Taylor's Automatic Refresher - San Francisco, CA

Taylor’s Automatic Refresher in San Francisco at the Ferry building tries its level best to recreate the experience at the original site in Napa Valley (Click here for review of Napa Location). The two sites couldn’t be more different. The Ferry Building location is crowded and busy as foodies stream through the Ferry Building buying mushrooms, gourmet chocolate, olive oil, cheese and other gourmet items. Glass windows provide a nice view of the busy Embarcadero as one sits at the counter height wood tables waiting for the pager to go off.

Moments earlier we had waited in the line to order our food. There always seems to be a line at Taylor’s. That is something that it does have in common with the Napa location. Another is the menu. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger for $8.99. Pat ordered the plain cheeseburger for $7.99. We also got sweet potato fries ($3.99) and onion rings ($3.99).

The buzzer rattled on the table after a mere 10 minutes or so, quite speedy given the volume of customers on a busy Saturday. Everything is served in paper baskets perched on a metal baking sheet. The burger looks pretty much the same as the Napa one. The yellow egg bun, not quite as fluffy or moist as a standard white bun, envelopes a hot patty of tasty ground beef and toppings, including nicely melted American cheese, crisp bacon, lettuce, crunchy pickle chips and the special sauce, much like Thousand Island.

My burger was very enjoyable with the juiciness of the sauce and veggies counteracting the slightly dry bun. When I had a bite of Pat’s plain cheeseburger, the dryness of the bun stood out much more.

The sweet potato fries were bladelike, very thin in one dimension and thick in the other. They are dusted with Chili powder and are quite delightful. The onion rings are beer-battered and crisp on the outside with a sweet and soft onion on the inside.

Taylor’s is a great accompaniment to the Ferry Building with its big red-letter sign above the counter screaming the motto of the place. “EAT”.

Burger 4 spatulas out of 5
Sweet Potato Fries 4.5 spatulas
Onion Rings 4 spatulas

Taylor’s Automatic Refresher
Ferry Building Marketplace
1 Ferry Building, Space #6
San Francisco, CA 94111
866-328-3663
www.taylorsrefresher.com