Acme Burgerhaus
599 Divisadero St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 346-3212
http://www.yelp.com/biz/acme-burgerhaus-san-francisco#query:acme%20burgerhaus
Date: 3/23/2011
Eater(s): Charlie and Megan
Price: $7.45 with cheese and access to a toppings bar
Acme is a great place to load up on cheap but good beer before a show at The Independent. Unfortunately, it is not a good place to load up on cheap but good beef. The burger just doesn’t hold up (to our snooty expectations). Really, all they do is burgers (beef, chicken, turkey, Boca, buffalo, lamb, Kobe, ostrich) but they still haven’t mastered the art. They’re somewhere between finger painting and drawing stick figures. The beef seemed to be cooked medium-rare and was adequately pink inside but lacked any real “juice” or flavor. We assumed this was due to crummy quality of meat but were surprised to find out we were wrong; Acme uses Niman Ranch beef. So, we really have no idea how they effed it all up so bad. The burger needed ketchup because it was so dry, which is always a bad sign. We assumed the cheese was Kraft singles bought in bulk from Costco, but hey, who knows, maybe we’re wrong about that too. The bun might have been the best component of the burger; it was warm, toasted and had a nice springiness factor. We both totally dropped the ball on ordering fries…next time (there won’t be a next time). We’re usually not a fan of the self-service condiment bar (unsanitary and unfresh) and this time was no exception. The lettuce pieces were huge, wet and not adequately fresh and there were no tomatoes – well there were tomato butt pieces, but those don’t count. The pickles looked normal and seemed safe enough. Charlie added some mystery aioli and didn’t die…
But, you don’t REALLY go to Acme for the burger, you go for this:
Charlie: Can I have two Sierra Nevada Torpedo Double IPAs and one New Belgium Ranger IPA, please?
Cashier: That will be $6.41. That’s right, those 5 glorious words are why you go to Acme Burgerhaus. $2 happy hour until 10pm. Everyday.
Size: 1/2 lb.
Meat: Cow
Ranch: Niman Ranch
Accouterments: 2 pieces of cheese which is generous but unnecessary, especially when the cheese isn’t at all melty. Toppings bar.
Beer with Burger:
Charlie: New Belgium Ranger IPA $2.00
Megan: Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA $2.00
Beer Availability: Good. A beer drinker’s beer selection.
Ambiance: Brightly lit. Small. No design or intentional aesthetic to speak of. Handsome sign out front. Order at the counter and they call your name.
Burger Rating: 1.o Standard Deviation below the mean
