Riding my burger Bareback

It was a last minute decision to get the girls together for a night of burger tasting. I referred to the list we had created from all the recommendations that any friends and acquaintances had given since hearing about our quest. O'Brothers sounded like a good choice and I called ahead to see what their hours are since it was a little late for dinner on a Sunday night. The person who answered notified me that they were closing in 30 minutes...not enough time to even browse the menu nor savor my burger. I consulted with the gals and we opted to check out Bareback grill at their downtown location. My superior parallel parking skills landed us a superb parking spot in the heart of downtown...score!

Grabbing a booth, we sat down and got settled in. Our server was a bit "all over the place," but her bubbly personality and aussie accent won us over in the end. She shares how she lost her wallet in a drunken stupor the night before, then goes into a tangential monologue about how her work visa is expiring and she will be forced to go back home. She continues to share a little too much information about how she had initially moved to the states for a guy who hasn't "gotten over" his ex and how she's been waiting around for 2 years for him to "get it together." Wow. I just wanted to satiate my craving for a burger!!

Nonetheless, I ordered the Sheila's Cracked burger because the beet root intrigued me. Plus, I needed to see what all the fuss over the aioli sauce was about. Of course, a basket of fries had to accompany that burger and that wasabi mayo sauce sounded fabulous. The combination of the thick and juicy patty, lettuce, tomato, fried egg, and beet root was amazing! It was the perfect juxtaposition of sweet with savory, and the aioli sauce was drool worthy. The fries were freshly cut and perfectly cut so that you got a good bite ratio of the fried surface area and inner potato goodness. The wasabi mayo topped it off just right since it gave it a good balance to the salty seasoning on the fries. Yum! This was by far the best burger I've had since we sarted this whole quest for "the perfect burger." Who would've thought that we would find it in the midst of the gaslamp quarter, a neighborhood I vow to avoid at all costs :) My fellow taste testers had to agree: these burgers were a pleasant surprise and definitely surpassed our expectations. We walked back to the car and our conversation about our favorite parts of the meal did not cease until we parted at the end of the night. And, at that moment I realized that at this point in my life, the most exciting part of my weekends now consist of food :)


Grade: A-
Burger Point Average: 46

Bare Back Grill
624 E Street
San Diego, Ca 92101
619-237-9990
http://www.barebackgrill.com/menu-downtown.php