Burger Review: Doc’s of the Bay

Since reviving this blog, I’ve gotten lots of invites from friends to grab a burger sometime and was happy to get just such an invite upon returning from vacation to try Doc’s of the Bay. I hadn’t heard of Doc’s before but as I am currently obsessed with any and everything food truck related, we made plans for lunch today.

Doc’s truck makes appearances throughout San Francisco, Oakland, and here in Emeryville at Doyle Hollis Park, which is just minutes from my house. With the kids out of school for summer break, I was ecstatic to learn that Doc’s stops at that park every Thursday- burger for me, play structure for the kids, good times all around!

As you can see, Doc”s of the Bay has a very straightforward menu- 3 sandwich options (the classic burger, the black bean vegetarian burger and a fried chicken sandwich) and for sides, spiced fries or green beans or a combo of both (called the Double Whammy).

While I was very tempted to try the black bean burger, I decided on their classic instead- a 5 ounce Black Angus patty with American cheese between a challah bun with a Double Whammy on the side.

As I waited patiently, the line got longer and longer and in just a few minutes, they called my name and I stepped up to claim my Doc’s lunch.

Absolutely DELICIOUS! The meat was incredibly moist and juicy and very lightly seasoned, layered with the house’s secret sauce, pickles, hothouse tomatoes and crisp butter lettuce.  The challah bun was probably the fluffiest bun I’ve ever had in my life. I took forever to eat this burger as I wanted to savor each bite- every bit of that burger is sourced locally here in the Bay Area and definitely added to Doc’s absolutely mouth-watering and scrumptious Classic Burger.

And oh those fries and green beans! SO yummy and very well-seasoned with what Doc’s calls their “proprietary Potlatch seasoning” served with their own house-made extra special red bell pepper and tomato ketchup, made fresh weekly without corn syrup. Tasting this “real” ketchup was like tasting ketchup for the very first time- Heinz has NOTHING on Doc’s! Doc’s ketchup is bright and super savory- customers love the ketchup so much, Doc’s decided to bottle and sell it. Of course I came home with a bottle too!

While I was waiting for my burger, Doc’s owner, Zak Silverman, introduced himself to me and asked if I would be so kind as to vote for Doc’s to help get them into the San Francisco Street Food Festival and of course I said I would and YOU CAN TOO!  Check out the website here and vote for Doc’s (listed in alphabetical order)- currently, Doc’s is tied for 4th but let’s help get them to #1!

I’m giving Doc’s of the Bay 4.5 out of 5 because I absolutely adore the green bean and fry combo, their ketchup is unparalleled, and their burger was a perfect balance of meat to bun to fresh veggies. I will certainly be back to try the black bean burger and fried chicken sandwich- check out their website, track them down, and let me know what you think!