We had dinner at Eureka! Burger in Redlands on my birthday eve in 2010. We had spent the afternoon in Oak Glen (see blog) and had researched places to have dinner in Yucaipa and Redlands in case the only dinner choice we knew of in Oak Glen, Apple Annie’s, did not work out. Well, it didn’t work out. The day before we had left for Oak Glen we had looked at Inland Empire magazine. They have restaurant listings by area and one of these areas included Redlands and Yucaipa. There were several places listed, many in Redlands. Only one had a Yucaipa location and it was a pizza place. Two places in Redlands looked promising: a branch of a national chain barbecue restaurant, Famous Dave’s and a casual dining burger bar, Eureka! Burger. Famous Dave’s seemed the more difficult to find though it was on a major street, Lugonia. Their website gave their menu that included many barbecue items such as ribs, sandwiches, meats, and sides. Every dish seemed like a lot of food. The website also had a funny ad showing the founder, Dave, riding in a classic car with some festive pig puppets all to a celebratory instrumental soundtrack.
Eureka! Burger seemed like a better option. They offered choices of different kinds of burgers, sandwiches, salads, and sides along with a full bar. All their burgers had cheese on them except the last one, the vegan Loma Linda Veggie Burger that used red beets in the patty. You could substitute a veggie or beef patty for any of the choices. Eureka! Burger was located just off the 10 freeway on Pearl Ave. between N. Eureka St. and Ruiz St. We tried to find it using Google streetview. It was in the same building as another restaurant listed in Inland Empire, the sushi restaurant Mikan. Streetview showed the building and Mikan but no Eureka! Burger. We later found a more up to date photo on yelp.com that showed Eureka! Burger signs on the east and west sides of the building. The building also included a Domino’s Pizza and is just north of a building with the sign “Dave’s Paints.”
After we left Oak Glen, Yucaipa, and Cherry Valley we drove northwest on the 10 into Redlands. It was just after 5 p.m. and too early for dinner. We decided to drive around a bit and maybe find Famous Dave’s in case we wanted to go there sometime in the future. We wanted to exit at Alabama St. but ended up on the 210 freeway north instead. We exited and drove west and south on what seemed like major streets. We saw a very large shopping complex with a sign for Target. We decided to stop by there to pick up some things. I got a plastic Mead 4-star folder with flaps to prevent papers from folding over and a clear pocket that was just the right size for my manly notebook. I saw someone buy this big Nerf gun with a large magazine of soft foam “ammo” and a clear shield. That’s the type of toy I would have wanted as a kid.
It was raining hard while we were going to Target, quite a contrast from several hours earlier when the sun came out. We left Target, drove south on California St. and passed a small amusement park before getting on the 10 east. We could see the building with Eureka! Burger and Mikan from the freeway. We exited at Pearl St. crossed Eureka St. and turned right into the parking lot. The entrance to Eureka! Burger was right there. The hostess seated us immediately at a 2-person half-booth. It was still early for dinner and the place wasn’t very crowded. Its contrast with the “country-style” Apple Annie’s couldn’t have been greater. It had a sleek black and white interior in a medium-sized room with many dark brown booths of different sizes. There was a bar along the south side facing a partially open kitchen. The chandeliers were short wide cylinders of light with geometric linear designs. There were a couple of TVs. One of them showed motocross cyclists and a caption said the song accompanying it was by Year Long Disaster. The clientele that was slowly filling the tables was young, possibly from the University of Redlands. Over the speakers they played alternative rock such as “Pictures of You” by The Cure.
The menu was the same the one we saw on their website and we had already selected our orders. For beverage my wife got a glass of cranberry hard lemonade. For the second time that day she did not get carded. She liked the lemonade, though. It was sweet and she could hardly taste the alcohol. They brought her appetizer next, a small frying pan of macaroni and cheese that she enjoyed. They then brought our entrees. My wife’s shrimp po-boy sandwich was large and stuffed with coleslaw along with shrimp. I ordered my burger wrapped in lettuce rather than a bun. I ordered the vegan Loma Linda Veggie Burger only I asked them to substitute the veggie patty with a beef one. Unfortunately when I unwrapped it, the patty was covered in white cheese. Initially I wasn’t sure what to do. I had my side salad and my wife offered her sweet potato fries. When the server came by I told her about the cheese. She thought I meant the lemon vinaigrette dressing. But when she saw the cheese she said, that’s not right, the Loma Linda burger isn’t supposed to have cheese.
The server took back my burger and while I waited another employee told me they’d have the correct burger made very soon. And they did. Now I could enjoy it. The lemon vinaigrette dressing was tangy and flavorful. The burger was hard to keep together after I finished over half but it was still good. The server gave us our check with “Thank you” written on it in a Eureka! Burger glass.
We paid and left. Unlike when we came, it was no longer raining, though it had gotten quite dark. We turned left onto Orange St. and drove right back onto the 10 freeway west. There wasn’t too much traffic going that way and we were home in less than 90 minutes. Maybe next time we’ll try Famous Dave’s.
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