Monday, January 4, 2010

Hamburgers Sausalito, "where the customer is rarely right."

I had the opportunity to visit Hamburgers Sausalito over the holiday weekend with my father who was visiting form out of town. We started this homegrown tourist adventure with a BART ride into the City, grabbing a cup of Blue Bottle Coffee at the Ferry Building, and then boarding the ferry to Sausalito (also my first time there).

For lunch we were lured in by the rotating flame grill in the front window (above). The grill literally rotates as if it was a large turntable and holds the burgers, cheeseburgers, chicken, and thin-sliced steak for sandwiches.

This place was giving me flashbacks in the spirit of Al's Breakfast, one of my favorite Minnesota breakfast joints. I'm not sure if it was the narrow storefront with minimalist seating, the line of customers snaking it's way out on to the sidewalk, the full-on commitment to hamburgers, or the surly staff . . . but it was time for lunch!

If you get the lowdown on this place from yelp you'll see that many of the complaints mention their lack of customer service. FYI--there isn't any--so don't be disappointed. While I found my experience pleasant enough, their website indicates their restaurant is "where the customer is rarely right" . . . clearly no promises. The grill-boss abruptly asked several members in the group in front of me to wait outside since only one person is allowed per order otherwise it jams up the flow.

The burgers were good . . . flame broiled with melty Finnish Lappi cheese and complete with lettuce, tomato, onion, relish, mayo, mustard and ketchup. They take their beef seriously and grind it each morning. It's USDA certified black angus and 100% vegetarian fed, hormone, and antibiotic free meat. Since the seating was slammed we headed across the street to dine on our burgers and fries on a bench in the park. With views of Angel Island, Alcatraz, and the City by the Bay the ambiance was quite adequate indeed.