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Larsens Grill - Oxnard, CA

I was not planning on burgers last night.  There was rain in the forecast and, as a native Californian, I preparing for an extreme weather occurrence.  (In this case, 10 minutes of rain).  I had just pulled some ahi tuna steaks out of the freezer to thaw for dinner when Matt sent me a text saying he was driving home from his team’s camp in Solvang and to think about what we were going to have for dinner. My dinner plans immediately went out the window for several reasons: First of all,  I knew Matt would be too hungry after a weekend of riding for ahi tuna steaks.  Secondly,  my cooking does not meet anyone’s standards except my own and maybe my mom’s, and finally, Matt is far too handsome to not be seen in public with.  

Since it had just rained for 10 minutes and the ground was wet, we did not want to drive too far for dinner so we decided on eating somewhere in the Collection at Riverpark.  I hadn’t been to Larsen’s yet - although I had heard they have a good happy hour and (eyeroll) a good burger.  I roll my eyes because everyone says that every place has a “good burger”.   Sometimes I think people assume I only order burgers.  Tonight my plan was to NOT order the burger — I was going to a nice steak restaurant and I wasn’t going to eat with my hands.  Also and I was wearing white pants and white pants and burgers don’t mix.  

As we were being seated, a waiter passed by us with several dishes and all I saw was a plate containing a massive , two-patty hamburger.  I hadn’t even looked at the menu and my plans for being unpredictable had gone out the window.  I kept asking for more time to look at the menu until I finally stopped kidding myself and ordered the burger.  

(2 house blended beef patties, lettuce, onions, applewood smoked bacon, tomatoes, pickles, 1,000 island dressing and American and cheddar cheese)

I ordered “THE Burger” medium - rare with no cheese and no 1000 island dressing.  At a place where the meat is quality, I didn’t want to taste anything but meatiness.  

THE burger hit the spot.  Like, it seriously made me happy.  There was nothing out of the ordinary about it.  Just a good burger and no skimping on the bacon.  The only thing I would change about this burger is the onions.  Grilled onions would have made this burger even better. I had to ask for mustard 3 times before I got some.  I didn’t even use it.  There was no ketchup.  All these things lead me to believe that maybe this is one of those places where they think their food is too good for  condiments like ketchup and mustard.  Then again, they were going to put 1000 island dressing on my burger.  

I forget what Matt ordered as his main dish.  I remember he ordered a side of brussel sprouts because I ate some.  All the sides we had were good. I should start taking pictures of the meals Matt orders when I order my burgers.   

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Harris Ranch - Coalinga, California

Mother’s Day happened to fall on the last day of the Tour of California this year. My mom had made the drive from Southern California to watch me race and was going to spend the rest of her Mother’s Day driving me home.  7 lovely hours on the 5 freeway.  I opted to drive so my mom could relax in the passenger seat and direct me when to change lanes,  point out cars that were braking in the far distance and inform me each time I went a mile over the speed limit. Since it was Mother’s Day, I complimented my mom on being such a great passenger.  5 hours into the drive, with the help of some wine, my mom had finally loosened her death grip on the passenger seat and we had the following conversation: Mom:“Thanks for not making me sit in the back seat “ Me: “haha what?! wait, that was an option?” Mom:“Your brother makes me sit in the back seat when we drive together” Me:“That’s horrible, but I totally understand” Mom” Katie! I’m not THAT bad….. am I?!”

Now anyone who has driven across California on the 5 freeway knows how depressing it is.  Your food options basically consist of gas stations, fruit stands next to gas stations or Subways inside of gas stations.  There is the occasional In-N-Out, and then there is Harris Ranch.   

Harris Ranch is almost an exact mid-way stop between Sacramento and Ventura.  The menu is largely made up items that come from the ranch, so you know everything is local fresh.  

It was pretty packed, due to it being mother’s day so we sat at the bar.  I encouraged my mom to order wine so that I could at least average 78mph for the rest of the drive home.  

Since I had just finished a 6 week racing block, I went big with the Big Bull Burger : 1/2 lb Chuck Angus beef, onion rings, bacon, iceberg lettuce, tomato, & steak sauce.  A-mazing.  I suggest ordered it without steak sauce because the meat is that good.  

