If you watch, "How I Met Your Mother," you might remember the episode where the gang goes running around NYC frantically looking for "THE" burger. Upon finding it, the following conversation takes place:

Lily: This burger is so good, its like Christmas in my mouth. Meat Christmas.
Ted: Its like an angel from heaven landed in the kitchen of McClaren's... where the chef killed it and ran it through the meat grinder.
Barney: I love this burger so much I want to sew my ass shut.

Well, quite frankly, that's how I feel about the lamb burger at Broderick. If the calorie and cholesterol count wouldn't kill me, I'd be there every other day wolfing one down. Yea, it's that good!



How did I come by this burger? Purely by chance. I heard all the chatter and read all the press last fall when Broderick opened. I kept meaning to go and check out what all the hub-bub was about but I couldn't find the time. Then I got a post on my blog's Facebook page from a Kristina Becerra telling me that I really need to check out Broderick and that they serve "some of the best pub grub ever." Well, who doesn't love pub grub? So about two months ago, a friend and I stopped into Broderick after a jaunt through the West Sacramento evening farmers' market. We used the GPS to find our way over there and I'm glad we did, it's tucked in a little nook off of 6th Street and if you're not looking closely, it's easy to zoom by it. As we were walking into the building, two guys pulled up and asked us if it was a church. Pretty funny, but I could see how they could make that mistake. The building's exterior has a bit of an old mission look to it. The interior lends itself more towards a roadhouse-like vibe though. To the right is a large bar and high-top tables and to the left is a small dining room with TV. The predominant theme to the décor was black, dark wood and more black and dark wood. ☺ For this visit, we sat on the dining room side. Surprisingly there were a lot of families with small children at Broderick. My friend and I both ended up ordering the lamb burger that was shown on the table tents and a pint of refreshing grapefruit-sage kombucha. The lamb burger was amazing! The meat was cooked perfectly (nice and juicy) and the flavoring was spot on. The menu said the lamb was spiced Lebanese-style, I'm not exactly sure what that entails but my tastebuds loved it. I'm pretty sure I tasted some cumin and coriander somewhere in there...and maybe some mint? The burger came outfitted with goat cheese, roasted tomato, arugula & balsamic vinaigrette-- all on a super soft bun. The accompanying hand-cut fries were wonderful. I skipped the upgrades and just went naked on my fries. They had just the right amount of crispiness and salt/seasoning.

On my second visit to Broderick, I ventured out and tried their duck burger for lunch. It was described as, "smoke pepper crusted, slathered in fig jam & garlic aioli; served with fried onion crisps and arugula." Oh hell yea! The duck burger was awesome- like a sweet and savory flavor bomb. One diner at my table thought it was a tad too spicy but I only noticed a slight bit of heat in the aftertaste. Again, the fries were cooked perfectly. (Whoever their fry guy is, he or she consistently knocks them out of the park.) I wanted to order their tasty kombucha again but was told that they had discontinued it due to lagging sales. What a bummer. Hopefully they bring it back. It was the perfect (non-alcoholic) refreshment for a hot day.

On my most recent visit, I dragged Mr.S. there. Yes, dragged is the correct word. We had just finished seeing "The King and I," at the Wells Fargo Pavillion and were absolutely ravenous. The only problem was that it was 11:30pm on a Friday night and there's not much open in Sactown. So I called Broderick and was advised that they do serve food until midnight on weekends. Score! I could tell Mr.S. was leery but he begrudgingly agreed that we could go there. Later he told me about his concerns- that Broderick was in a bit of a rough neighborhood, we walked into what appeared to be a dive bar and that he was pretty sure he would probably end up with some freezer-burned burger concoction and soggy fries. Well Mr.Skeptical was 0-3. No one stole his car, the staff was super nice and he ended up loving his lamb burger and couldn't stop raving about it for several days. I ordered the same along with a nice, cold pint of Ruhstaller. Again, the burger exceeded my expectations. I hate to mess with a good thing but one of these days I may need to deviate from their lamb burger and try their famous banh mi fries (fries topped with slow roasted pulled pork, pickled vegetables, jalapeños & house made citrus caramel sauce). They also carry several other delicious burgers (I've heard raves for the True Bleu and the Johnny Cash), sandwiches (these are the same guys who run Wicked 'Wich), a mean mac 'n cheese and several vegetarian selections...and of course there's a full bar.

