Bob's Giant Hamburgers - Pleasanton, CA

Bob's Giant Hamburgers in Pleasanton, CA is an old school burger stand set on a corner near downtown. I was there at 3 in the afternoon one Friday and was the only burger guy. A steady stream of soft-serve ice cream customers kept them busy.

As I sat in the clean dining room, I noted how blue it all was. Blue tables. Blue floor. Photos of old cars that covered the walls. They had faded to blue as old color photos are inclined to do.

The cheeseburger ($4.55), fries ($1.85) and onion rings ($2.75) were all hot and served up fast. The onion rings were my favorite. They were battered and thin. Crispy and tasty and unique without any old grease taste I often get in these kinds of places. The fries were hot, salty, medium-think, skins-free and served in a big white paper bag.
The burger itself was a thin patty served pink and hot. There was ample shredded lettuce, an onion slice, tomato slice and American cheese melted on top. The thousand-island-style sauce was thinly applied to the toasted sesame bun and lost in the pile of vegetables. It was a pretty good classic-style burger.
As I was leaving, I got a chocolate shake ($3.40) for the road. It was interesting seeing it prepared on the "Electrofreeze" machines. First syrup and milk were poured into a Styrofoam cup. It was topped off with chocolate soft-serve. The cup was inserted under a mechanical stirrer that mixed the whole concoction. After all that, it tasted like chocolate soft-serve. I think I prefer the Hamilton Beach method with scoops of ice cream.

Burger 3 spatulas out of 5
Fries 3 spatulas
Onion Rings 3.5 spatulas
Milk Shake 2 spatulas

Bob's Giant Hamburgers
4223 First St.
Pleasanton, CA 94566
925-846-4657

Nation's Giant Hamburgers - Fremont, CA

Nations is an institution in the East Bay. I remember my brother-in-law John telling me about them years ago. He has always been a regular at the Fremont location. It was appropriate he joined me for the review. A somewhat seedy and dilapidated building, it nevertheless has an inviting charm. At a Friday lunch, there were bikers, skinheads, 49er fans, workers and families all happily sharing their slabs of meat.

This one has a local feel as one steps to the counter to order. The cheeseburger is $4.30, fries $1.50 and shakes in two sizes are $2.20 or $3.10. If I had not been on a burger mission, I would have been very tempted to take a crack at the tempting “grand” breakfast menu. Instead I grabbed my receipt and number and took a seat.

It wasn’t long before my number was called and I retrieved my sustenance. The griddle-fried burger comes piled high with fresh onions, tomato, lettuce and mayo-based dressing. The bun is griddle-crisp. All of it is a nice blending of all flavors in the classic style. The burger is only a small piece of the overall package claimed to be “3/4 pound or more with everything”.

The fries are medium thick, hot, lightly salted and unadorned perfection. This is how I like fries best - no skins, no coating, no pepper - just potato, salt and grease served piping hot.

The shake was also very good. It was creamy and cold with not too much syrup, flowing thick and smooth up the straw.

I have been to newer Nations locations that feel more chain-like, this one is one really makes one feel at home.

Burger 3.5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 5 spatulas
Shake 4 spatulas

Nations Giant Hamburgers
39180 Fremont Blvd.
Fremont, CA
510-797-3211
www.nationsrestaurants.com

24 locations in the SF Bay Area