PrintTaylor's Automatic Refresher at the Ferry Terminal Building; San Francisco
TAYLOR'S AUTOMATIC REFRESHER
Location: Ferry Terminal Building (northwest corner), San Francisco [map]
Phone: 866-328-3663
Website: taylorsrefresher.com
Getting There: BART to Embarcadero Station or by various streetcar and bus lines
The Short Order: I really wanted to like this place, but the burger was disappointing. (Think of it as the Whole Foods version of a BK Whopper)
You Want Fries With That? You don't, if mine were indicative of the typical quality. They were so overdone as to be fry-shaped potato chips. CRUNCH! (Ow! My teeth!) The onion rings were no better -- burned and overly greasy (see photo below)
Taylor's Automatic Refresher. The name alone is magical. It conjures up nostalgia, real or imagined, for Atomic Age burger joints or for the bygone automats of New York and Philadelphia. And I can't help thinking of the R.E.M. album Automatic for the People, which jolts my mind's jukebox into a loop of jangly college-rock ditties by Michael Stipe & Co.
The place came highly recommended by several commenters on AHT. And so, last Tuesday, before our scheduled ferry to Alcatraz Island, the Hamburgirl and I found ourselves at San Francisco's Ferry Terminal Building, where Taylor's had recently opened a second location (the first is north of the city in the Napa Valley town of Saint Helena).
The building's clocktower rang noon and we were worried about missing our prison ship as we took our place in a long, long line of shiny happy people (right). "Look at this crowd!" I said. "It's like the Shake Shack of San Francisco. I hope it's as good."
Famous last words. Both our burgers were disappointing, despite all indications to the contrary. Made from all-natural, hormone-free, grain-fed Angus beef from California, coupled with the famously fresh produce the state is known for, how could you go wrong?
Long story short, my cheeseburger (topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and secret sauce on a toasted egg bun; $6.49) tasted like the Whole Foods equivalent of a Whopper. That is to say, good (and good-for-you -- well, sorta) but nothing special. And, like a Whopper, which is often filled with limp lettuce, bland tomato, and a heaping dollop of oozing mayo, the Taylor's cheeseburger was lacking in the vital crunch-contrast department. This bun had been toasted? Really? ... If I'm in California, then why aren't the veggies crisp and refreshing? ... Where's the zing to the special sauce?
The only thing redeeming was that the patty (about six ounces, ground to a medium-fine grind) had a strong beefy flavor to it -- again, akin to the Whopper's, but not derived through the miracle of modern chemistry. But that wasn't enough, given the price and the Shoulda Been Better factor. It really left me longing for the In-N-Out Double Double I'd had the day before.
And so the girl and I wolfed down our burgers (more due to time constraints than deliciousness), practically ignored our fries and onion rings (both overdone), and then hightailed it like bandits to get into the prison.
One sly trick I'll leave you with, if you're planning a trip to this Taylor's location: Skip the line in the main dining room by going around to the corridor behind the restaurant. There's a Taylor's To Go counter that seemed to have fewer people queued up, even at 12:15 p.m. If the weather's nice, you can take your lunch box around the front of the Ferry Terminal Building and eat it at the picnic tables just outside the retro-elegant Taylor's dining room.
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6 Comments:
That burger looks horrible. I was worried, when you mentioned that they had opened a second location at the Ferry Plaza, as that looks nothing like the burgers that I have had at the original Taylor's. Can't wait for you to post you pizza experiences at SliceNY... by the way, when are you going to visit us in PDX? Brian Spangler Apizza Scholls
Hamburger Brian Spangler at 5:05AM on 06/14/06
That thing looks positively institutional.
Hamburger mikey utah at 6:03PM on 06/14/06
Brian: Still hoping to make it to Portland, but I only get so much vacation time. I usually only get one big trip a year and then the rest is spent on holidays with the family. This year I blew my vacation in Amsterdam (free trip -- couldn't pass it up) and San Francisco (girlfriend's family event). Gargh. Tom: At least these Roadfood reviews mention the food. All the magazine and newspaper reviews that the Taylor's site links to seem to rave only about the quaint location (of the original) and the fact that the menu and ingredients have been gussied up under the new owner.
Adam Kuban at 9:58PM on 06/14/06
Taylor's is in my Totally Unjustifiable Long Line Hall of Fame.
Hamburger Aaron at 6:29PM on 06/15/06
that taylor's burger is HORRIBLE! but take my advice, it looks NOTHING like the st. helena location in the napa valley. if you're ever in that area, get a bleu cheese burger + garlic fries.
Hamburger chris at 1:03AM on 10/26/06
Sad that you got Taylor's on a bad day. The lettuce and tomatoes are usually fabulous. I don't think the SF location is as good as the one in St. Helena, or the new one next to Copia in Napa proper, but it's still good. When the special is the BLT, get it. Amazing, and huge, inch-thick slices of heirloom tomatoes. By far, the best burgers in the US, though. And I agree with Hamburger chris....bleu cheese burger is great.
amanda0730 at 5:06PM on 04/27/08