PATTY DOWN: Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse

Name: Triple Rock Brewery & Alehouse
Location: 1920 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704 (map)
Website: www.triplerock.com
Twitter: @TripleRockBeer

Come for the beer. Stay for the burgers.

That's how Triple Rock could market itself, not that the brewpub really needs to advertise. Students and senior citizens alike crowd its classy wooden interior seemingly throughout the week, especially when the 8.0% alcohol-by-volume Monkey Head arboreal ale flows from dark bottles each Thursday night.

For all of its homemade beer and enjoyable ambiance, though, Triple Rock's third rock might be its food.

Mill Grinder burger at Triple Rock

When you start getting hungry, you don't have to leave to find a restaurant with quality grub. Just ask for a menu and order the Mill Grinder ($7.25), a half-pound hamburger served with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a paper-thin layer of mayonnaise.

(Note: You're out another $1.50 if you want to replace house coleslaw with fries, which is a pretty ridiculous concept. Burgers come with fries. This is America. How about serving them standard at $8.75 and giving a $1.50 discount to patrons who choose to sneak around a longstanding cultural icon?)

The burger, although a tad undercooked on the inside for a "medium-well" meal, delivered on most fronts. It tasted fresh, didn't fall apart with toppings heaped above it and was large enough for Triple Rock to serve it with a fork and knife. (As usual, those went unused.) It hit the proverbial spot.

The downsides were found in the details. The fries, nonetheless worth the $1.50 upgrade, were somewhat overcooked and slightly too salty. They actually did well on the burger (as they almost always do), where the salt seemed to fade into the rest of the flavors. Also, what good is a pickle wedge to a burger plate? Its presence put me in a pickle about what to do with it. For what it's worth, it should've been sliced into disks for convenient stacking or omitted entirely.

Triple Rock, apparently one of the country's first brewpubs, surely can thank its food for some of its longevity. And while a markedly better burger at Barney's is just five blocks away, a hand-crafted beer is within arm's reach here ... or should be, anyway.

Patty Down is an ongoing series of burger reviews. For other installments, click here.

SHOOTER'S TOUCH: Rockin' in the Tree World

Tilden Regional Park

If Berkeley wore a tall and flowery hat, it would be called Tilden Regional Park.

Perched in the mountains just north of the bustling University of California hub, the sprawling expanse of nature provides visitors with beautiful views of the Bay Area and a welcomed sense of short-term separation from the urban world below.

A day trip to the park is on the bucket list of many Cal students, who somehow manage to neglect the opportunities there -- hiking, biking, horseback riding and springtime picnicking, among others -- despite their proximity to the 2,079-acre reserve.

Tilden, however, isn't some sort of town secret. Tourists and residents in the region can be found enjoying the space in harmony. Cyclists, joggers and dog-walkers share the numerous trails, including the Nimitz Way path (pictured) that starts at Inspiration Point.

A leisurely stroll offered the accompanying landscape, a well-blazed trail paralleled by a path of sunlight above. The balance, shadow patterns and dominating greenery made this a memorable image -- even with a point-and-shoot digital camera.

So, saunter through the park and soak in the scenery -- it's free. Just don't forget a camera, a friend or three, some PB&J sandwiches and, even if there's some cloud cover, a hat.

Amble on!

Shooter's Touch is an ongoing series of cool photos. For other installments, click here.

PATTY DOWN: Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers

Name: Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers
Location: 1600 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709
Website: www.barneyshamburgers.com

Before I left for college, a family friend sent me a list of must-try eating establishments within the Berkeley campus bubble. One such place was Top Dog, an overrated but culturally embedded hot dog stand known for its late-night lines and thought-provoking wall clippings. Another was Zachary's Chicago Pizza Inc., whose uniqueness -- "toppings" are served below the tomato sauce -- is widely and unfortunately mistaken for superiority.

For no good reason at all, Barney's wasn't checked off until very late in the game. And that was an unforced error. Barney's, which now exists throughout the Bay Area as well as in Los Angeles, has earned dozens of awards for its burgers since opening in 1978. The menu there features an impressive variety of ingredients, which extends the visit simply because of the lengthy selection process at the beginning.

From the 27 options, I settled on the "Teriyaki Burger" ($8.50 not including fries). Its patty is topped with sauteed bell peppers, onions and mushrooms and brought together with a teriyaki glaze that is sure to drip from the bottom as it's eaten. Also on the plate are a few lettuce leaves, pickle strips, an orange slice and a tiny container of Thousand Island dressing. Which brings us to the all-important breakdown:

Teriyaki Burger at Barney's

The bun: It's nothing special, really -- a pair of pretty standard sesame seed saucers. However, it is important to note that this particular bun a) does not fall victim to the potentially hazardous wetness of the sauce and b) is thick and durable enough to contain the abundance of toppings. The bread, therefore, is not inherently outstanding but does its job in reserving the attention for the star actors performing between it.

The patty: It has been argued that a truly fantastic burger needs no decoration. To be sure, it's no easy task to assess the merits of meat when it's covered with fixings and sauce. Somehow, though, the strengths of this eight-ounce patty were not completely drowned out. The medium-well request was accurately addressed, and the blackened edges didn't mean that the rest of the ground chuck was dried out. Anyone who has used a grill a few times could probably duplicate it, but that shouldn't necessarily count against it.

The toppings: Without a doubt, they are what make the "Teriyaki Burger" so memorable. The green and red bell peppers were neither too slimy nor too crunchy; the onions were recognizable but not overwhelming; the mushrooms were portioned somewhat modestly so as not to dominate the congregation with their squishy texture. It was immediately evident that these piping hot additions, which spilled generously onto the plate, were cooked to order. Ultimately, the vegetable medley was the reason I chose this burger in the first place, and it's the reason I'll order it again when I return.

The sauce: This hamburger is proof that chicken shouldn't have a monopoly on teriyaki overtures. The sauce not only seeped gently into the meat and brought it to life, but it also orchestrated the fusion of the vegetables. It was not too sour, not too sweet, and, unlike many teriyaki glazes, not too salty. Perhaps most importantly, its presence didn't obstruct gustatory access to the other flavors of the meal.

The fries: The basket of sweet potato fries was empty by the time our burgers arrived. The slightly crispy orange sticks were excellent with ketchup, Thousand Island or with no condiments at all. Sweet potato fries are all the rage these days, and some restaurants have them on the menu simply to keep up with the trend. If that's the case with Barney's, I'd never know it.

The end: It seems somewhat surprising that the "Teriyaki Burger" is featured on the homepage of Barney's website, especially considering some of the restaurant's other offerings -- home-style guacamole, French baguettes, sun-dried-tomato pesto sauce and grilled zucchini. But perhaps the teriyaki-tinged creation is a fitting representation of Barney's as a whole. The experimentation, it seems, hasn't disrupted the production of good, solid hamburgers.