Type: Restaurant (Burgers)
Rating: 5/5
Would definitely return.
When most people think of burger places in California, I imagine that a majority of Californians like myself will say, “Well, of course you’ve got to go to In-n-Out.” While this is true, I have learned that you can actually go one step further when it comes to the fast food burger that isn’t quite fast food, but is reasonably priced and immensely satisfying: Super Duper.
I’d never been to this place until this past weekend, and I feel silly for not having gone even though it’s relatively close to work. We’ve got a bunch of great burger places in San Francisco, so it can be difficult to figure out what’s worth going to. My top three are Umami, Roam, and now, Super Duper, all of which are extremely excellent for different reasons. In the end, I would go to Super Duper if it’s a) time for some fantastic fries, b) it’s on the way, and c) I want to be in a place where parking is relatively easy. So I guess most of my reasons are related to location more than anything, but even that plays a huge part in deciding where I want to go to eat.
Going backwards from my list, the one at Yerba Buena means I am pretty much guaranteed to find parking within a 5-block radius. There’s the 5th and Mission garage, there’s the garage next to Crunch on 3rd and Harrison, there’s the 25-cent-an-hour parking on 3rd and Bryant (when the Giants aren’t in town), and probably a whole lot more that I haven’t found myself. This is good news. Secondly, if I’m in this area, I’m probably going to Target. This means I can either eat beforehand to get my Target on, or afterwards to feel good about my Target run. And lastly? Fries. Oh my goodness. These fries.
Oh my. So much goodness. These garlic fries are even better than the ones I had at the garlic festival, mainly because a plethora of sweaty drunkards and too-hot weather weren’t involved. The other positive point to these fries is that they are covered in cheese, which makes it even more delicious. And there is garlic in every wonderful, beautiful bite. I mean, the fries were more of a highlight than the burger to me, and the burgers were pretty damn fantastic on their own.
These bad boys are the “mini” burgers, which, on their own, are a sweet $5. A super burger is this plus one more quarter-pound patty for $7. A mini was perfect for me, and they’re cooked to a nice medium (I’d prefer them medium-rare, but this was still pretty tasty). You can add stuff to your burger according to their menu, and even if you add stuff, it’s still probably going to come out to be cheaper than Roam (and definitely Umami).
If it matters, everything here is organic. You can even bring your veggie friends here, since they also make veggie burgers, which are apparently also quite delightful. They’ve got some housemade pickles (things I don’t like, but the boyfriend says they are really excellent), and their ice creams and shakes are made with Strauss, which is one of the most legit still-in-a-glass-bottle milks you can find at places like Whole Foods.
Oh…and…yes. So we did get a super shake. Because Strauss. And cookies ‘n’ creme. Anyway, in terms of food, everything was delicious and of excellent quality. The burgers are a solid choice in the world of sandwiches with beef patties in between them; they are infinitely better than In-n-Out, in my opinion. But don’t go expecting something that can compete with Roam and Umami. Roam beats SD out in terms of the dozens of things you can add to their burgers; Umami is king when it comes to burgers being made exquisitely. Super Duper is good when you don’t want to seem overly-accidentally uppity, but still want to be the bearer of good food times. Plus, their fries are the best out of these three, anyway. I’m not overly fond of Roam’s, and if I’m at Umami, I get their cheesy tots, so there you go.
To summarize, Super Duper is, in fact, super duper. Now that I know it’s just about two blocks away from work, I know that I’ll be going here for my burger cravings. Or, to be more accurate, my garlic fry cravings.