Way Point Saloon

Outstanding dinner at Way Point Saloon! This place (includes UTHG) remains consistently in the top two burger spots of Ramona. While Gail continues to order her beloved “Mountain Man”, I always try to branch out to something different. This time I had “The Rancher”. Made simply with smoked cheddar, bacon, onion rings & BBQ sauce… That’s it! Only $12.95, includes side.It’s served open faced with a tower of onion rings stacked atop the hot, juicy beef patty. The whole thing is artfully drizzled with a decent BBQ sauce. I wound up having to eat most of the rings separately, leaving about one or two before I was able to construct the burger in a way I could actually pick it up. (Wish I had brought a change of clothes). This was actually perfect because I dearly adore both their beer battered fries and onion rings. Choosing fries as my side allowed me to enjoy both! 

Outstanding service as always. Love all the great folks that keep WPS/UTHG humming.

Boll Weevil

For some time I have proclaimed the Thursday night AYCE fish fry at the Weev to be the best value in town. Well, Boll Weevil has a solid lock on the number two spot as well. About once a month in the Ramona Sentinel you can get a coupon for their “Family Meal Deal”.  For only $24.99 you can stuff a hungry family of four with some great food. Includes two 1/2 lb super cheeseburgers; two 1/4 lb super cheeseburgers; and two huge baskets of fries. But wait, there’s more! You also get a tasty nacho appetizer to share. (Actually mom & dad eat most of it while the kids are playing games).

So, we typically get a specialty burger basket when visiting the Weev, but these basic “super cheeseburgers” are outstanding! It’s the same meat, cooked perfectly, with seeded, toasted bun. Comes standard with lettuce and tomato. On each table though is a “condiment tray” containing a myriad of toppings you can use to enhance your burgers. Onions, peppers, pickles, various squeeze bottles of random sauces and such. 

Nacho appetizer is pretty basic but very good. (Pictured in the comments). Big basket of fresh, hot tortilla chips with a side of jalapeños and nacho cheese. That’s it. They use a pretty good quality cheese here. Not all institutional and watery.

Boll Weevil continues to be one of my favorite restaurants in Ramona for many reasons. Always friendly, welcoming, top shelf service. Their selection of BNS Brewing & Distilling Co. on draft is a big help too!

Cheers of Ramona

Cheers of Ramona for dinner last September! Before the change in ownership. Food was good then and it’s still good now! Stay tuned for an updated review under new ownership. This time I ordered the Cheers “BR” Burger. Apparently a favorite of sports broadcaster and former San Diego Charger, Billy Ray Smith Jr.For only $8.99 it’s made with a Cheers burger patty, BBQ sauce, jalapeños, and cheddar cheese. Reading the menu description, something seemed lacking. That’s right – bacon! I requested an add-on of bacon and that helped considerably.

These burgers are served open faced to keep the hot side hot and the cold side crisp & fresh. I put it all together for the photo so you can fully marvel in just how substantial these burgers are. Every burger creation I’ve ever ordered at Cheers has been so thoughtfully and carefully constructed. Some places I go to are just a haphazard mess. I will say though, once you actually have to pick up and eat this behemoth, expect to have to change clothes about half way through. That and take two showers when you get home.

The beef patty seemed to be a 1/2 pound; it was hot, thick, and juicy. A blanket of melted cheddar cheese enveloped a number of pickled jalapeños that lent a perfect spicy note. Bacon was abundant and a welcomed addition, although somewhat chewy/flabby, making it hard to get a good bite out of it. Produce was generous, crisp and fresh. Most impressive was the bun. It held all of this together without cracking under pressure.

Burgers are served a la carte, so Gail and I shared an order of “Frings”. Half onion rings and half fries (pictured in the comments). I’ll say, the ratio was more like 1/3 rings and 2/3 fries. Would have preferred more on the rings side. Maybe next time we’ll just get a full order of each, they are that good! Seriously, Cheers is in the top tier of rings/fries in Ramona, that I can tell you.

Grub Burger Bar

Grub Burger Bar is an outstanding new restaurant in Carmel Mountain Ranch!!  Here’s the phenomenal Lockhart Legend Burger and an excellent chorizo queso. 

Boll Weevil

Another outstanding trip to The Weev last weekend! This time I tried their Patty Melt. Made with a 1/2 lb steerburger with a ton of grilled onions and American cheese on grilled rye bread (not marbled) w/ fries ($10.79).I’m not a fan of processed cheese so I subbed out the American for Swiss cheese. This is one of the best Patty Melts I’ve had. Huge, well cooked, hot & juicy beef patty. Highly recommended.

Jack in the Box

Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger at Ramona JIB today! Made with two hot beef patties (they were actually hot this time); three slices of some processed cheese (yellow and white); mayonnaise; ketchup; and bacon. The bacon was of course a fairly conservative amount and not well distributed across the burger. It was a decent sandwich, made with fresh, hot buns, but I think I remain partial to their toasted sourdough things. This was just too much beef after a while. $5.69 (sandwich only).I noticed the crew kept the dining area very tidy throughout the lunch rush. Well done.

Boll Weevil

More often than not, I need to bring a change of clothes to the Weev.  Then take two showers when I get home!  You can see why here with their outstanding “Cowboy” Burger and The Messy. 

In N Out

A SoCal institution that never disappoints!

Jack in the Box

The new Spicy Sriracha Burger at JIB was terrible!  Sometimes I can get a good burger here, this time was just not it.  Maybe next time I’ll stick with my beloved egg rolls.

Boll Weevil

Boll Weevil last night was sporting a new menu insert featuring an entire line of “Un-Boll Weevil-able” burgers! These are actually a compilation of their monthly burger specials over the years, all in one spot. Now all available, all the time!The Weev has stacked up some amazing creations here – all hovering around 9 -13 dollars (served with fries). There’s about 8 or 9 to choose from. I definitely want to try at least half of them…

I had the “Red White & the Blue”, $12.99. Made with a half pound steerburger with bacon, bell pepper, blue cheese crumbles, grilled onions, lettuce & mater. This came out looking like a hot mess! I swear I had to take two showers after we got home. It’s made with their standard institutional, bottom shelf bun, but at least it was fresh. There’s definitely a lot going on here, but the beef patty is what remains at the forefront throughout. I had at least two-thirds grilled onion taste, but the blue cheese and bell peppers seemed to be fairly aloof. And the bacon was really only discernible in one or two bites.  

I’m not gonna sugar coat it. I would certainly order this again, but for $13, wish that a little more care would be taken in crafting this monstrosity. Along with a more prominent bacon note and a top-shelf bun.

Gail had “The Messy” made with nacho cheese, BBQ sauce, fries, bacon, etc. It was a monster!