Sam's

Sam's has been in the middle of Chinatown and the North Beach area for as long as I can remember.  Even the days when I would go shopping with my parents in Chinatown I would pass by it without even giving a second glance.  Always empty in the middle of the day, I'd always wondered how it stayed open.  Anthony Bourdain recently made a stop on his trip to San Francisco on The Layover and it kinda piqued by interest.  Its open till 3:30a so its another late night eats option after a night of going out. 

 

The menu is an array of random items from pizza to fried chicken, but I only had my eyes on one thing.  The cheeseburger.  How good could it really taste?  Not sure if its just because its late night, but the burgers weren't grilled to order and probably laying out for a while in order to sling them out fast to drunk customers.  Usually that would be the first hint to a disappointing burger, but surprisingly at first bite you could taste the charcoal grill in the meat.  Apparently, you can get a choice of a fried egg, avocado, and cheese, but in my overeagerness to get fed I overlooked that part of the menu.

Its not the best burger in town, but it is mighty tasty with a grilled taste.  The mixture of pickles, cheese, and mayo reminded me of Thousand Island dressing.  Surprisingly satisfying and worth a trip back, but next time I'll get a double cheeseburger.

The fries here came out cold, but unlike the cheeseburger, these were not good cold.  They were bland and somewhat hard.  Skip these.

Address:                 Sam's
                                618 Broadway
                                San Francisco, CA
  

Type:                       burger/American/late night

Popular chomps:     cheeseburger
                                 pizza
 

Chomp worthy:        cheeseburger