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