About two weeks ago, we read about a free French fry offer on National French Fry Day from a new hamburger restaurant chain in the Sacramento region with three locations, Wayback Burgers. Through a series of events, yesterday, we took the opportunity to visit their Florin Road location in Sacramento.
This store opened on May 21, and you notice a few things upon entering, one of which is cleanliness. Many in Elk Grove may have heard about a brand new, popular restaurant that has experienced cleanliness issues to the point they were compelled to close for a few days.
You will also note the unique design, which has a touch of a 1950s diner, complete with a four-stool counter and more contemporary touches like high-definition TVs. Also noteworthy is the grill where the hamburgers and other sandwiches are prepared is completely visible to patrons.
As for the name, not only does the dining area have a touch of nostalgia, it's the way the burgers are prepared, in earlier times, that we suspect gives the restaurant its name. A franchise, the Florin Road location is individually owned.
Even though it is relatively new, it seems they already have some regular clientele. The restaurant staff greeted an entering customer, as they do by all customers entering, by his first name. Kurt said he has been there several times and enjoyed their limited-time hot chicken sandwich.
While we were dining, another group of four 20-something men who looked to be from a nearby business came in, as well as a Door Dash delivery person.
Now for our hamburger entree. In a word, it was fantastic!
I visited the store after the lunch rush and asked Allie, the order taker, for a recommendation. She said the double bacon cheeseburger was the most popular, but if this was my first visit, try the Classic double cheese.
Seeing how the grill area was open and the kitchen wasn't crushed with orders, I watched Isabel prepare my order.
Two fresh, never frozen, approximately three and a half ounce patties were flattened, grilled, and assembled. You have your choice of toppings, but I chose the standard with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and grilled onions.
As noted, the burger was fantastic. After having a few bites, and then confirmed by Isabel, there was no salt added during grilling.
It may seem like a minor point, but too often, the taste of the meat can be overpowered by salt, especially on hamburgers. The skin-on-fries were tasty and only lightly salted, and the hand-scooped vanilla shake (they have several flavors) was terrific.
Like many restaurants, according to store manager Tamra, they accommodate requests. Tamra showed a customer creation they were preparing they nicknamed the Rodeo Burger, which was two patties, cheese, sweet barbeque sauce, and topped with onion rings.
Along with several options for burgers, Wayback also offers chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and cheesesteak, which the staff said is their favorite. That may have to be ordered on the next visit.
Burger lovers have many good choices, and Wayback Burgers should be placed high on any list of go-to-places. They are on mine.
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