Neighborhood Burger

The perfect gourmet burger joint strikes a balance between an urban casual atmosphere and luxurious fine dining. Neighborhood Burger, San Diego's response to fast food made epicurean, has achieved such a balance. Service might be plainly dressed in an almost blatantly laidback manner, but is nonetheless friendly and polite. Seating is loosely arranged around a bar, even if you're just ordering food rather than one of the 27 choices of beer they have on tap. The burgers, on the other hand, are an elaborate deluxe; a juicy slab of meat sits atop a freshly baked roll, not your usual burger bun. If you order the sautéed mushrooms and Swiss cheese, it even comes with a free side of extra sautéed mushrooms. In fact, the Neighborhood Chef is so selective that ketchup is not even available at the restaurant as it "would not go well with the burgers." But not to worry, the alternative ketchup/mayo/relish combination sauce happens to taste far better.