TrueBurger

Being from the East Bay, I'm a little surprised I've never eaten at this spot.  Its known as one of the best burgers in the area.  It's even made Grubstreet's 50 best burgers.  TrueBurger is ironically located around the corner from Whole Foods in the Lake Merritt area of Oakland.  

The menu here is comfortably simple with no frills.  Chili, cheese, and bacon and some combination of the three make up most of the menu put out by former chefs from Delfina, Bay Wolf, Absinthe, and Jardiniere. 

 

 Hearty, beefy chili with melty cheese and sprinkled with green onions and a dollop of sour cream all over some McDonald-esque fries.  You don't have to rush and finish these fries because the cheese is melted nicely and doesn't clump.  Not sure if it was the smaller than expected portion or what, but this just didn't satisfy me.  The taste reminds me of Taco Bell hard shelled tacos, which isn't a bad thing in my book.

 

The portion size and shape of the burgers here remind me of Super Duper (see post HERE).  These burgers fit perfectly into your hands.  The cheesy bacon burger comes with cheese, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, and a garlic mayo. The patty is a little on the small side so if you prefer a more beefy burger, I'd suggest a double.  It's not one of those greasy burgers you can really sink your teeth into.  It's more of a clean tasting burger that doesn't leave you feeling guilty afterwards.  The fresh housemade bun doesn't hold up too well and ended up falling apart halfway through.

You can see the patty is a little on the thin side, but the bread is fluffy and fresh.

The breaded and fried mushroom burger reminded me of the mushroom burger at SuperDuper.  Juicy, but fried with a light crust.  The surprising feature of this burger is the stuffed mozzarella cheese inside the portobello mushroom, which would have been really awesome had I been more prepared for it squirting at me.  Although both burgers had a garlic sauce, I could only taste it in the mushroom burger.  I preferred this mushroom burger over the cheesy bacon burger and not just because I'm not a bacon fan.    

 The mozzarella cheese oozes out of the portobello in a very nice cheesy consistency and not oddly clumpy like most melted cheese..

I prefer my milkshake to be a little on the thicker side so that the first sip hurts your cheeks.  The milkshakes here are on the liquidy side, but they do have a real ice cream taste to it.

Comparing similar styles of burgers, I prefer Super Duper to this, but you can see its similarities right down to their housemade pickles.  I'm not sure if its the best burger in the East Bay.  I guess I'll continue my search for that. 

updated - Working my way through Grubstreet's 50 Best Burgers in San Francisco

     

Address:                  TrueBurger
                                 146 Grand Ave.
                                 Oakland, CA 
 

Type:                        burger

Popular chomps:      chili cheese fries
                                  bacon cheesy burger
                                  mushroom burger
                                  pickle
                                  milkshake 

Chomp worthy:         mushroom burger
                                  bacon cheesy burger