It's Burger Week (again): Hodad's, or is there life after bacon?

Ah yes Hodad's, the mere utterance of that noun will bring instant declarations of "Best Burger in Sam Diego"...if not the world, as the sign says:

 

The burger at Hodad's and Rocky's Crown Pub are at the epicenter of the OB (Ocean Beach) versus PB (Pacific Beach) burger wars. To me, they are two totally different burgers. Rocky's is a simple, hand formed, soft, and beefy plain burger. Hodad's is a crusty, messy, stuff dripping down your arms, kinda burger. There's more than enough room in San Diego, of not in my stomach for both of them. Personally, my relationship with Hodad's has been of the love-hate type. I long ago figured out what I loved about Hodad's burger; it was the bacon. Plain and simple, griddled until just teetering on the edge of burnt, with a nice greasy saltiness. Remove that bacon, and it was just a rather plain burger smothered in a ton of mayo, mustard, and ketchup. I'd visited Hodad's a few times when doing consulting work during the late 90's, and when we first moved to San Diego. My last 2 visits were not very good, the sandwich had become a soggy mess, with more iceberg than what sank the Titanic. Add to that the really rude "Hodad" attitude, I'd decided that enough was enough, and hadn't been back in years. Following our last burger week, several readers asked....nay demanded, that Hodad's got equal time. So here we are, over 2 years later....it's burger week.

The crowd at 5 minutes after opening, sure says something about Hodad's timeless popularity.

   

  And though the crowds seemed the same, I noticed that  many of the customers, at least on this day seemed a bit older. The menu looks the same, though the prices have gone up a bit over the years.

On this day, a really nice Young Lady was my Server, and I've got to say, it was probably the best service I'd ever had at Hodad's. She was friendly, efficient, refilled my Diet Soda once, and asked one other time. It's the most I could ever ask for at a joint like Hodad's.

Of all the items on he table, the salt, ketchup, hot sauce, and so on, the one you'll need to intimately familiarize yourself with, are the napkins. You'll be using many of these. So make sure to introduce yourself early on.

Looking over the menu, I suddenly realized that I had never sampled the onion rings at Hodad's, so I had a half order ($4.25):

 

They looked nice and golden brown, and were lip searing hot. I found the breading to be too hard and shell-like for my tastes, but these weren't bad by any means.

As for my burger, I decided to forgo the bacon, and go with a straight-up Double Cheeseburger ($7.50). Meet the leaning tower of burger:

 

An aquaintance of mine says that Hodad's "artificially" (his term, not mine) inflates the burger height with its own set of platform shoes; the lettuce. And though I believe I've encountered this before, it was not on display today. There were 3 tomatoes in my burger, but it was not "over-iceberged." I quickly noticed something, do you see it? Here's a closer look:

 

Yes, it was a little piece of bacon hanging on for dear life, as if to tease me!

For me, the burger at Hodad's is all about the crust of the patty, combined with that familiar flavor combination of American Cheese, pickles, ketchup-mayo-mustard, and tomato. It always takes me back to the burgers I ate growing up. Meat sizzling on the griddle until a nice crusty exterior is developed.

I kept eating and eating, until I hit a crossroads. It was the opportunity cost moment. Which will it be the onion rings or the burger? Well it was the onion rings that had to go. It did seem as if I kept eating, and hardly made a dent in the burger. In the end, I was quite pleased with the mess I had made.

 

Now this was the Hodad's we all know.......

As I waddled up to the register, the same nice young lady saw me rolling along and cracked up and asked me, "did you get enough to eat?" To which I replied, "I don't know what happened, I used to finish this with no problem...." Her response; "well, that happens sometimes......." Hmmm, maybe there is life after bacon at Hodad's.......

Hodad's
5010 Newport Ave.
San Diego, CA 92107

Hours:
Mon-Thu. 1100am - 900pm
Fri-Sat. 1100am - 1000pm

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Comments

[Carol]

That burger does look pretty tasty. I'm chomping on my beef jerky and pretending it's a double stacker. :-p

[Lori]

Ohhh, we haven't been to Hodad's in a long time either, maybe a year and a half to two years ago? I remember my burger being yummy, but the milkshake was TO DIE FOR. :) Wish I had one of those milkshakes right now....

[Mike]

A few times a year I find myself traveling from Los Angeles to SD to visit my girlfriends parents, on one of these visits we did a Hodad's stop.

I'm an enormous burger fan and the bacon cheeseburger here did not disappoint. I especially enjoyed the wedge cut seasoned fries. I don't those around enough.

