Samuel Horne's Tavern
Samuel Horne’s Tavern
Posted 74 days ago

Samuel Horne's Tavern is a quaint watering hole in the heart of Old Folsom that boasts a wide variety of  revolving craft brews on tap(16 to be exact) and quality food.    When…

Ginger's
Ginger’s
Posted 97 days ago

We travelled to Roseville to try a new location we'd heard about - Ginger's. It's located in a strip mall near North Sunrise and Roseville Parkway. At first glance, you…

Ginger’s
Cafe' Capricho
Cafe’ Capricho
Posted 157 days ago

The RSB's have have often taken flavor and medical risks the average burger lover cowers to, but I have to say this may have been the ultimate burger risk.  …

The Counter
The Counter
Posted 188 days ago

The Counter Burger Bar is located in the Fountains in Roseville. The RSB's had been talking about this stop on our burger tour for quite a while. Last week the…

The Counter
River Rock Tap House
River Rock Tap House
Posted 238 days ago

Third times a charm one can hope. The River Rock is located in the building that used to be occupied by ill-fated Taco Loco and the confusing Tex-Mex. This concept…

River Rock Tap House
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Samuel Horne’s Tavern

Samuel Horne’s Tavern is a quaint watering hole in the heart of Old Folsom that boasts a wide variety of  revolving craft brews on tap(16 to be exact) and quality food.    When first entering, I immediately became slightly cramped due to the modest size of the the tavern itself.  However, as I became acclimated to the surroundings my need for more space dissipated and I became part of the enjoyable enteractive environment that only a small local tavern can provide.   Due to the outstanding variety of brews available, I will not mention all of what each of us quenched our thirst with, but Pliney the Elder was our first choice.    On this RSB adventure we ordered two different burgers.  One was the Johnny Cash Burger and the other was a burger called the J.T. Deluxe.  The Johnny Cash burger had bacon, cheddar cheese, grilled onions and a bourbon-espresso redeye sauce(aka- bbq sauce).  The J.T. Deluxe came with bacon, blue cheese, grilled onions and a fantastic red pepper remoulade.  Each burger was accompanied with good quality produce and a soft bun.  Unfortunately for us, and our taste-buds, all three burgers were sinfully overcooked to a solid medium-well(a true crime in our book) which prevented these burgers from reaching their true star potential.  Despite the overcooked burgers, Samuel Horne’s Tavern is well worth the trip for the quality brews alone.  And since the RSB’s are a very forgiving lot, we plan to be back soon in search of the oddly elusive medium rare burger.  Cheers!

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Ginger’s

We travelled to Roseville to try a new location we’d heard about – Ginger’s. It’s located in a strip mall near North Sunrise and Roseville Parkway. At first glance, you might think you’re in Island’s, with everything being covered in thatch grass, surfboards clinging to walls, and Hawaiian shirts abound. I like a good theme, but since there’s not a beach within 90 miles of Roseville, I’m assuming the decor is to make you feel like you’re there – well sort of.

As for the menu, it’s expansive! Breakfast, lunch, dinner, they even have a brunch. Luckily, we skipped right ahead to the burger section. With 13 burgers to choose from, even that took some pondering, luckily they had Sierra Nevada on tap to make the decision making easier.

Between the three of us, we each had a different burger:

  1. Blue Lagoon Burger (Bacon, blue cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc.)
  2. Pepper Jack, Cusabi Ranch Burger (Pepper jack, bacon, onion ring, Wasabi-Ranch dressing, lettuce, tomato, etc.)
  3. Teriyaki Pineapple Mushroom, Swiss Burger (name says it all)
All of our burger were good, and actually cooked pretty well, I mean Medium -Rare. The buns were really good, but again, three different options, Signature, wheat, or sesame; stick with the Signature bun, light and airy, no need for the others I think. I like that Ginger’s offered some unique sauces and burger choices, you could even up-size any burger from 1/3 to 1/2 pounder. The fries were crispy and thin-cut, but the onion rings were way better. We each would have had another beer, but our waitress disappeared after dropping off our burgers, she probably went surfing or something.
All-in-all Ginger’s has great burgers. Really juicy and flavorful, all the produce is fresh and stacked high. Definitely worth a stop if you’re in the area.
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Cafe’ Capricho

The RSB’s have have often taken flavor and medical risks the average burger lover cowers to, but I have to say this may have been the ultimate burger risk.   “How…,” “Why…,” “Are you guys crazy…?” All are excellent questions and I must confess we were questioning ourselves on this great taste adventure as well.  Sure we’ve eaten Kangaroo, lion, emu, buffalo, but one thing we’ve never had until our epic visit was a burger at a Mexican tacqueria.  I know, crazy huh!   Truth is one of our nacho loving friends gave us a burger tip and recommended Cafe’ Capricho.  Needless to say, our burger curiosity was peaked and thats all it took.  We had to go and taste it for ourselves.    Believe it or not Cafe’ Capricho offered a respectable four burgers, onion rings, and three different types of fries.  The environment is that of a traditional Tacqueria.  We ordered up front at a counter and were given a number to put on our self-seated table.   Service staff was very friendly and helpful.  The predictable mexican beers were offered on draft and they had several bottled beers to choose from including an RSB favorite, Lagunitas IPA.

