Burgers and Brew

Burgers and Brew, R street between 14th & 15th

Cheesburger, Trimmings and Onion Rings

Burger Blog Team-Member, John, samples the fare

Burger Blog Team, Beth, Jane, John and Savannah on the job. Not shown, Jack the photographer.

5 Guy's photos

5 Guys

I just got back from a weeks vacation in Virginia and decided to post a review of an East Coast burger. Everyone kept telling me to try 5 Guys. They are known up and down the east coast for a great burger. So, Michelle, Brooke, Mom and I piled in the car one day and headed out. The boys decided they would rather have pizza and would meet up with us later.
They have quite the menu to choose from. Every topping you could possibly want for your burger. I got the basic burger with tomato, lettuce, ketcup and mayo. Mom and I split an order of fries while Michelle and Brooke also split an order. Only Brooke decided to go crazy and order a hot dog instead of a burger.
The burger was good. Well cooked, juicy and the bread was nice. I liked the burger but I'm not sure it was the best I've had. But, it was mighty good. The fries were delicious, thin and freshly cut and fried. They have stacks of potatoes in the front of the store and they list on a board where the potatoes come from that they are fixing this particular day. I managed to clean my plate. The atmosphere was fine, clean and large. Nothing too special. If the 5 Guys ever decide to head west, I'd tell burger fans in CA to give it a try.
8 Buns.

Jim Dennys as reviewed by John

as soon as you walk into the restaurant you are overcome by all of the fantastic aromas and gives a hint as too what is to come. a seat at the counter is best because it allows you to take in everything around you (despite the small size of the restaurant) and will also get you quicker service by the kind and friendly staff. Now i ordered just the basic burger but what i got was so much more then that. when my food did arrive and i took that first bite of the burger i was in heaven. the fries that accompanied my burger were just as satisfactory. all in all i wish that they had done something special with the burger, something that lets them stand out from the crowd, also the feeling you get after eating the burger isn't a very plesent one. however if you are stopping by sacramento make sure you stop by this restaurant.

9 buns out of 10

Jim-Denny's - A Sacramento Classic

A Step Back In Time



A Double Cheeseburger with all the trimmings



Burger Blog Team on the job



The savory perfume of the grill accentuates the agony of anticipation



Jim-Denny's is also a superb breakfast spot, thus the chicken mascot

photos by jack hastings

Jim Denny's Review

We chose Jim Denny's for our second Burger Joint. I called the Hastings household around noon on Saturday to see who was ready to write a restaurant review only to find out that the guys were still asleep. Jane had been at work for a couple of hours and Savannah had already gone on a bike ride, worked in her room and probably completed a couple of craft projects knowing her. I told her to wake them up and tell them we were having burgers for breakfast. An hour and a half later we were on our way.

I loved Jim Denny's. It's located on 12th between H & I. They've been serving burgers for 75 years but the recent owner took over just 5 years ago. The location is small but has a lot of character. We entered and sat at the counter. There was a lot to look at. They have a collection of chickens and roosters around the room, some colorful personalities working behind the counter and the grill right in full view of everyone. Sitting at the counter you get to see the burgers grilled in all of their goodness and greasiness. The menu has a collection of burgers to choose from. I went with the 5 cent burger which isn't really 5 cents at all. In fact it's $5.50. It's a 1/6 lb of meat that comes with lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard and onions. I added cheddar cheese. They have a selection of cheeses to choose from along with bacon. Also available are the double burger (2 of the 5 cent burgers) for 7.50, the super burger- 1/2 lb of meat for $8.75 & the Mega burger- 1 lb of meat for $9.75. The small one was plenty for me.

I was starving as I watched them grill it and couldn't stop pointing out the grill action to Savannah until she told me to stop because she could see it for herself. My burger was perfect. The bread was nice and soft and not too much. The produce was fresh, no hard center tomatoes, and beautiful green lettuce. The burger was juicy and not too greasy. Just the perfect amount of grease. It was seasoned well and not overcooked. I was not as impressed with the fries. They were small and I thought possibly over cooked. A little too crunchy for me. But, I managed to eat everything on my plate and drink half of Savannah's milkshake.

Overall it was a delightful lunch. The food was good, the location was fun and I was eating with some of my favorite people in the world. What's not to love! Afterwards we meet up with Jane and went to the Sacramento Film festival. We saw a collection of animated movies. I didn't even eat dinner because I was still full late into the evening.