Karen ordered the California Burger because she loves bacon and guacamole : "Jack cheese, crispy bacon, fresh guacamole, red onion, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, pickles & our special dressing “

Definitely better than In-N-Out, but not a quick stop. We stopped by the bakery on our way out.  That was Karen’s idea. I said I only wanted one cookie so she ordered 4, ate one and I ate 3. Typical.

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King’s Crab Shack - Winston-Salem, North Carolina

I ate here two days in a row. King’s Crab Shack was right around the corner from our race hotel at Winston- Salem.  It was voted  the best place for sea food but nothing on their website said anything about burgers. I even checked the menu on yelp.  But I saw people eating burgers when I walked by so I knew I needed to check this place out.  I went there after Saturday evening’s race and ordered the King Burger with Bacon because my waiter said I could add anything I wanted to my burger.  

I asked him why the burgers were so secret and he said that they are just really bad at updating their webpage.  I said I would update the menu on yelp and he  took  20 percent off my meal.  I sent Alexis, my BBF, a text telling her about my good burger fortune and she said that he probably felt bad for me for eating alone and that one should never eat burgers alone.  (side note: she totally would have met me there for burgers but she won the race and had to wait for podium)

It really is an amazing burger menu.  As I was updating yelp I had the idea of combining the Jamaican Jerk Burger with the Surf N’ Turf Burger. ��We were leaving immediately after the race the next day so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it back .  I told Alexis but she didn’t really listen because at the start of Sunday’s race she was like “So, burger’s after?” And I said I couldn’t and she still didn’t listen because after the race as I was packing up at the hotel she sent me a text saying she was at King’s Crab Shack.  Not only was she there, but she had ordered the Jamaican Surf N’ Turf.  Also she was eating alone and since no one should eat  burgers alone, I took a 10 minute shower and ran around the corner.

We kept one hotel room for showers.  6 girls.  One shower. Somehow it works. As I was rushing to get out, my teammate, Jess Cutler, asked me if I had picked up her brush.  This was a ridiculous question because clearly brushing my hair isn’t a part of my ten minute routine.

This is the close up.  Total perfection. Four jumbo fried shrimp, grilled pineapple, and a patty cooked with Jamaican Jerk spices. They need to make this an official burger selection. Maybe I’ll just add it to the yelp menu because no one seems to care about it anyway.

Alexis munched on fries and waited for me to arrive before digging into her burger.  What a great BBF.  I think she discovered ranch dressing for the first time  while she was waiting.  She was already asking for a second cup when I got there and she seemed pretty in awe of the stuff.

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Tusk N’ Trotter - Bentonville,

I had been eating canned salmon salads for dinner all week during the Joe Martin Stage Race.  Tusk N’ Trotter was supposed to have the best burgers in town so the plan was to meet up for dinner at 8.  We were split between two host houses.  Everyone was at the other host house getting massages except Andrea and I.  We were both starving so we decided to head over early to “reserve” a table.  I’m behind in updating this blog, but I remember our real intent was to eat without the others.  What i can’t remember is if I felt bad about it or if Andrea felt bad or if we both felt bad but were too hungry to care.  Regardless, we got this huge table for our party of two and pretended the rest of our party was late.

This is Andrea toasting me from the other side of the table.  I forget what Andy  ordered.  I know I went for the classic TNT Burger and added a fried egg and bacon because the more animals the better.  

The burger was delicious and I regretted not going out on a limb and ordering the Hogzilla ( Wild boar patty, housemade bacon, face bacon jam, gorgonzola aioli, lettuce, tomato, pickle & onion on a locally made bun) As soon as we were done eating the rest of our team arrived and we had to explain that we accidentally ate without them.  This worked out perfectly though because I got to put my full attention into watching them eat burgers.  They thought this was kind of weird.

They questioned what I did with all the pictures I took of them eating burgers.  I finally had to tell them that I have a burger blog, so they wouldn’t think I had some weird fetish that involved taking pictures of them eating.  I just want to be able to remember deliciously cheesy moments like this one with Morgan Brown.  