We did have a problem getting initially seated. We stood around for quite a while having no idea what the seating procedure was, and then when we were finally seated the service was pretty terrible.

Still, the burger was worth the aggravation. I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

[Rosie Bent]

Woohoo! So glad I "tuned in", in time for BURGER WEEK! So far, I have been to both places. I also really love Crazee Burger in North Park! Hope you are going to do a segment on them in the future. Thanks for sharing these burger bloggin's!

[kat]

I wish we had a Hodad's here...

[Kathy]

I echo Kat, hehe ^_^

I think I would have been equally torn between burger v/s onion rings, and then have take the easy way out: put the onion rings IN the burger and eat it as one whole! heheee :D

[Lynnea]

Wow, friendly service at Hodads? =) Usually they're just completely uninterested.

I must say, I always enjoy their burgers, though.

[sawyer]

hmm interesting. i used to work around ob when i was at school, and always saw this place, but never tried it out. that is one big ass burger, if you don't mind me saying so. yet another place to add on my list. do you have any suggestions of other good places in ob? i've tried that mexican place and some ribs place if they're still around, although i wasn't impressed with either...

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - LOL! I love beef jerky, though.....

Hi Lori - I'd probably have a milkshake if I wasn't so darn lactose intolerant....maybe it's worth the "price".... hmmm....

Hi Mike - Yes, the seating.....you grab your own menu, and grab a chair.... I really enjoyed the service this time around.

Hi Rosie - Thanks for dropping by and commenting! A lot of folks have recommended Tioli's.

Hi Kat - I wish I had all the great eats you have here!

Hi Kathy - I'm sure there are many great burgers in your part of the woods! Many, many, great burgers...and hot dogs....

Hi Lynnea - Yes, I was shocked.... the grump in the grey hoodie is still around though....

Hi Sawyer - Hodad's is a local favorite. You may want to try South Beach Bar & Grill, folks just love their fish tacos. Tell them to go easy on the crema though.

[mike]

A single burger is plenty for me at Hodad's. I took my teenage nephew a while back, though, and he cheerfully polished off a double.

You've got me craving a burger now - I think I'll walk over to Rocky's for lunch...

[Amanda]

i have to say, i have almost always been disappointed with a hodad burger every time i've eaten there. you really hit the nail on the head. they have a great bacon, and if you get a bacon cheese burger, it will probably taste pretty good. otherwise, it's just some low quality meat packed with a freaking salad. they don't just put a couple rings of onions on their burgers, the put like half of a freaking onion! (and i'm and onion lover) San Diego has much better burger options than Hodads. Have you tried the Urban Solace burger? mighty tasty!

[Kirk]

Hi Mike - I think a single will do just fine for me in the future..... Hope you have a great burger!

Hi Amanda - US's burger is coming up...though you migt not be too happy with what I've got to say about it.

[caninecologne]

hi kirk
so that's what it's like...i always wondered about hodad's. i'm not a fan of crunchy shell like onion rings either. i like the coating to be crispy but not thick.

have you been to kahuna burger in pb (i haven't)? the only reason i ask is because of my love for pulp fiction. ha ha. big kahuna burger. "let me wash some of it down with your tasty beverage"

[Kirk]

Hi CC - Yes.....it had a huuuge bun....not very good!

[Passionate Eater]

You overcame and prevailed Kirk! Next time, we are going to tackle the onion rings and the neverending burger on an empty and trained stomach!

[mizducky]

Hiya Kirk! I confess I have a weakness for Hodad's big sloppy burgers. I must have some strange sort of luck with the joint, because I don't ever remember getting crappy service there. Though I totally avoid the place whenever they're slammed and have a line out the door.

You know, at the risk of committing sacrilege, I'll tell you what my other favorite burger joint in San Diego is: Veg'n'Out. Yes--the vegetarian burger joint. They have some big meaty burger patties that are mighty satisfying, and a couple dozen different big sloppy variations. Plus--avocado tempura. How can you resist giving it a whirl? :-D

[Kirk]

Hi PE - LOL! .....better start training!

Hi Mizducky - Happy New Year! Veg'n Out??? That sounds interesting....

[foodhoe]

wow that'sa really big looking burger and so much cheese! oh yeah you did say double... did they double the bacon too?

[Kirk]

Hi FH - I went sans bacon on this visit... think it would have surely finished me off! ;o)

[SDJoe]

Hey Kirk!

I asked them once about their delicious bacon, and they said they first boil it, then grind it up and form it into a patty, before it hits the grill.

All I know is I keep telling myself to get the BLT or Grilled Cheese with Bacon when I go, but I can't ever tear myself away from the bacon cheeseburger.