The best sandwich in the San Francisco Bay Area is in the cloudy beach of Half Moon Bay. Try this truly unique restaurant opened by a former 3-Michelin star chef.
Dad’s Luncheonette in Half Moon Bay, CA
Dad of Dad’s Luncheonette was once a 3 Michelin star chef-de-cuisine at Saison in San Francisco. Now he’s a hot surfer that makes burgers.
The Hamburger Sandwich
Quite simply, instead of putting it on hamburger buns, he uses plain, ol’ sandwich bread.
All that training at high end restaurants, and now the quiet revolution begins.
My guess is how many of you have hamburger buns lying around your house? Probably not.
Sandwich bread? More likely.
A 3 Michelin Star Sandwich
Well now you can easily make hamburgers at home and not feel like a hack for using sandwich bread.
It’s a 3-Michelin star hamburger sandwich.
Worth getting out of bed for…
- The organic, locally sourced hamburger ($12).
- Grassfed beef, sandwich bread baked by nearby Rosalind Bakery, organic red oak lettuce, and pickled red onions.
- Don’t forget the Dad’s sauce made of egg, honey, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- The burger also gets its moisture from a sunny side up cafe free egg. It does drip though, so be careful for your pants.
Pro Tip
Go on Saturday before 1pm, and catch the Coastside Farmers Market in the same shopping center.
It is a quaint, small market with local seafood, meat, poultry, eggs, honey, oils, jams, bread, and produce.
Might stay in bed because….
- They run out of stuff, fast.
- There probably won’t be any homemade kettle chips by the time you get there. T
- here probably will be a long line if you go on the weekend.
- The mac’n cheese is topped with crunchy fried wild rice grains, but it lies on top of pasta that has seen cheesier days.
Where to sit:
- The kitchen is a converted train caboose.
- The dining room is a makeshift tented structure attached to it.
- Order at the counter, and find your own seat.
- There is some seating on counters but not enough for the crowds that come to this place.
- You may find a curb or bench at the nearby shopping center to sit on. Or take these burgers to go.
Bathroom situation:
Grab the key and walk over to the communal bathrooms located at the shops in the same parking lot.
Last bite:
The only other burger joint nearby is McDonald’s, so if you are in the neighborhood, I would highly recommend this place.
It supports local farmers and purveyors and uses high quality ingredients.
It is only open Thursday – Saturday, but most of the neighboring shops are only open those days.
Finally, you will likely to spot the chef/owner/hot surfer, Scott Clark, cooking and serving the food for you himself.
How often do you get to see that? It’s about as rare as a hamburger served on sandwich bread.
225 Cabrillo Highway South, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019 (Google map)
Open Thur-Sun for lunch and early dinner
Open Saturdays, 9am-1pm from May – December