Clover Grill

At 900 Bourbon is the gayest diner in the nation. The Clover Grill is open 24 hours and sells the perfect food for when you've overindulged. Breakfast is served all day (and night) as well as burgers and other sandwiches. Food may taste better after midnight but, for my visit at lunchtime, the greasy comfort food still hit the spot.

I was by myself so I sat at the counter, where I could watch the magic of short order cooking happen. This is a friendly place, so I got into conversations with the people sitting beside me. I even used my phone to pull up the map for the route of the Southern Decadence parade so the couple to my right who were in town for one more night could go and experience the wonderful Labor Day weekend celebration that is uniquely New Orleans.

They claim to have the most delicious hamburgers and I will admit they are very good for the price. The large bun is toasted and the frozen patty is steamed under an hubcap. You can see it in the picture to the left. You can also see that cleanliness is not the highest priority here but most patrons have enough alcohol in their systems that the germs don't stand a chance.

They have all sorts of toppings for the burgers but I stayed with the classic cheddar and bacon. I also got the tater tots with it and they were awesome.

You do have to go outside for the restroom (that is itself an experience) but, for French Quarter dining, it has good food, good prices and great character. It is also a great place to people watch along Bourbon.

The menu is a crack-up to read. My favorite line was, "

Everyone brings happiness into this business, some when they come in, others when they leave."

The Trolley Stop Cafe

On St. Charles Avenue, in an old, converted gas station is the Trolley Stop Cafe. It is located at Streetcar Stop #12 and is open from 6am to 2pm most days of the week. Every time I've driven by here, I've seen at least NOPD car in the parking lot, so you know the food has got to be good and filling.

It serves lot of standard diner fare with a terrific $2.99 breakfast special (2 eggs, bacon, grits and toast) if you arrive between 6am and 8:30am. We went at lunch time and my Mom had the patty melt--good, all beef burger with grilled onions and cheese on toasted rye bread. Melt in your mouth good. I had the regular cheeseburger--good size patty of Angus beef, very juicy and flavorful. Our food plus three Buds ran us just under $30, so it is cheapish eats and, with it back to being 24 hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the perfect place to stave off a hangover with some drunk dining.

Frostop

I was in Baton Rouge for the Unite Against the War on Women Rally and we finished a little after 1pm. There was no way I was going to make the drive back to New Orleans without some food in my belly. Not knowing the city very well, we stopped before we reached the interstate under a huge Root Beer mug at a restaurant called Frostop.

The parking lot was full, which is always a good sign for a diner. Unfortunately, the staff was so busy with the crowds that tables weren't being bussed or wiped down. If you want your fast food establishments to be sparkling clean and regularly sanitized, this was not the place for you.

I had the Whole Lot A Burger with cheese special that came with Freedom Fries and a drink. Of course, I got a frosty mug of root beer. It actually was a frosty mug and the root beer was delicious. They also give free refills, so I indulged in two. The burger was pretty good--a little dry but big enough to fill me up. I was with a feminist friend and she ordered the onion rings (ordered but not given, we had to go back when they delivered the food with two orders of fries). The onion rings were thin with a nice batter but the pool of oil in the bottom of the container was a bit of a turnoff. She also was told by the cashier that they didn't have iced tea, when the container was clearly sitting there on the counter. Other than the bathrooms needing as much cleaning as the tables, the meal was pretty decent for the price.

The Company Burger

I'm continuing my food adventures down Freret Street. This time was a stop at The Company Burger. It is a pretty spartan place, with minimalist decor and concrete floors but they grind their meat and make their own pickles, so I was ready to be impressed.

I ordered the single cheeseburger that comes with bread and butter pickles and red onions. The bun was warm and toasty and the burger was very flavorful, although the slice of American cheese was almost too small. I tried my friend's turkey burger and it was astonishingly good.

We split onion rings (thin sliced and perfectly salted), French fries (crisp outside, soft interior) and sweet potato fries (yummy). I found out their bottle Cokes come from Mexico (where they still use real sugar) and ordered two. Very refreshing!

