Cataloging the Detritus of my Life
I’m not going to argue with anyone about whether or not Plainfield Station is in Davis or not. The bar/grill is known by most people in Davis and has its own special relationship with the town, being treasured by graduate students, townies, and politicos as a place to get away from the student crowded streets of Davis.
It doesn’t hurt that Plainfield Station serves decent pub food and has a spectacular back porch and yard.
Continue reading “Best Cheeseburger in Davis: Plainfield Station”
The Graduate’s Undergrad Burger with Cheese
The Graduate has been in Davis for over 40 years. It’s a sports bar/restaurant/dance hall right across the street from the campus of UC Davis. Seeing how close they are to a college campus the food there doesn’t have to be good there for it to sell well. So, I wasn’t really optimistic about how this burger would rate. Though, I did have a few friends who were adamant that the burgers at the Grad not only weren’t bad but that they were actually good. I had doubts. They came along with me last weekend to check it out. This was my very first visit to the Graduate. I had managed to avoid it, and its dance floor, during my undergrad education and so had no experience with the location until that day.
You know you’ve lived in a place for too long when you start recalling places ‘new’ when they’ve been in operation for over a decade. Bistro 33 still seems like a ‘new’ place to me. I remember their opening and I remember despite being in what is probably the best location in Davis, in one of the most beautiful buildings in Davis (listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, by the way,) the service and food being disappointing. That was a long time ago and even though I went in to this review with some bias, I can’t deny that the burger I had there last week was great.
Cindy’s is a strange diner. During the mornings and afternoons it’s your standard home-grown, greasy spoon diner that every town in America, no matter the size, has at least one of. Eggs, pork, and pancakes in the morning and burgers, fries, shakes in the afternoon. At night though the place becomes a Thai restaurant. I have no idea if it’s the same cooks working in the back or there’s a swap at between 2pm and 5pm when the place is closed.
I’m mostly familiar with Cindy’s breakfast menu, having frequented it often during my college years in Davis on weekends with friends. It tastes pretty much as you’d expect a greasy spoon to taste. They do know how to cook a runny egg and make white gravy though so I’ve never had any complaints.
I ordered their house burger w/ cheese with a side order of curly fries and a strawberry milkshake. The cheeseburger and side was $8.35. Continue reading “Best Cheeseburger in Davis: Cindy’s”