Bacon Blue, Avocado

I ordered the Bacon, blue cheese, avocado, and caramelized onion burger.   I made one alteration and asked for fresh red onion instead of caramelized.  They gladly obliged.  Although the girl at the registered didn't ask how I wanted my burger cooked, I asked for it to be cooked medium rare. I also ordered the chili oil and blue cheese fries as well.   My burger was cooked to perfection, and it had good quality bacon as well as a half of an avocado on top.  Believe it or not, this taqueria is on my top five favorite burger spots this far.  Only knock is that the bleu cheese fries were hot but lacked flavor.  BTW- not only was my burger fantastic, it was a bargain at $5.95.  If you love good burgers and the smell of cilantro and refried beans, this is the place for you!

Jack Burger with Bacon

Cafe Caprichio Bacon AvoI went to the counter with every intention of ordering a cheeseburger and adding bacon to it. But it was suggested to me that I order the Jack Burger with Bacon, hold the Jack, substitute it for cheddar, hold the jalapeños and red onions, then swap the special mayo for regular mayo...Yay, I saved a $1.30!

When my burger did finally arrive, I was greeted with a mound of avocado, way more than the $1.30's worth I saved on bacon. Then my fellow RSB's asked how it was cooked. With the rush of changes, I forgot to order it medium-rare.  Oh no! Despite being overcooked, my burger was delicious. The amount of fresh produce was amazing, the bun was slightly toasted, but the meat was dried out...my bad.

Next time, I'll keep it simple. Or better yet Cafe Caprichio, how 'bout putting a bacon chee burger on the menu?

Another Jack Burger w/Bacon and Avocado

I ordered mine with jalapenos on the side, and asked for medium rare. I received exactly what I ordered and then some! The huge mound of avocado is an awesome compliment to a perfectly cooked burger. Bacon was crisp, bun was nicely toasted, tomato was ripe and juicy, lettuce was crisp! Burger was awesome. The onion rings were great, the fries lacked some flavor.  Overall great service and Lagunitas IPA in the bottle, I'm sure we will be back soon.

TAKE THE VIRTUAL TOUR

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The Counter


The Counter Burger Bar is located in the Fountains in Roseville. The RSB’s had been talking about this stop on our burger tour for quite a while. Last week the stars finally came into alignment and we found ourselves on that end of town (according to my phone we were in a whole new time zone), and it sure felt like a long drive from Downtown Sacramento area. First walking into the restaurant it looked clean and well kept. We were quickly seated at an outside table by our friendly host. Next we had to try to navigate through the lengthy and very confusing menu/checkbox order sheet. Choose your meat, choose your burger size, choose your cheese(s), choose your toppings (approx 20 choices), choose your premium toppings, choose your sauce (another huge list of choices), choose your bread, choose your side…(how many more choices do I have to make?). Maybe I’ll just stick with a signature burger…or…I can’t make one more choice. Ok maybe a beer choice.

Bacon Swiss Guacamole

After all was said and done I got my burger exactly the way I ordered it...well almost.  I think you might notice there is no guacamole, which is a premium topping that you would pay extra for if the person reading the confusing menu card had noticed I had checked the guacamole box.  Apparently the menu system even confuses some of the help.  All in all a good burger, checked it off the list. I don't think I need to go back!  If you love alot of choices, you should give it a try!

Control: Bacon Chee

With so many choices in front of me, I ran to safety, Bacon Cheeseburger. I must say, the large mound of bacon was much appreciated. Cheese was cheddar, the bun was standard. This is the nearly the most basic burger one could create. It was cooked perfectly - medium-rare. Definitely, tasty, definitely middle of the road. Kudos to the waiter for letting us have a "frings" basket of fries and rings, also very good.

Bacon mushroom w/gourmet cheese

With a ridiculous amount of options, I chose to be safe and creative all at the same time.   First I went with the pretzel bun which was fantastic and a perfect complement to my superbly cooked medium rare patty.  I safely went with bacon topping and went out on the edge again for the horseradish  cheese(also an excellent choice).  All in all my burger was fantastic and I look forward to my next Counter encounter.