The service I received on all three visits was attentive, helpful and friendly. The staff members I encountered were eager to make suggestions, happy to answer questions and willing to make accommodations/modifications for dietary needs. My only gripe with the place (and it's a very small gripe) is that it always seems to be hot and slightly stuffy in there...I wish management would crank up the AC a bit to make it more comfortable.

So if your looking to pacify a burger-craving or just want some solid pub grub, make the trek out to West Sacramento and try out Broderick's. Oh and definitely order the lamb burger! As for me, I loved Broderick's unpretentious bar food and the old school atmosphere and have a feeling those won't be the last lamb burgers I get under my belt.

2155 Town Center Place, Suite E110, West Sacramento, CA 95691. (916) 372-2240.

Last Wednesday, I was lucky enough to meet up with one of my favorite people on Earth- Gretchen, the Wonder Woman behind those great posts we see on Sac Mod. We decided to venture out West...to West Sacramento and The Eatery for our nosh and conversation. I ended up getting there a tad early. The restaurant which was located on the far side of the Nugget stripmall had not opened quite yet but the friendly staff was still willing to seat it's early bird customers, which I thought was a nice move. I opted to take a load off on one of the chairs in the entryway, wait for G and scope out the joint a bit since I had a few minutes. Now I know you're thinking stripmall...and are probably picturing stark walls, fast food wall menus and perhaps some cheesy artificial plants. Well, The Eatery's decor is anything but that. It's tastefully decorated and exudes a charming ambiance - much like you'd find in any upscale cafe you'd find in East Sacramento (designer lighting, wood flooring, and floral pieces on the tables).

The lunch menu was pretty light, consisting mostly of sandwiches and salads. Gretchen opted to go with a mushroom and white cheddar risotto, which she allowed me to taste when it arrived. It was a good sized portion, cooked perfectly and delicious! I decided to go with the much touted about Eatery Burger, which is cooked to order. The burger was seasoned well and accompanied by fresh butter lettuce, sliced tomatoes, red onions and zingy zucchini pickles. I thought the burger tasted pretty good but wasn't crazy about the bun which was cold and a bit doughy tasting...after a few bites, I ended up discarding the bun and eating the burger solo. The homemade fries were great, however, hot and crisp- just the way I like them. For dessert, I had a glass of moscato (hey, it was past noon!) and Miss G went with the S'More which was a work of art- a dense chocolate cake accompanied by a toasted marshmallow cloud and some caramel loop-di-loops. I caved and snuck a bite...the cake was so decadent and scrumptious! Wowzers, a definite winner!



The service at The Eatery seems to see-saw back and forth during our visit. Our server was nice but a bit unpolished. At the beginning of our meal, he came over to tell us about the special, which he described as, "a shrimp wrap with- mayo, shrimp and other stuff."  Yes, "other stuff." Then I listened as he told the next table the same thing. While some may be intrigued by, "other stuff," it tends to not make me want to jump on ordering it. Other small slips occurred during the meal as well, such as- I was brought the wrong wine and we were never offered a dessert menu (we inquired about the desserts after the bill had been left on our table.) But on the other hand, there were some pluses- I felt like our waiter checked back on us frequently despite the restaurant being busy, we were never rushed to vacate our table after we finished, and when the wine error was pointed out, we were advised to enjoy the port on the house (as it paired well with our dessert) and he'd be right out with my moscato. Anyhow, good service overall, just needs some fine tuning.

So, this "lady of leisure" had a nice time at The Eatery with Gretchen. If I was in the area already and wanted something more substantial than a panini at Nugget then I would probably stop in but I don't see this girl driving from the Grid to specifically eat there. It didn't wow me that much. I do hope it does well though as it would be nice to see more upscale restaurants opening up in West Sac...enough with the chain restaurants and fast food shops in the 95691.


* As a side note, I just wanted to mention this cool Dwell contest/project that Gretchen was telling me about during lunch, The contest is in regards to trying to save the Sacramento Zoo entrance as a MCM landmark. The entrance has three hyperbolic paraboloids which are rare, did you know that? I didn't! Fascinating! (Anyhow, the contest is only going on for one more week and could use your help. It'll just take a second, so vote now and vote often! You don't even have to register- just click! - Dwell Contest: Sacramento Zoo). Thank you. :)