San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — Picture it. COVID 2020. After months of quasi-convalescence at my own version of Shady Pines during the apocalypse, here I sat in a cordoned-off parking lane over hot asphalt with cars whizzing by ten inches from my arm. I was only half-focused on the food and real-life non-Zoom’d company since I was preoccupied with the possibility of a car slamming into my table any minute. But these are strange times, and if any meal is worth veritable death at the hand (or front grille) of a bad Prius driver, it’s this one.
Like many locals, I was distraught by the recent pandemic-hastened closure of San Diego food and bar icon the Balboa, a place I and many others thought produced the best burger in town. About ten miles south stands a second satellite location opened just last year, less than a year later now their only location.
It’s that familiar type of backyard cookout burger you find here, seasoned liberally of salt and pepper and nothing else that I could taste, and nothing else is needed. The folks here excel at cooking a patty that is hefty enough in its put-together composition but loose enough to break apart easily during the act of eating. The cheese (American is used here) is thick and goopy in the very best of ways. I liked the Balboa Classic at the original location, my maiden order here for old time’s sake, topped generously of all the things you would conceivably expect in a ‘classic’ burger.
Burgers are what they do epically, but don’t miss an order of fries, available either with salt and pepper or laden with enough garlic to melt your face off. Get the large. You can dip these daintily or dunk them wholly and completely in the chipotle buttermilk sauce served on the side. All of this goes superbly well with any number of craft beers on tap, and emerging breweries surround the place in an area that’s slowly becoming San Diego’s newest beer-centric hot spot.
Anybody else would have taken the success of the original and reinvented themselves — from perfect simplicity would have risen the kings and queens of haute couture bar food. But even with a new location and the passage of time, some things stay the same. Typically, it’s delicious Mexican fare at low prices to be found in these parts, but a burger of this magnitude is a very welcome addition.
Written by Joy
Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.
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