 

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River Rock Tap House

Third times a charm one can hope. The River Rock is located in the building that used to be occupied by ill-fated Taco Loco and the confusing Tex-Mex. This concept is simple, tried and true – pub food and beer. The key though, is good pub food and good beer, and River Rock seems to have figured this out.

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BEER: River Rock claims to have over 40 beers on tap, but two of the three IPA’s up for consideration were out. I will commend them on having a great list of brews, including Green Flash and Wipe Out, would love to see some Stone brews here as well. Fortunately, no matter your beer style preference, you probably will find something you like.

River Rock only serves two burgers, Classic and the Guinness. The Classic is served dry, with red onion and tomato. Usual add-ons are available for $1 each.

Bacon and Blue

Classic Rock Burger: Essentially the control burger, BUT this one had Pt. Reyes Bleu Cheese and apple wood smoked bacon. Of course it was ordered medium-rare, and of course it came out a perfect... medium -- dam. The bun, classically called the "Signature Bun" was good, but would have been better slightly warmed or toasted. The cris-cut fries were fantastic! All in all, a good basic pub burger.

Classic with Guac

Classic Rock Burger: Guac this way.  This burger patty alone was definitely overcooked. I ordered the usual medium-rare and I hope they were going for medium-well because they nailed it!  However the good news is I didn't just have the patty, the guacamole was very tasty and very moist.  The tomatoes were fresh, lettuce was crisp, all adding enough moisture to make it a great burger.  I will definitely be back for another burger and this time I will ask them to toast the bun.  (and shoot for medium-rare)

Guinness Burger

Guinness Burger: Details

On paper this burger read like the greatest thing since bacon.  Unfortunately, I was left disappointed.  My burger was ordered medium rare and delivered a disgraceful well done.  In addition to the over cooked patty the bun was cold and the quality of meat was suspect.   Whew!  Now that I got that off my chest, lets talk about the positives.  The over-medium egg was a welcomed addition by adding much needed moisture and it was a perfect complement to the excellent homemade  Guinness gravy.  Hopefully the  chef was just having a bad day because the potential of this burger is outstanding.   Due to the delicious criss-cut fries and outstanding appetizers, I trust they will make the improvements needed for it to be Ro sham worthy.

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Limelight

AHHHHH the Limelight.  For many(including myself), the limelight wreaks of college nostalgia including immature drunken debauchery and cheap beer.   I can’t even remember if they served food back then let alone burgers.  Fortunately for the RSB’s our burger radar is always on and we picked up a strong burger signal coming from the Limelight on Alhambra Boulevard.
Read More, see photos→

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Pizza Rock

I know what you’re thinking…”Why would RSB go to a pizza place to review burgers?”  Well it’s an easy answer, Pizza Rock serves more than just great pizza!  Located at 1020 K st, downtown Sacramento, this place is very awesome!  From the dj booth in the sky (inside a Peterbilt truck cab hanging from the ceiling), to the extensive beer and wine selection and cocktails, a totally rockin sound system, a very spacious patio out front, to some of the friendliest staff that RSB has encountered.  We chose to sit out on the patio to enjoy the wonderful July weather we are having, and promptly started off with a Pizza Romana #II as an appetizer and it was Deeelicious!  We did wash that down with some quality beer! Next, it was on to the burgers, and WOW did we enjoy them.  We will be back for sure!
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The Yard House – Roseville

The Yard House breaks the “Non-Chain” rule, but the draw of 140 beers on tap was too powerful to resist! Located in the Fountains of Roseville, the Yard House is a perfect fit. The designers somehow managed to turn this former Smith & Hawkin’s store into a great looking restaurant with one of the biggest bars I’ve seen. Read More, see photos→

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Morgan’s Bar and Grill

The Ro Sham Burgers were at it again and this time we chose to patronize Morgan’s Bar and Grill in East Sac. on the corner of 34th and S. This locally owned watering hole boasts house made, slow cooked BBQ, quality hamburgers, and of course an ample selection of brew. I must say the RSB’s were surprised (in a good way) on several accounts during our visit.

First, their beer selection more than met our strict standards. Two beverages of choice were the Deschutes Brewing Companies “Mirror Pond Pale Ale” and Lagunitas “Lil’ Sumpin.” Both brews were refreshing and a excellent change-up from the standard go-to, Sierra Nevada. All in all the RSB’s give Morgan’s credit for having some variety on tap. Cheers! Read the rest of this page »

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The Hideaway

The Hideaway is a small bar in Curtis Park, and I think I’ve driven by this place a hundred times, and always assumed it was one of those dive bars that open at 6:30 am, but I was wrong. Yes, it’s a bar, complete with pool tables, juke box, and an eclectic mix of retro pinup-tattoo decor, but there’s a twist…great food. Read More, see photos→

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