and fresh too - that made for a very good overall test - this burger is a serious contender.



the only negative I can say is I actually would have liked my burger to be a tad bit more rare then it was.... I guess I should've ordered medium rare again but since the last two times I did that I've been gun shy because I don't want to get an overly raw burger.... so I think the burger temp slightly skewed my opinion.... I might go back and try the burger again but this time medium rare... but honestly the temp wasn't that big a detractor - I really enjoyed the burger today

We got a new nick name because the waitress said we ordered so many burgers we made the place smell like a fast food burger joint hehehe - see pic below...



Out of a notional 5-step scale of "Bad, Okay, Good, Very Good, Excellent"

Meat: Excellent (It tasted like very good angus beef and it was a huge thick burger)

Cooked: Very Good (I would have given excellent if it was medium instead of medium-well)

Bread: Excellent (this was one of the best buns we've had, I liked it better then the other types of rolls)

Toppings: Very good, I thought the amount of cheese was perfect and it included ketchup, thousand island, aioli and other choices served on the side to put on the burger

Fries: Excellent, (see my description above)

Pickle: none included (sadly) but it did include a nice big fresh tomato slice

Tea: n/a

Service: Very Good

Ambience: Excellent, this is a very nice place.

my personal order of favorites so far... (keep in mind) it's kind of wierd to place a gourmet burger place with classic burger places but here's my take...

folsom bistro
bidwell street bistro
big dip
karens bakery
carl's jr

[Brian1]

I tried Turkey Burger at O!Brot, it's pretty good!

[mylo]

My review of Bidwell Street Bistro's 12 dollar burger:

Meat: Very Good. The angus had a good flavor that wasn't overpowered by the ingredients. The thing was friggin' huge!

Cooked: Okay. Unfortunately, mine come out Well done, and was dry and not-squirty like some others at the table Should've stuck with ordering medium-rare.

Bread: Very Good. The bun held up, perhaps due to limited juiciness, but was fresh and flavorful in itself. We were informed Focaccia buns are also an option, although we decided to stick to the menu.

Fries: Excellent. Tasty, crisp, and with a nice dipping sauce that matched well with the burger.

Drink: Good. First time the beer joined the burger runs, unfortunately it was a bit pricey.

Service: Excellent. Friendly attentive staff, everything came out about the same time, kept us topped up all around.

Ambience: Very Good. Ate inside due to the construction mess. Nice decor, good ambiance. I've only ever been to BSB for dinner before, but it's a really nice lunch setting. Highly recommended.

All in all, it was very good. Certainly the 'biggest' burger on our list so far. The thing was huge, filling, and tasty all the way through. The lettuce and tomato were fresh, crisp, and the whole thing delicious. The beef had less flavor than Folsom Bistro or Karens (even lost in pesto), but the fries made up for that lacking.

I'd go back, but for the price I think Folsom Bistro is still ahead in pure taste. Just where's the ambiance?!

[Darth Lefty]

Short review from me...

Hamburger and fries $11 with cheese +$1 and small beer +$5 = $17 plus tip.

Meat: Very Good. And a lot of it! Probably the biggest patty so far. But not as good as Folsom Bistro.

Cooked: Good. Asked for "medium", got "medium well" and it was bland, could have used some more seasoning.

Toppings: Very good. Gruyere cheese, plus inoffensive lettuce, tomato, and a big grilled slice of onion... which I removed, just don't like onion unless sauteed. But it looked like it was probably good onion! Nothing exotic, no pate or pesto or patina.

Bread: Excellent. A hamburger bun, by God, and a good one. Toasted, too, I think.

Fries: Excellent. Oh my God, finally in this journey we have found good fries. I could have skipped the burger and just had more fries, and been happy.

Pickle: N/A WHERE THE HELL IS MY PICKLE

Drink: Very Good. Good beer but EXPENSIVE. Five bucks for less than a pint? Someone mentioned airport prices...

Service: Very good. Attentive, unobtrusive, friendly, and she humored us once she figured out we were Up To Something. And since I'm the single guy in the bunch I can say without getting in trouble that she was also the best-looking waitress so far in this project.

Ambience: Very good. Nice place! Maybe upgrade to Excellent once they finish remodeling the outside. But I'm not sure eating outside would be an improvement; nothing but cars and parking lot to look at out there, and the inside is very nice.


For once on this trip we have a good burger that is also a proper burger. Everything was really good and there was no magic foo-foo with the toppings, no truffle oil on the fries, etc. But I do pity the guys who had 2 beers and paid $14 for em!

Overall I'd tie this with Folsom Bistro.

[Bill Z]

Sticking with my previous voting format,

I found the Bidwell Street Bistro burger very very tasty.

Patty, thick and juicy, gets a 10+ (thickest patty I've ever seen, very juicy as well)
Cheese, the Gruyere was very good, I give them a 9.
Condiments, fresh, nicely grilled onions, but no pickles, I'll give them an 8.
Bun, regular type bun, held up fairly well considering the meat load it had to support, I'll give the bun an 8.
Special Sauce, thousand Island, a 9.

I guess that averages out to an 8.8 for me.
[/quote]

[folsom500]

Dave , how the heck did you fit that in your mouth ? oh- never mind

Just kidding - looks like a great burger except for the thousand Island

[mylo]

Just kidding - looks like a great burger except for the thousand Island

The thousand-island-esque dressing came on the side on every order.

Dave, I believe, was the only one that dumped it on his burger.

They also offered an optional aioli, which I added to my top bun. Quite tasty.

[mylo]

Bread: Very Good. The bun held up, perhaps due to limited juiciness, but was fresh and flavorful in itself. We were informed Focaccia buns are also an option, although we decided to stick to the menu.

After second though, I'm going to have to kick the bun up to Excellent. It was "burger-style", but still fresh and tasty. The light grilling was a good touch, and it held up well. I can't think how they'd improve on such a fine bun, although I would be willing to throw myself on the grenade and try the focaccia bun aswell.

[Bill Z]

The thousand-island-esque dressing came on the side on every order.

Dave, I believe, was the only one that dumped it on his burger.

They also offered an optional aioli, which I added to my top bun. Quite tasty.

I actually spread the "special sauce" on both bun halves