#164: 2H at Bunz and Company (now Bunz Sports Pub & Grub)

Today I made plans to go watch the Sharks game at Bunz & Company (or 2H at Bunz and Company as it’s now called) (they changed the name sometime in late 2013 to Bunz Sports Pub & Grub).  I suspect I am in a tiny minority of Roseville residents that have never been here, and even more so, know barely anything about it.  I was aware that it was a sports bar and that it was somewhere in the vicinity of Vernon St, but that’s about it.  Some time ago I purchased a Groupon, or some similar deal, to Bunz and Co and they promptly went out of business.  This happens to me pretty regularly for some reason.  I got my refund and moved on, not giving it much thought.  A while later I read an article about Bunz being reopened by new owners.  That was about a year ago, and I’ve finally made it out here.

I was killing some time before heading over and checked out their Facebook page where I saw that they had a live band playing from 7-9.  I figured that was a guarantee that I would not be able to hear the game audio and decided to go early, eat and then just watch the game at home.  I arrived a little after 6:30 and took some time taking a photo outside before going in.  The building is pretty unique for Roseville, looking like it belongs more in a little mountain ski town or something.  It was much bigger than I had expected.  Based on a couple photos I had found online before driving over I thought it was a tiny bar with enough room to fit a small band.  Boy was I wrong.  It was easily 4-5 times larger than I anticipated.  The bar itself was pretty long and the space in front of it was big and full of places to sit.  Further towards the front of the building looked to be a separate room, though I did not make my way in there to get  better look.  From the front doors, if you turn away from the bar you’ll find yourself in another big room with more seating.  On top of all this (no pun intended) is the 2nd floor where you’ll find pool, foosball, arcades and more.  From here you can look down on the first floor.  Tonight this gave a good view of the band.

I walked up to the bar after entering and gave the drink situation a once over.  They appeared to have a full compliment of liquor and a decent amount of beers on tap.  Almost immediately I was greeted by the bartender, who asked me what I would like.  I took a moment to examine more closely the beers on tap.  There were a lot of very typical domestics, Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Light, Rolling Rock and Blue Moon.  I noticed a couple smaller breweries there, Bear Republic and Anderson Valley.  In addition to these they have a small selection of bottles, but nothing much more exciting than what’s on tap.  I ended up going with their “Gusto” sized (27oz) glass with Blue Moon [$6].  With the beer she handed me a menu.  The place was moderately busy so I decided to just sit there at the bar.  The menu has a lot of the type of bar/pub food you might expect, Bacon & Cheese Skins, Mozzarella Cheese Sticks and Nachos Grande among others.  A good chunk of the menu is made up of burgers, and a note which I’m just now noticing on their website says that all their meat is provided by the Roseville Meat Market, which is pretty cool.  However, their website menu and the menu on Facebook seem to be out of date, as the burger I selected has a totally different description than what was on the menu there at the bar and the prices are different as well.  I went with the California Burger.  Their website says this has sauteed mushroom and pepperjack cheese.  The menu there in the bar said bacon, avocado and American cheese, and that’s exactly what I got.  I ordered it medium rare and opted for fries (choice of fries, salad, and something else that I can’t recall).

With my food ordered, I sat drinking my Blue Moon and watched a pretty spectacular end to the Carolina/Philadelphia game on the big screen in front of me.  Behind me, the band was setting up and getting in tune.  About 13 minutes after ordering, my burger arrived, and shortly after that the band started playing Country music.  They weren’t too bad either, and I really could not care less about Country.  As soon as the plate arrived I had noticed the big steak cut fries.  Usually I’m much into this type.  These were surprisingly good however.  Most were crisp and they all tasted good and were lightly coated with salt.  My burger had all the fixings on it.  Lettuce, several pickles, a lot of red onions, a big slice of tomato and the whole thing was topped off with a big cherry tomato skewered on top.  The American cheese, as well as the two big, crisscrossed strips of bacon, was thick.  Biting into this good sized burger I found the patty to be cooked perfectly with a warm pink center.  This was absolutely fantastic.  Everything about it.  The beef was delicious, there was a good amount of soft, tasty avocado slices under the bun, the cheese was flavorful and the bacon was quality.  This burger reminded me a lot of the Burgers & Brew in Midtown Sacramento, which is my favorite burger in the Sacramento area, and probably my #2 burger of all time behind Umami burger in SF.  This one gives it a serious run for that #2 spot.  The only thing I think I would give Burgers and Brew over this is that they have some amazingly good variations, including a ridiculously awesome spicy guacamole burger.

2H at Bunz and Company was a crazy revelation for me.  I was blown away by the size of the place.  How it remained hidden from me all this time despite being within walking distance is beyond me.  The bartender was friendly and attentive and from what I could tell the same was true of the rest of the staff.  I met, and spoke to very briefly, one of the owners who was very nice.  The prices seemed very reasonable for what you get (and the burger is several dollars cheaper than a comparable burger at Burgers & Brew).  I think the only thing I might do to improve Bunz is to put some more variety into their beer selection with some microbrews and definitely at least one stout.  Other than that this place is fantastic.

Website: http://bunzsportspub.com