The Boardwalk - Los Altos, CA

The Boardwalk in Los Altos, CA is a cozy hang out for having a classic style burger. They also have pizza and a bar and lots of comfort food like chicken wings, tuna melts and pastrami. But I came into the wood-lined hangout with a burger on my mind.

There was a line at the counter at noontime on a rainy Wednesday. The flat screen TV's had soccer going. I think it was a World Cup qualifying match.

I ordered a double cheeseburger ($6.80) consisting of two 1/4-pound patties, American cheese, mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato and onion slice. I also ordered onion rings ($2.45) and fries ($2.25). The nice girl at the counter offered to split the order so I didn't have to pay for both.

They gave me coaster-pager and I walked across the wood floor, to take a seat at a wood table on a wood chair next to a wooden bar. It was about 5 minutes later that the pager went off. I strolled to the counter to get my food. I asked for ranch dressing for the onion rings and was granted my request.

The burger looked fantastic. A very nicely formed white bun cradled two impressive patties dripping with melted cheese. As I bit in, the bun was pleasantly crunchy on top but springy and spongy on the inside to soak up the juice. The combo was a very tasty and balanced blend of all the flavors.

It reminded me a lot of the Oasis in Menlo Park. I learned the restaurants are related, because I got a gift card for Christmas that has them both on it. Checking the website, the Oasis is listed as another location along with the Garrett in Campbell and Jakes in Willow Glen, Sunnyvale and Saratoga. The menu looked the same on the other sites.

The onion rings were battered and while hot, I found them, to be not too crisp on the outside and a little chewy on the inside. The fries were better, although standard-issue medium-cut with skins on. They were hot and relatively tasty and didn't have the "old grease" taste I seem to find at a lot of places.

But the burger is definitely worth the visit. It also looks like a fun place to take in a game or the upcoming March Madness.

Burger 3.5 spatulas out of 5
Fries 2.5 spatulas
Onion Rings 2 spatulas

The Boardwalk
4940 El Camino Real
Los Altos, CA 94022
650-964-7500
www.theboardwalkrestaurant.com