Exploring the Bay Area

Burgerim Burgerim is a small upscale fast food place in downtown Berkeley on University. Although I would classify it as fast food, I feel a duty to acknowledge that it puts a gourmet twist on your everyday fast food experience.   Like your typical fast food restaurant, you place your order up front from an attendant or on their kiosk. The kitchen will whip up your order in about ten minutes if they’re not too busy. You can eat your food in their small but clean dining area, or you can carry them out to go.  It is a fantastic place to get a burger, or a chicken, turkey, or falafel sandwich with regular or sweet potato fries, or onion rings. Also available are chicken wings and side salads. In terms of beverages, they serve soft drinks and milkshakes.  As for dietary restrictions, there are gluten-free buns and several vegetarian and vegan options as well. Many of the sandwiches are even halal. In my experience, I ordered the angus beef b...

  The Melt The Melt is a fast-food chain with multiple locations across California and Arizona. It takes a high-quality spin on the classic notion of an American fast food joint. As the name suggests, they take some pride in their melted cheese. It's fast food, but they take care to provide a uniquely tasty product. When I first walked in, I was mesmerized by the salty smell, and then I became baffled by all the possibilities on the menu.   The menu features cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheesy chicken sandwiches, and mac and cheese for all the cheese-lovers out there. They also have a selection of soups, salads, drinks, and desserts (including some delicious hand-spun shakes).  The menu denotes several items that are vegetarian. It has a selection of add-ons, extras ($0.99), and premium extras ($1.99), which, for a small price, can be used to personalize the menu items. You can opt for an impossible burger patty for an additional $3.00 as well. I opted f...

iniBurger I enjoyed my trip to iniBurger, the Halal burger chain that has several locations around Northern California. It was my first time trying this place, and I was very impressed. It is a brightly colored restaurant where you can order and pay either at the counter or on one of their kiosks. They serve burgers, chicken sandwiches, wings, and fries. The prices are not displayed on the menus on display behind the counter, but they stay in a reasonable range, for the most part between $10 and $20.  There is room to sit in their brightly colored restaurant or outside. The music is relatively loud inside, and the atmosphere is lively and fun.   I ordered the Americano burger and had to admit it was a succulent and enticing creation. It was a juicy burger with a special sauce that tasted like pepper. I could taste the charred edges of the patty and the salty, savory seasonings on it. The cheese was gooey, salty, and sweet while the lettuce and pickles were slightly crunch...

Mel's Express First established in San Francisco in 1947, Mel's Express now is a chain that has 22 locations in northern Nevada and northern California, including one 2014 Kala Bagai Way in Berkeley, California, which I recently visited. (The hours of the Berkeley location are 11:00 am to 9:00 pm daily.) I decided from the music on the radio, the items on the menu, and the decorations on the wall that it was a relatively authentic mid-twentieth-century fast-food diner.  I had fun studying the retro decorations on the walls. What really stood out to me was what a cool collection of classic rock memorabilia they had. They had Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Chuck Berry, and other early classic rock superstar photos, posters, and even vinyl records. I noticed an old movie poster or two from films I was not familiar with, a nice Muhammed Ali poster, and a black and white photo of Bill Clinton. They had some old soda and ketchup logos, some nice antique vending ...

  Gott's Roadside Ferry Building Marketplace 1 Ferry Building #6, San Francisco, CA 94111 415-318-3423 Sun to Wed: 10am - 9pm Thurs to Sat: 10am - 10pm Soft Serve & Cookie Counters: same as restaurant Thrive City – Chase Center, 151 Warriors Way, Suite 102, San Francisco, CA 94158 415-815-2992 Mon-Sun: 11am–8:30pm Hours may vary during Chase events SFO International Terminal, Gate A-10, San Francisco, CA 94128 650-821-6440 Sun to Fri: 11am–9pm Sat: 6am–8pm Town & Country Village, 855 El Camino Real #65, Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-326-1000 Mon to Sun: 10:30am–9pm Gott’s Roadside is a fast-food restaurant where you can order and pay at the register up front. Nonetheless, it serves something that I would consider to be more sophisticated than an average fast-food place that you would envision. It is classic but modern—everything you would expect from a convenient fast food chain, but much more!   The food has a simple, nostalgic American flavor that has been taken to the nex...

 In-N-Out Burger Available in many places all over California and the Bay Area Hours vary by location  My blog about attractions in the Bay Area would not be complete without a mention of the popular burger joint, In-N-Out Burger, a chain that started in California and operates predominantly in California.  The chain stays true to a small menu, plus a secret menu for those who know what they are doing. The menu and the secret menu are available online. Ultimately, they stick to what they do best: burgers, fries, and shakes. The recipes are simple yet tasty. With the burgers, we have the combination of fluffy soft buns, fresh lettuce, tomato, and perfectly seared patties creating a symphony of flavors for our taste buds (onions--cooked or raw--are optional); you could have a single, a double, a triple, or even a quadruple burger. For those who wish to opt out of the fluffy, soft buns, they also serve a flying Dutchman.  As for the fries, they are salty and crispy to p...