Hollister Grill on Hollister St. at Long Point is a neighborhood diner specializing in comfort foods like meatloaf, pot roast and chicken-fried steak. Its hand-formed eight-ounce burger comes with lettuce, tomato, purple onion and pickles with mustard and mayo on the side. The fries are of the chunky, steak-cut variety. The ground beef is a little short on seasonings, and it could be crunchier with more char, but overall, it’s a damn good burger.
The question is: Do you put this burger in the same category as the ones you get at neighborhood burger joints like Lankford Grocery? Or is this a fancy restaurant burger like the one at Cafe Annie? I’m thinking it’s on the cusp. But to tell the truth, if I went back to Hollister Grill for lunch today, I think I’d order the pot roast — it’s served in a hollowed-out round loaf of bread, and it looks awesome.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2009.