I had an errand to run over to the Galleria after work and decided I had better bring my camera in case Krush Burger had opened over the weekend. Turns out they opened today! Normally I would avoid doing a post so early, but Krush Burger has been at this for a little while and I was confident that they would do just fine.
If you aren’t familiar with Krush Burger, here’s a bit of background. They started out as one of Sacramento’s very first “gourmet” food trucks back in 2011 (it feels like it was a lot longer ago though) and was called Mini Burger at the time. They were always (and often still are) the most popular food truck at food truck events in the area. They eventually changed to Krush Burger and began to expand. In addition to at least a couple of trucks, they have locations in Davis, Sacramento and, randomly, Dubai.
If Mini Burger didn’t give it away, that’s what they make. Their menu is simple, and this permanent location carries with it the exact same menu as the trucks. They have just 3 regular burgers and then have some rotating seasonal burgers/sandwiches as well. I didn’t see any seasonals mentioned anywhere today. That might be because they just opened.
It was about 4:20 when I strolled in on this oddly cool but humid day. They have a corner spot in the Promenade area of the Galleria with a wrap-around patio area that has views of the playground and the entrance to Ruth’s Chris. The interior is not particularly large. There are maybe 10 tables, tops, inside and another 8-10 on the patio. There were a handful of customers and maybe half a dozen staff, most of those in the kitchen. I was helped after a short line of two people in front of me. She asked if I had been there before (which in hindsight that’s kind of a funny thing to ask your customers on day one, but I suppose she may have been referring to any iteration of Krush Burger) and I mentioned I had been to the truck only. She let me know it was the exact same menu. I had spent some of my time in line looking around instead of deciding what I would get, but it’s a small enough menu that I was able to figure it out on the fly.
I went with their combo, which is 2 mini burgers, a side and a drink. I asked if I could make the drink a beer for a little more and was told yes. They had 8 beers on tap, including a couple of local Track 7 brews. They had Amber and IPA. I chose an amber to go with the Cow Bell (Bacon, Crispy Onions, Smoked Gouda, + BBQ Sauce), Philly (Grilled Mushrooms & Onions, Aged Provolone, + Red Pepper Aioli) and side of Sweet Potato Tots (Sweet Potato Tots + Ancho Honey Dipping Sauce). All together this came out to $12.40 + tax.
I was handed a pager and was told where I could pick up my order just around the corner, then I took a seat. A minute later my beer was brought to me by the cashier. I’m not sure if I’ve even had Track 7 before but I’m certain the IPA was poured instead of the Amber, it was pretty hoppy. I considered taking it back up but honestly didn’t care that much. It was still refreshing and tasty. It took maybe 7 minutes for my pager to go off. I took it up to the little window where one of the cooks asked me to place it in a basket off the the side (keeping cross contamination in mind, good call) and was then handed a metal tray with my order.
Arranged in two long boxes were my mini burgers and the sweet potatoes tots. Off to the side in the little cup was the ancho honey dipping sauce for the tots. Everything was piping hot, especially the tots, which I had to be careful with for the first 5 minutes or so until they cooled down a bit. The way the burgers were situated in the box caused a lot of sauce from each one to drain out the bottom. After I picked them out of the box I could clearly see how it was all now on one side. It wasn’t that big of a deal though because I just dipped the drier side of the burgers into the appropriate pool of escaped sauce, which worked out pretty well.
When it comes to sweet potato fries, in this case tots, I usually hate them by themselves. I think I was having a conversation with someone just last week where I was telling them that sweet potato fries are only good when you have something awesome to dip them in. Well, the ancho honey sauce is awesome. It is, of course, sweet but after a few bites you notice a heat sneak up on you from the ancho chili. These are great with it. (also no, I did not enhance the color, they are that orange in real life).
As for the burgers, while they are certainly mini they pack a ton of flavor in those little guys. The Cow Bell, their take on the typical Western-style burger, has an intense BBQ sauce that is fairly sweet. Smothered in that are the crispy onions and bacon, which was also crispy. These added a nice texture as well as a good amount of their own individual flavors. The smoked Gouda was probably least noticeable, but it was there. Finally, the beef itself was cooked perfectly, still showing a bit of pink throughout the middle and being nice and juicy. The Philly was a smoother burger, both in flavor and texture. The grilled mushrooms and onions played a big part in that. I thought the cheese here, aged Provolone, played a more front and center roll in the overall flavor, setting a base on which the mushrooms, onions and finally the red pepper aioli, which was fairly mellow, built on.
It’s been a while since I’ve had Krush Burger, last summer actually, and I forgot how good it is. I’ll have to keep an eye out for when a truck parks near my work. I read recently that the Sacramento store is in kind of an odd location. I wonder if they know what they’ve gotten themselves into with this prime Galleria spot. I have a feeling it’s going to be insanely busy once people notice it. Get in there before it gets crazy and try it out!
Website: http://www.krushburger.com
Eating Through Roseville 