Union Grill
For whatever reason, I forget about South Craig Street in Oakland. And it’s a real shame too because there are a few restaurants that I’ve never been too that are said to be quite tasty. One of those places was Union Grill. I’ve biked past it countless times as its $10 wine list sign blinks tauntingly but never stopped until this past Saturday.
Besides the $10 wine list (yes, Union Grill has about 8+ different bottles of wine to choose from all for $10), Union Grill is known for its burgers. And you know how I feel about burgers.
These half-pound burgers are made from dry-aged ribeye, sirloin, brisket and chuck, which are then ground into a burger. Burgers are accompanied by lettuce, tomato, onions, and a dill pickle and served with your choice of cole slaw, waffle fries, sweet potato chips, vegetable of the day, or rosted garlic mashed potatoes.
Even though the Five-hour Pot Roast was so very tempting, I went with the Blue UG. It came topped with imported English Stilton Blue Cheese and the accouterments. I choose waffle fries as my side and also the Homemade Steakburger Sauce.
While I waited I entertained myself with some of that $10 wine. Always a good choice in my book. The burger came out a smidge more done than I asked (medium) but the quality made up for that. The flavor of the beef was exceptional. You can tell no pink goo was used in crafting this behemoth. This thing was thick and juicy (the bun suffered a bit) and as a result I committed one of my cardinal sins: I cut the burger in half. Gasp. I quickly got over it. The blue cheese was mild and creamy as it melted and the steakburger sauce (tasted like a richer, and spicier A1 sauce) really pulled the whole thing together. The waffle fries were tasty but didn’t seem like they were made on-site.
It was throughly enjoyable and hit my burger craving spot oh so right.
Union Grill’s menu has classic American favorites like Turkey Devonshire and Tuna Melts, and the atmosphere is friendly, inviting, and reminds you a 1980′s game room (in a good way). These reasons plus more are why it was jam-packed with diners at 9 p.m. and will continue to be so for a long time to come. I’ll be back… for that pot roast. You can count on that.