I would give the burger a 9 out of 10 but the fries I would only give a 6. The building and the service get an 8. I'm going to round that out to a solid 8.
Now I have to go back and try their breakfast.... maybe that's the next blog subject... Pancakes!



8 Bun Rating for Jim-Denny's

Johns review of nation wide freezer meats

As soon as the car pulled up to the restaurant i knew that this was going to be different then the other burger joints that i have been too and despite that trouble that we had finding the entrance we walked in and... it was kind of plain. yes, the restaurant did not have much in the way of "atmosphere" but if you wanted that then you should have become an astronaut, no what i wanted was a burger a nice juicy burger. So the group looked over the menu and we all decided that we would have just the good ol fashioned burger, fries, and a coke (BTW all the burgers are steak burgers). The service was pretty quick and the burger did indeed look good but the fries surprised me. i did not know that restaurants still even made those big thick french fries but i was proven wrong. The fries melted in your mouth and the burger was well, average. going to this restaurant proved to me that there are reasons why things have been around for so long but it also shows that despite all those years there is still room for improvement. But if you want an average burger then this is some meat that will be hard to beat. 7/10





John's rating: 7 Buns

Nationwide Freezer Meats Photos

Nationwide Freezer Meats
at 20th & H.

Our intrepid burger sleuths prepare to enter.

A painted mural depicts Nationwide's original location on J Street.

French ground steak burger shown with quarter cut steak fries.

photos by jack hastings

Beth's review of Nationwide Freezer Meats

We finally hit our first burger joint! The plan had been to start with The Squeeze Inn since it is most often picked as the top burger in town. But the temperature today is 105 and the seating is outdoors so suddenly it didn't sound so appealing. Today's adventure was made up of John, Jack and myself. We decided to hit Nationwide Freezer Meats which usually ends up on the top pick list of burger joints. Nationwide has been in business for 40 years and I have to say, the location looks like it. I was surprised to hear that they actually re-located 6 years ago to H street. Their current location looks like an old store front or office building with a few tables added. It's clean and comfortable but definitely falls into the category of Burger Joints. I ordered the Cheese Burger and Fries. Luckily I noticed that they put "Special Sauce" on their burgers. I hate special sauce. Since I hate Thousand Island dressing, it makes sense that I hate the sauce. I got mine with ketchup.
It took about 10 minutes and the burger was delivered in a brown paper bag. Overall it was a good burger. I thought the bun was too big. I don't need that much bread with my burger. The meat was tasty and well cooked. It was a good size burger and the toppings were okay. You don't get to choose your cheese so it tasted like American. Not the most tasty cheese in the world. The fries were outstanding. they are the big meaty fries and looked like they had just be sliced and fried. I ate every last one!
Of course the company and conversation were fabulous. We coined a new phrase "Pee Pants funny". (actually John might have already coined it but I'm introducing it to the public here.)

We've decided to go with a 10 star rating system (10 being the highest and 0 the lowest.) I'm going to give Nationwide 6 stars. Originally I was going with 7 but it is hard being the first joint. I don't want to go too high in case there are a ton of better burgers out there. This one might be one worth going back to down the road to compare with other entrees.
Feel free to agree or disagree. Can't wait to hear what John says.

http://www.nationwidefreezermeats.com/





Beth's Rating: 7 Buns

Who are we and what are we doing?

How did this all start? Let's back up to last year. My 15 year old nephew and I went to the Squeeze In to try the best burger in all of Sacramento. After a 30 minute wait to order, we managed to squeeze up to the bar and had a pretty incredible burger. We couldn't stop talking about it. After that we decided we should start the search for the perfect burger. We'd start in Sacramento and then fan out. Over the past year we've discussed it but never took action. Finally I realized that in a couple of years he'll be moving on to other things and we'll probably spend less and less time together. Why not create a project that allows us to hang out and do something we both enjoy... eating. Today we took the initial step and tried the first burger.
We are hoping our friends and family will join us on our burger search. With each burger we'll judge the meat, the bread, the toppings and the french fries. Plus we will take into consideration the location, the ambiance and anything else that strikes out fancy. It's our blog so we'll do what we please. After each visit, we'll each post a review. We are encouraging those who go with us to post comments. We'd also love to hear from you, our readers, the best burger you've ever had. We'll start compiling a list of the Must Have burgers.
Enjoy the Burger!