PATTY DOWN: Eureka!Burger

Name: Eureka!Burger
Location: 7775 Palm Ave., Fresno, CA 93711
Website: www.eurekaburger.com
Twitter: @EurekaBurger

The restaurant's website lists a common dictionary definition of "eureka" -- an expression of triumph upon discovery -- and adds "the enlightening burger experience" as a second meaning. But gastronomical gold was nowhere to be found.

Image source: Eureka!Burger

I was sent to Fresno a few weeks ago to cover the Central Section girls' tennis Division II championship match, so I figured I'd make the 120-mile trek worth it by exploring a new eatery. A Google search of quality burgers in the area yielded Eureka, a relatively new establishment that also has a location in Redlands and a coming-soon site in Claremont. Its website and menu felt similar to those of The Counter, not that a burger should be judged by its creator's marketing strategies.

Eureka has a unique vibe for a burger bar. It attracted a noticeably young crowd, with some groups of twenty-somethings apparently gathering there just for drinks. That wasn't extremely surprising, though, considering the long list of beers on tap and the nighttime atmosphere that centered on particularly low lighting and a live band that locals seemed to recognize. In that sense, its niche in the restaurant world was admirable; it aimed to create a bar-like ambiance without sacrificing the quality of its food.

The burger, however, didn't quite match the brand.

The Triumphant Hickory Burger ($9.25 including fries) stood out on the menu simply because it would come with "homemade beer barbeque sauce." But that teaser led to one of the biggest disappointments of the evening; the charbroiled patty was topped with nothing more than a stingy spoonful. It tasted good -- nothing to blog home about -- when it wasn't lost in the burger's other flavors, but it almost always was. Surely there was something else that made this meal ... triumphant?