Following our beer flights at Boneshaker Public House yesterday, Justin and I headed just a couple blocks down the street to have lunch at Moo Moo’s Burger Barn. This is located at Sunset and Stanford Ranch. They have only a few other locations including two in Stockton and one in Lodi. As the name implies it’s a burger restaurant.
The name makes it hard not to think of one of my favorite burger places nearby, MooYah Burgers. The name is about all they have in common though. Rather than the fast-food ambiance in MooYah, this is a table-service style restaurant. It was rather busy at 1pm, so I only have one little photo to share of the inside which shows some counter seating from the main entrance. It’s mostly booths and a handful of tables/chairs. The booth walls are relatively high so you don’t feel like you’re right next to people.
Our server, Calvin, was pretty great. He realized we had never been here before and laid out some of his favorites, as well as the more popular burgers, and described the Moo sauce to be “like 1000 Island dressing, but better.” He had a good energy level and a sense of humor, nodding and saying “extra lettuce and tomatoes” as he wrote down Justin’s order of a Double Moo with cheese and no lettuce or tomatoes. (Double Moo: Double the Beef, on a Sesame Seed Bun with Moo Sauce, Lettuce, Tomato and Red Onions)[$10.05].
I ordered the Flamin’ Moo (On a Kaiser Bun with Pepper Jack Cheese, Bacon, Grilled Onions, Ranch Dressing and Topped with Regular and Battered Sliced Jalapeños)[$10.25] and added avocado for $1.25. On Calvin’s suggestion I substituted Moo sauce for the ranch. Both Justin and I opted for the beer-battered fries as our sides. Ordering went very smoothly. The wait was a bit long though, about 20-25 minutes. When our burgers came we were ready to eat. Justin’s burger was long gone within a couple minutes, as is tradition.
The fries were very good. They brought out some ranch in little containers for us early on, and I assume this was for the fries, but they really didn’t need anything at all.. They were piping hot and nice and crisp on the outside. They were basically steak-cut-sized fries, so on the inside they were still soft. I plowed through all of these before I even touched my Flamin’ Moo. The burger itself was piled high with jalapeños. I squeezed the bun down and went to work.
The beef patty was cooked well done. Justin commented we weren’t asked, so he wondered if you could get it cooked differently or if they just do well. The beef was fine, nothing particularly noteworthy. The toppings are what made this burger. I am glad I added the avocado, because it definitely helped tame the jalapeños heat a bit. As I just mentioned above, they were plentiful here, both deep fried and grilled varieties. They were exceptionally flavorful and hot, which makes me think they probably have them soaked in a spicy brine to maintain consistency. I doubt it would be so hot if they were fresh. Indeed, my mouth was burning pretty good while eating this, and even for a short time afterwards. The other toppings, while masked somewhat by the peppers, were still very good. The avocado was soft, ripe and bright green and the bacon crispsy. The grilled red onions must have only been grilled very lightly because they still had some snap to them. I only got a taste of the Moo sauce early on before my mouth caught fire. It seemed pretty much like typical 1000 Island though. Perhaps I would be able to notice more of a difference on a simpler burger.
Overall I definitely enjoyed Moo Moo’s. I do hope that the long wait is not typical of them. Aside from that, the food and service was quite enjoyable and I could see myself returning.
Website: http://www.moo-moos.com
The service was minimal, but the woman seemed very nice and happy to serve. Despite it’s shabby appearance, this place delivered. I will definitely return for some pre-bowling dinner.
Eating Through Roseville 