Jim's Coffee Shop

Last Thursday I went to Jim's Coffee Shop in Alameda with a couple of old coworkers. It wasn't my intention to get a reviewable meal, but after browsing their menu for like 20 minutes, I choked and spouted out, "cheeseburger and fries." I could have had breakfast, or a sandwich, or a salad, or any one of the 100s of diner items they had, but in my panic to order anything, I blurted out the one thing that came natural. Cheeseburger & fries. How could I go wrong. If you've never been to Jim's, I can sum up the experience in one sentence. Diner food at diner prices. Easy enough, right, but there's something more. Places like this don't exist anymore. The old greasy spoon. I guess all the patrons are dying off from heart disease. Either way, I enjoy this place and I encourage more people to enjoy a place that reminds you of that place you use to eat at with your grandpa...before he died of heart disease. Anyway, my burger came. It looks like a brown frisbee. It dwarfs the bun. Look at the picture, you can't even see the bun. First bite, not bad. Classic burger, grilled and probably pressed on a flat top. Not bad at all. One of a thousand they'll probably serve today. The cheese is an after thought. Thin, yellow, slightly off centered. Set up is good, but with a patty so big I could have used another tomato slice, and a couple more pickle chips. I quickly ate the rest of my burger and did what I could with the fries. Not the best, but there was something so satisfying about my meal. I then realized that you don't go to places like this for the food, you go to keep them open. You go so maybe some day you can take your grand kid here... before you die of heart disease.

Jim's Coffee Shop, 2333 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA 94501

Taylor's Automatic Refresher

Breath taking views of the bay. The bay bridge looms to the right. A mix of tourists and Giant's fans mingle under the huge watching clock of the ferry building. The glow of the bright lights of a industrial designed burger joint. I'm at the "newly" remodeled ferry building at the mouth of San Francisco. The promise of mouth watering eats await me at Taylor's Automatic Refresher. I've driven by the place a few times and seen it spotlighted on various TV shows. This was our destination. Taylor's offers a few kinds of burgers. I settle on my usual cheeseburger & fries. The restaurant is busy. The counters and tables hold the sticky grime of many meals past. The menu describes my burger as "Humanely raised Niman Ranch beef topped with american cheese, secret sauce on a toasted egg bun." With fries for about $10. Price: normal for this type of burger. Our order is ready. The burger looks OK. The cheese melty. The produce fresh. The bun shiney. I dig in. The bun is chewy. The beef is beef. Nothing special, like it was fried on a flat top without seasoning. Half the burger is gone. I'm distracted by how chewy this damn bun is. I'm also wondering when the flavor was going to kick in. It never does. The burger is gone. I'm confused. Nothing special about the special sauce. The humanely raised beef was inhumanely cooked. The cheese had no flavor. The promise of a delicious burger was broken. Atleast we still had the view.

Taylor's Automatic Refresher, 1 Ferry Bldg. San Francisco, CA 94111