Many column inches of this here blog have been dedicated to droning on and on about my search for a great burger and how they are, quite possibly, the world’s most perfect food.  This week’s challenge is a chain burger restaurant.  In a mall.  Sound scary?  It could be, but I’m no snob.  I’m always ready to judge anyone’s food, as are my burger-loving friends:

Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many

Amy B-Vegetarian Belle, Author, Event Planner

Harry-Wise guy, master of the grill, loves camping for some reason

David-Technical writer, singer, robot super villain

Durwood-Best friend, comedian, San Diego’s go-to young black non-singing actor

Molly-Recent San Diego transplant, jewelry maker, The new girl

Your food tasters, much like the burgers, are prepared over an open flame pit.

Eureka offers “a jubilant atmosphere with handpicked house music, televised sports and weekly events … Our exceptional hospitality and unique environment creates a value driven experience defined as “eatertainment!” I love a good buzzword.  Here’s hoping the food was given as much thought as the catchphrase.

First up were libations.  With lots of beer to go round but a limited amount of spirits, I wasn’t really in any mood to drink, so I let others take the lead.  Harry got the Sazerac.  He found it a little heavy on the anise but good.  David ordered the Moscow Mule (Which he found standard), Amy had the Rosemary’s Ruby Red (Gin, Rosemary, grapefruit & citrus).  Amy found the drink very refreshing and good.  Molly ordered the Hemingway (Rum, Grapefruit, Maraschino & Citrus).  She enjoyed it but said it was nothing remarkable.

Amy, Molly and I started with the Truffle Cheese Fries with creamy Havarti truffle sauce & green onions.  Amy felt the fries were lacking truffles and cheese while Molly also branded them a bit bland.  I think it’s a great concept but the execution left a little to be desired.  I immediately thought back to a more successful version of that dish I’d had earlier in the challenge.

You had one job, fries.

Aimee ordered the Osso Buco Riblets with sherry braised pork & firecracker aioli.  She said they were pretty tasty but the sauce was a little strong.  David got the Lollipop Corn Dogs (Polish sausage in a sweet corn batter with spicy porter mustard,  homemade ketchup &  ranch), which he thought were fine but nothing amazing.

It was right around this time that the live music started.  A duo of Celtic-style/adult contemporary/music that sounds like the soundtrack to the pivotal scene in every rom-com ever where the female lead realizes she has to get on that train before her one true love departs forever-type music.  It was enjoyable enough but it was loud.  Coupled with an already crowded, closely seated area, it just kind of made for more noise on top of noise.

Soon it was time for main courses.  Aimee had the Fried Chicken Sliders with tomato jam,  house pickles & signature handcut fries.  She had a few issues with this dish.  She said the biscuit was the most un-biscuit like biscuit she’d ever had.  They were doughy when they should have been light.  Chicken was under seasoned and really thin.  It wasn’t an entrée for Aimee and felt more like an appetizer.  She also thought the Tomato jam was way overpowering.   Harry had the Naked Chicken Saltimbocca  with oven roasted tomatoes, proscuitto, sage, smoked mozzarella, arugula & lemon vinaigrette.  He said he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but this wasn’t it.  He felt while all the flavor components were there, the proportions and textures were way off.  He said the highlight of the dish was the accompanying brown sauce, which read more like an Au jus.

David ordered the 8oz Flat Iron Steak with wilted kale,  chimichurri & signature handcut fries.  While he enjoyed it, he wasn’t blown away by it.  Durwood got the Cowboy Burger (fried shoestrong onions, bacon, cheddar & house made BBQ sauce with signature handcut fries).   Durwood’s #1 beef (heh) was that the bacon was limp, which compromised the textural and structural integrity of the burger.  He felt it was adequate but nothing special.  Amy had the Veggie Beet burger with added Havarti.  She enjoyed the patty but the bun was soggy and fell apart easily under the weight of it.  Kinda ruined it for her.

Molly and I both ordered the Napa Burger (with roasted Roma tomato,  pesto aioli,  Havarti,  pancetta,  arugula & signature handcut fries).  While Molly found the patty to be well cooked and juicy, she found the pancetta a bit bland and the bun a little insufficient for such a hearty burger.  Most bizarre to Molly was the side salad, which included blue cheese and cranberries.  Had she known this, she would’ve re-thought her decision to have them use ranch dressing.  Because ew.  I myself was a fan of this burger.  I’m not one to ever enjoy tomatoes on my burger but roasted roma is the way to go.  It gave great flavor to the burger.  I liked the pesto, cheese and pancetta.  It was messy but good.  I would order this again.

Oh yeah, the onion bangles were okay.

For dessert we tried two dishes; The Butterscotch Rum pudding (with homemade whipped cream, caramel sauce & flaky sea salt).  The other was the Chocolate Espresso Souffle Coffee Cup Cake (with homemade whipped cream and vanilla bean ice cream).  The butterscotch rum pudding was tasty but really lacked any rum flavor for Amy.  Molly found them tasty but, to use her words, “Not worth the calories”.  The chocolate cake was extremely rich but kinda muddled in its flavors.  I preferred it over the pudding.  Both dishes seemed to be included as after thoughts to round out the menu.

My favorite of the two desserts, if only for the excessive use of whipped cream.

The overall feeling we were left with from Eureka was that of more upscale mall type food court food.  Granted, not the kind you’d find in any mall but I don’t know that I would make this burger, though tasty, a destination place.  Lots of competition for a good burger.  Lucky for the city, perhaps not so much for Eureka.

Further reading: http://www.eurekarestaurantgroup.com/

To see all the pictures from this visit be sure to follow The Boy who ate San Diego on Instagram!