The San Francisco Citizen

No, you can’t has double cheezburger. At least that’s what some McDonalds and Burger King franchisees would like to tell you when you only order off of the “dollar menu.” Why’s that, you say? Aren’t they making money off of the deal?

Well, sure they’re making money, but not as much as they’d like to wring out of you on each of your visits.

BILLBINNS vis flickr (actually, that’s exactly what one should expect after ordering a DCB at MCD, right?)

San Francisco used to have the World’s Smallest Burger King (but no longer, thanks to a Kramer-esque campaign). So you’ll have to search around for the Dollar Menu, but take advantage of this good deal while you can.

Stick it to the man!

San Francisco’s latest lunchtime hotspot in the Financh is doing land-office business so far, but the reviews are sort of meh.

Per Sue L.:

Burgers - reminiscent of White Castle
Fries - reminiscent of Burger King
Onion Strings - reminiscent of Asqew Grill
Hype - reminiscent of In & Out

It looks like a chain, but it’s not. People line up out the door during lunchtime, but it’s not that long a wait. The burgers, fries and onion ring string things taste good. A little pricey for what you get.

Maybe it’s for you, maybe it’s not.

493 Pine at Belden Lane near Kearny

If you want a burger from a cable car in San Francisco (and really, why wouldn’t you?), you’ve got two choices.

Starting with Tony’s Cable Car. It’s a simple old-skool hamburger stand at 2500 Geary perched over the tunnel that goes under Masonic. A portion of the ingredients have been previously frozen, so that’s offputting to some. But if you pay $13 for burgers and fries, the bag they put it in will have some heft and the contents will be well-prepared, hot, and yummy.  

O.K. then.

Now we’re ending with Joe’s Cable Car at 4320 Mission. Did you know that Joe Grinds His Own Fresh Chuck Daily, or something? Lot’s of people know that because this joint has been featured on the Food Network. So you’ll get tourists making pilgramages down to the Outer Mission.

People tend to like the food, but not the high prices (adding 2 oz. more chuck to your burger costs $3.50 - that’s $26/lb!) or the $15 per capita minimum order service charge. All that daily grinding costs money, you see, but some question if Joe has gone too far with his pricing scheme.

The Yelpers seem to prefer Tony’s.

If you’re looking for a tie-breaker, the San Francisco Department of Health’s most recent report has this to say about Joe’s:

Floors, Walls, Ceilings Improperly constructed, in disrepair, not clean   
Improper Storage: Equipment. Utensils, Linens    
Foods not separated or protected

For Tony’s, aka “Geary Drive In”, the DPH simply states:

This location has no violations

So there you have it. You make the call.

(Or you could compromise on the cable car theme and check out Bill’s Place on Clement. Lot’s of people like that joint.)