It's Burger Week - Longhorn Cafe-Howdy Pilgrim!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation.  Kirk is just taking the day off (from blogging, anyhow) and Cathy is blogging. Stay and look.

Hello, again, and welcome back.  I'm just going to talk about a great sort of neighborhood place that has been there forever and has an All-American type of ambiance...by that, I mean burgers and beer....

In the Vons/Rite Aid Shopping Center where Mission Gorge turns into Friars Road, next to Kaiser Hospital at Zion...at night, well, its the faded sign..

You walk in, the bar is along the wall to your left, booths on the right and televisions blaring.  Lots of cowboy memorabilia on the walls.  Walk straight back to the room on the left- The John Wayne Room...

Trust me, this is nowhere near all the memorabilia collected here.

You can read about John Wayne on the menu also.

So, you sit down and the table is set, with menus, plastic wear, condiments...

The menu is fairly simple; burgers, steaks salads, appetizers. Bar food.

(You can read, at the bottom of the John Wayne story, the breakfast menu) 

We ordered basics. The 1/2 pound Longhorn burger ($6.25), cooked medium rare, with a side of onion rings ($4) and the 6 ounce top sirloin steak dinner ($8.50), served with salad or coleslaw or soup, freedom fries and garlic toast.   The Mister also ordered a Red Trolley Beer, which was $2.25- the Happy Hour price-cheaper than the draught beer.

The salad arrives in a paper plate atop a plastic plate with a real fork (there are plastic forks on the table).  Standard, iceberg lettuce, fresh tomatoes, a pretty good blue cheese dressing.  Nothing extraordinary, not bad.

The Top Sirloin steak, cooked medium rare, also. The steak was very flavorful and tender.  The garlic toast was nice. The fries were standard, cooked well.       

The side of Onion rings is quite large.  They were crispy and made with whole onions, not the minced ones.

My 1/2 pound burger, done medium rare, served with ONION and tomato and lettuce.  You saw that condiment tray up there...I added pickles and mayonnaise. Oh, the bun is toasted.

Excellent food, great atmosphere, close to Qualcomm and friendly people..everywhere...

Longhorn Cafe 6519 Mission Gorge Road San Diego 92120 ( in the Vons and Rite Aid Shopping Center)

(619)283-0831

Comments

[dave]

We ate here last night, partly on this recommendation. We loved the ambiance, but were completely disappointed with the food. The burgers are tasteless, and i think this is the first time i have ever had bad onion rings. Even when onion rings are processed/minced fast food, they still are enjoyable. These were actually tough and chewy. I don't know if they used month-old oil or what, but they were actually gross.

[Cathy]

Oh, hell, dave, I am so sorry. We have been going there on and off for more than 20 years and have actually never had a bad burger, or bad fried anything. We have not gone in the last 6 weeks or so, but will this weekend, and I will check and maybe see if ownership or something has changed, and let you know. Seriously, I am so sorry. I also saw that Alice Q recommended this place as a Valentine's Day spot (as the top thing on her blog) and so I figured people would try it, and I was so happy...something sounds very wrong. I appreciate your letting me know.

[dave]

thanks cathy. we would definitely return if we knew this was just a bump in their usual good food. we still might return for a drink at the bar.

[Kim A.]

I have been going to the Longhorn for about 4 yrs...since my Mom passed away. I found this very comfortable place while taking a break from practically living @ KAISER, for almost 6-Mos. Since then, I make a point to stop, 1-2 times per Wk. & Love it~{: I fit it in w/my errands/shopping/appts, etc... in the area & stop in to relax...while saving on GAS on my way home! I have ALWAYS had excellent service, Food, Drinks, Prices,great emloyees...etc! (: I would recommend it to ANYONE. The picky complainers...have to remember, The Longhorn is not meant to be a 'Gourmet' place...just a Fun Family & friends environment. If this isn't what you're looking for...Go Somewhere else....the name...pretty much speaks for itself.

Kim

[Cathy]

Hello, Kim A.! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Longhorn is pretty much an institution and just has good food. It is comforting and not pretentious. We like to blog about food we eat. Good food. You now know and understand what this blog is about. Welcome!