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Grill em All (Part 3)- Alhambra

Saturday had the potential to be an epic disaster.  Alexis, Tosh and I pre-rode  the Mt. Baldy course before Stage 6 of the Men’s Tour of California race.  I was ill-prepared.  Not only was I running late and missed my morning coffee, but I was dressed for 70 degree weather and had one gel with me (which I ate before the ride even started because it had caffeine in it). Every 20 miles, I had to stop at the rest stops and stuff my face with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drink diet cokes. Tosh gave me his long sleeve jersey to wear so I wouldn’t die. After 10,000 feet of climbing, we made it to the top.  We found Jeff Clark, who had parked his camper van 3k from the finish.  He wrapped us up in blankets and made us coffee.  In about an hour we were revived.  Alexis shared her lunch with me and we had enough energy to bike back up to the 1k to go mark and watch the pro-men ride by. 

After a day of PB and J’s and half of a civilian-sized lunch, all I could think about was burgers. Specifically the Pig Champion from Grill em All.  Jeff, Tosh and Alexis were all on the same page so immediately after the race we packed up and headed to Alhambra. The Pig Champion (1/2 pound pork patty, fried egg, canadian bacon, and hollandaise sauce) was everything I imagined it to be...

This was Alexis’ first time at Grill em All and she went big with the Behemoth.  (2 grilled cheese sandwhiches for buns, 1/2 beef patty, bacon , cheese and bbq sauce)

It was massive. 

But she managed to squish it down and she ate it like a pro.

Jeff Clark was a little over-welmed with the menu and went with the basic Winger and added Bacon 

He didn’t touch his sauce, so after Alexis finished her Behemoth she reached over and was like “What’s that? I’ll eat it”  Apparently it was amazing with fries.  I didn’t have any so I’m not quite sure what it was.   

I didn’t get a picture of Tosh’s “hamburger”.  I dribbled pork grease on my phone and it stopped working.  He is vegan so I wasn’t really interested in his order and neither was he.  He was more about the fries, but Grill em All does have vegan options.  Good for them.  

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Farm Burger- Decatur, Georgia

While eating my burger from the Marlay House, I noticed that I was next door to Farm Burger.  Farm Burger was recommended to me by my team director, Mary Zider.  Despite not letting me stop at the Varsity Burger while in Atlanta, I still respected Mary’s burger tastes. I also remembered Alexis Ryan’s team mechanic posting this picture from the Ashville FarmBurger on my Facebook wall a month earlier. They were having burgers at team camp .

So the next day I walked to Farm Burger for lunch.

I ordered the chicken burger with an over-easy egg and roasted garlic.  LOVE roasted garlic.  Roasted garlic should be a burger staple. Thank you Farm Burger for not being afraid of garlic.   I ordered it to-go because we had to leave Decatur and embark on our road trip to Arkansas for Joe Martin Stage Race.

Fast delicious and super fresh.  One of those “healthier-than-a-salad” burgers.  

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Marlay House - Decatur, Georgia

Nothing like a pub burger to warm you up after a hard rainy day ride.  After a TTT Nationals, we drove to Decatur, Georgia to stay with my teammate’s inlays. The Marlay house was within walking distance.  I paired my burger with a Hot Toddy because my teammates peer-pressured me into drinking.  

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26 Beach - Venice Beach, CA

Before the Redlands Bicycle Classic even started, we were planning and epic post-race BurgerSunday meet up.  The powers that be had decided on Boomshakalaka - a diner in a bowling alley that had a pretty diverse burger menu.  So after the grueling Sunset Loop Stage, we arrived at Boomshakalaka only to find out that it was closed.   

So BurgerSunday was officially canceled due to plumbing problems.  I was with the UHC girls and we were starving so we quickly headed over to Eureka Burger only to find out that Visit Dallas and Pepper Palace had taken up all the tables and it was an hour wait. Olivia Dillon came out to tell use how good her hamburger tasted.  This made us sad.  Very sad.  Especially Erik Marejo, the team mechanic for the Optum Men’s team who was planning on joining us. 

The UHC girls decided to walk towards town and find another place to eat.  At this point we all had a case of the hangries.  I flailed and jumped in my car to head home.  Somewhere on the 10 freeway I bonked and called my friend in Santa Monica.  I needed a burger that would be worth the wait and we decided to meet up at 26 Beach.  Their Sushi Hamburgers had been on my radar for awhile. 

Man this place did not disappoint !!  I ordered Yuki’s Spicy Tuna Burger.  Beef Patty, ahi tuna, Japanese spices, green onions, sushi ginger and wasabi-shoyu-mayo. Rudy ordered the Mori Eel Hamburger. 

