In search of a perfect burger

In this episode of "In search of a perfect burger" we headed to Ocean Beach's own Hodad's. The sign boasts "World's Best" so my expectations were high. Speaking of "world's best," I have often wondered how restaurants get that title. It seems like just about every town and every other street corner boasts a "world's best" of something. I'm just saying.

I had lunch with two friends of mine. None of us had been to Hodad's before. Typically while passing the restaurant I'm always amazed at the line; it typically snakes down to the street corner about 30 people deep. Two of us were fashionably late to lunch and the third in our party had already snagged a table inside, so the line was bypassed. Sweet way to start lunch.

The lunch special was any kind of burger/sandwich with cheese, fries and either an ice tea or lemonade. All three of us went for the special as it only set us back $7.75 each. Here's what it looked like:



The french fries were awesome. Jo-Jo-style potatoes perfectly crisp on the outside. Little slices of heaven. My first bite into the burger my taste buds were saying, "wow, this really is a great burger." Each of us ordered our burger differently. One with just no onions, another with only pickles, plus more pickles and mine with no onion, no mayo.

A few bites into my meal I was thinking, yes, this is a good burger, but the patty isn't all that thick and most of the moisture is coming from the tomato, pickles and other condiments rather than the meat itself. Yes, it was a satisfying, tasty lunch, but I wouldn't go so far as to claim it to be the "best burger in the world." My co-lunchers kind of nodded in agreeance when I voiced my opinion. We were not asked how we wanted our burgers cooked, so either they're all cooked medium-well or it's just known that you need to ask for something different.

The overall atmosphere of the place was great. There was good music playing that was loud, but not overly annoying. I was wrapped up in the company of my lunchmates most of the meal so didn't notice the clever license plates adorning the walls. Near our table a Montana plate read "PCP" and a California plate read "Pull my (finger)," which really started out as a full open hand but everything but the index finger was painted over. Funny stuff.

Final result: good burger, but not nearly the perfect burger. Still in search of....