The ordering line is smooth but the wait at lunch for a table can be long and cut-throat. We finished our meal and had to endure the stink eye from several hunger diners as we wrapped up our conversation. Worth returning to but maybe I'll go next time outside of the lunch rush.

Val's Burgers in Castro Valley

My good friend Brian turned me onto Val's Burgers several years ago and it was good to learn during this trip that nothing has changed. In fact, it is probably safe to say that nothing has changed on the decor or menu or service since the 50's!

Val's is an old style diner with wood instead of chrome but the burgers are thick, juicy and affordable. The burgers are so juicy that the bun nearly disintegrates by the time you get to the last bite. There isn't a lot of seasonings or fillers in this burger--it is pure meat, cooked to order. The three of us had an excellent meal for right around $20 bucks. I got the baby burger (that's 1/3 lb) with cheese and it was plenty good. I can't imagine eating a papa burger--1 lb of meat!

A couple of tips--one order of fries will feed two, maybe three people and the milkshake is enough to share as well. They only take cash and are closed Sundays/Mondays.

Little Griddle in SF

Who knew? A donut bar (with square donuts!), hotspot for bagels and one of the best burger joints I've been in can now be found on Market Street in San Francisco near the Civic Center BART/MUNI station. Little Griddle serves Neiman Ranch beef on the burgers and the choice of premier cheeses. I didn't get the Lucifer which combines two of their donuts to make the bun for their burger this time and just went for the traditional burger. Well cooked and with a nice sauce to perk it up. As there is only seating for a few folks, plan on going early and you might catch a table when one of the breakfast patrons are done. Oh, and the lemonade is made fresh with lots of pulp!

They have on their menu fried pickles but the guy at the counter said they they couldn't get the batter right and would be taking it off the menu. I've offered them my recipe:

Fried Dill Pickles

8 dill pickles
1/2 cup flour
1/4-1/3 cup beer
1 1/4 T paprika
1 1/4 T cayenne pepper
1 1/4 T black pepper
1/2 t salt
2 t garlic salt
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
Oil for deep frying


Cut the dill pickles in slices as thick as a silver dollar or into four spears. Mix together the remaining ingredients to form the batter. Dip the pickles in the batter and quickly fry in the hot oil (375F/190C) until pickles float to the top, about 4 minutes.

Depending on how you measure out the flour you may need more than 1/4 cup. You want the batter fairly thick!

Port of Call

If you want the best burger in the city, you need to find your way to the edge of the French Quarter. On Esplanade Avenue at Dauphine you will find the Tiki inspired decor of Port of Call. They don't serve french fries with the burgers, so don't ask. You get a baked potato that you can load up with all sorts of goodies and a burger cooked to your specification. I usually get the cheeseburger that comes with a huge pile of cheddar cheese. Dripping with meaty goodness (as I order mine medium rare), you quickly taste why Zagats and Gambit agree that it the best burger.

Be sure you walk to the end of the bar to get seated or you can eat fast at the bar. The wait staff are very friendly and quick with service, refills and extra napkins.

New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Company

At St. Charles and Milan, Cannon's has been replaced with a local chain. The New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Company has opened up its first New Orleans location and they've done a good job. The interior is quirky with interesting chandeliers and artwork on the walls that don't have humongous televisions. The food is a mix of typical Nawlins fare plus the burgers and seafood of the name. It also doesn't hurt that the establishment is within walking distance of my house.

Last week I had their beignets--they have an attached cafe called New Orleans Coffee and Beignet Co. They were very good and sure beat having to fight for a parking space in the French Quarter. I love that they put a shaker of powdered sugar on the table, as if the mountain on the plate isn't enough.

The burgers are juicy and delicious and the roast beef poboy took 12 napkins, making it pretty high on the scale of deliciousness. The garlic aioli on the french fries was killer.

I got in there with some friends before noon and the place was empty when we ordered. By the time our meal was done and the Saints pregame show started, the place was packed.

The staff was friendly and attentive and I will definitely head back there for another meal (or six).