These burgers are pricey but worth every penny.  Hands down one of my top ten favorite burgers and everything about 26Beach was awesome. The menu is on my list of burger menu’s to conquer so I will be back for more.  

Meanwhile, back in Redlands, CA, I received a text from Alexis Ryan.  The UHC team had found a burger place and their whole team and staff were celebrating burgersunday.  This is why they are one of my favorite teams in the peloton.  Look how happy they are. 

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Atlanta International Airport

My BBF (Best Burger Friend) Alexis Ryan has been off racing her bike in Europe and the East Coast for the past month now. Its hard to keep track of her whereabouts.  I was a little worried about her Hamburger intake, but she has been diligent about not missing a BurgerSunday.  This past weekend, she sent me this picture from the Atlanta Airport.  

I knew it was only a matter of time before Alexis would find another Katie to eat burgers with.  I swear I thought Katie Hall was a vegetarian.  But then again, I used to consider tofu smothered in pasta sauce a real meal until Alexis started making me eat burgers on sundays. I’m not jealous of my replacement but I am jealous that they found a Five Guys in the Atlanta Airport.  I happened to be in the Atlanta Airport a week earlier and I thought my only options were between Burger King and Ihop. 

I felt like splurging so I went for the classier option, Ihop. I ordered the bacon and fried egg hamburger.  The bun was delicious.  The kind of delicious where you wonder if they are using yoga mat material in their bread like Subway. How can something so bad taste so good? The bacon and egg burger almost hit the spot.....

I say almost because, as you can see, the bacon is MISSING ! They also didn’t have mustard - just maple syrup and ketchup at the tables.  I had to go over to Burger King and ask for mustard packets.  I kind of regretted not getting a Whopper.  

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Grill ‘Em All Round 2

Maura Kinsella, founder of Happiness Watts and avid #BurgerSunday celebrator, was in town for the San Dimas Stage Race so we rounded up the troops for some post race burgers.  I was stoked to go back to Grill ‘Em All, since I have a lot of unfinished business on their menu.  

My intention was to order the Pig Champion, but the Sadistic Magician was in it’s final week of Burger of the Month. Burger aside, I needed to experience sausage stuffed blueberry pancakes before they were gone forever.  

Each bite was amazing.  In an perfect world, I’d have this burger for breakfast every morning. The bottom pancake was smothered in Applebutter and the bacon was delicious.  The Dee Snider was good, but the Sadistic Magician went beyond all expectations.

Most of the table ordered the Powerslave.  But leave it to a PepperPalace Pro Cycling rider to order the spiciest burger of them all, the Naplam Death.  This is Lindsay Bayer’s Jalapeño-packed Naplam on lettuce. 

It was so great to wrap up a weekend of racing with these awesome people. Starting Clockwise: Suzanna Dupee snags some fries while Lindsay Bayer takes a Napalm Death water break.  Maura Kinsella is in post-burger bliss.  Emerson Oronte ( winner of the men’s pro race) with his Powerslave.  His Teammate , Mac Cassin is in the background  about to bite into a Paul Baloff. Annie Ewart and Courteney Lowe also got the Powerslave which leads me to conclude that the Powerslave is the most popular hamburger amongst cyclists. Last but not least, Daniel Holloway checks out his Paul Baloff ( Swiss Cheese, Pastrami, Fried Egg, Dijon, Pickles)

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Grill ‘Em All Truck - Alhambra, CA

I’ve wanted to check out Grill Em All for awhile now, but had a hard time convincing people to make the drive to Alhambra with me.  So when Rudy asked me if I had room for him and his bike on the way back to Los Angeles from Tour de Murrieta , I was like “I’ve got room in my car, if you’ve got room for burgers.” Grill Em All is a Metal Themed Burger-Truck-Turned-Restaurant in Alhambra.  I’m not going to lie, all the metal references were lost on me.  Our server had to explain to us that Grill Em All is a play on Metallica’s debut album, Kill em All. duh. 

