One really shouldn't critique a restaurant on one dish alone. So this is not a review of Golden Bear overall, only their fabulous Juicy Lucy Burger. Hopefully I'll be returning again soon to try some other dishes. But then again, I might be so hooked on the burger now that it will be difficult to try something else!
When I eat a burger I tend to use quite a bit of ketchup. My modis operandi is to pour out a mound of ketchup, not for dipping my fries in (I only dip those in a pile of salt - saltaholic!), but for dipping my burger in.
The Juicy Lucy is described as: "House Ground Niman Angus stuffed with Fontina, Bacon, Jameson® Glazed Onions, Avocado, and Lettuce." Yay! No tomatoes. I don't eat raw tomatoes and always have to say, "hold the tomatoes". This burger doesn't even come with them.
I apologize. No pictures. I was camera-less, it was dark, and I was hungry.
The burger arrived with a side of potato salad. We were sad and disappointed to hear that they had discontinued kettle chips! What! I'm hoping this was meant as "we ran out" instead of them being taken off the menu permanently. After all, all the reviews have praised the kettle chips. The potato salad was pretty dull and there's really nothing more to be said on that.
But the burger! I was faced with a hearty burger with a nice sized, hand shaped patty. I was going to ask for my ketchup but went ahead and took a big bite. I forgot all about that ketchup. I'm telling you, if I consumed that burger without even thinking about ketchup, then it was one fine burger! It was juicy, salty, flavorful, and satisfying. It was everything you want in a burger. It was burger heaven.
For those searching for Sacramento's best burger, this is a contender!