I was torn between the Dee Snider and the Pig Champion Burger.  I ended up going with the Dee Snider because I actually know a Twisted Sister song and because the wall menu explicitly points out that it’s #1 and that it kicks ass.  Rudy wanted to save room for Menchies and went with the fairly basic Winger, aka . Stewart Burger (a decision he later regretted because he said that it was the best burger he ever had and he wished he was more adventurous) We sat at the counter and the kid next to Rudy ordered the Jump In The Fryer, which has waffle buns and looked amazing. 

This is the Dee Snider.  What you see is jam, bacon and sriracha sauce on top of a 1/2 pound patty with peanut butter on the bottom.  So many flavors in each bite, it was like a spicy dessert and dinner in one.  

The burger was super messy to eat, but I went all in. This is me after my last bite contemplating whether or not it would be appropriate to lick up all the peanut butter and jam sauce that remained on my plate. 

This is the Winger - Lettuce, tomato, pickles and thousand island dress.  Rudy was already half-way through it before I could take a picture. I tried to get him to order the Burger of the Month for dessert but then we decided that it would be better to just keep coming back until we have tried ALL the burgers.  

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King's Burger/Got Sushi - Northridge, CA

This Valentine’s Day my BBB (Best Burger Buddy) and I headed up to Pearblossom, CA for the UCLA Road Race.  We were looking for a dinner stop mid-way home.  That put us in The Valley, which is where I grew up and holds a special place in my heart.  King’s Burger epitomizes everything that is awesome about San Fernando Valley.  The diner atmosphere was perfect for a post-race dinner but it was also Valentine’s Day so we needed something fancy like Sushi.  Alexis happened to be craving sushi all week and surf n’turf is my favorite which made King’s a perfectly odd match. So post race, (4 laps, 1500 feet of climbing per lap and a win to pay for dinner) we jumped in the car and headed for burgers.  I tried to talk up burgers in the Valley, but there were no other takers.  That’s fine because our table for two provided the perfect dining experience. 

The menus were a little overwhelming and hard to navigate.  Next time we are coming back with King’s Burgers/Got Sushi Menu expert, Vinh Tran, to help us out.   

The Sushi arrived at the table first.  This is Alexis getting her Sushi fix with the Spicy Tuna Roll.

I ordered the King’s Hamburger.  I asked the waiter if I should get the double and he told me that the single patty was pretty big and filled him up.  Never trust anyone who tells you not to double up.  This burger was good, in a classic sort of way,  but needed more meat.  

Alexis’ Avocado Cheeseburger.  More pictures coming soon.  

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More pictures from The Oinkster

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The Oinkster - Hollywood, CA

This year, I spent the majority of my birthday on an airplane.  When I landed I was hungry and I wanted to eat something amazing so I headed to the Oinkster in Los Angeles to try out their burger of the month -- The Thai Elvis Burger.  I asked all my friends to eat a burger for me on my birthday.  A few were able to meet me at the Oinkster. Everyone ordered something different.  Here's how it went....

The lovely Alexis Ryan, my burger eating partner in crime, got the Pork Adobo Burger. She arrived knowing what she was going to order which is why she is my favorite.  

Billy Cordero took this photo himself which is impressive.  Him and Tony both ordered the Veggie Burger, which looked pretty good even to the carnivores. 

Kelli's order was one of my favorites - She went classic with the hamburger and paired it with the Milkshake of the Month, The All Shook Up Shake (banana walnut ice-cream, peanut butter, bacon bits) 

I saved the best for last, which was my burger of course.  The Thai Elvis Burger is the burger of the month for January.  Pork Patty, bacon (the thick and best kind) and plantains with Thai Peanut Sauce.  Look how happy I am.  Look how lonely my salad looks in the corner.  

Close up.  More pictures coming! 

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#tbt to that time I bonked and ate my weight in In -n -Out Burgers

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McDonald's - Netherlands

My best burger buddy and I both crashed out of the 2nd stage of the Energiewacht Tour.  I was released after getting 8 stitches in my elbow, but Alexis had to stay in the hospital for several days, awaiting surgery on her face and arm.  I went to visit her and to cheer her up I brought her McDonalds.  The right side of her face was swollen so she could only eat a happy-meal-sized burger and a milkshake.  I needed cheering up too, so I got myself two quarter pounders.  Seriously, why is McDonald's so good? Where do they get their tangy pickles and minced onions?  Why don't I eat here everyday?

This quarter pounder cost about twice as much as one in America, but still totally worth it.  I tried to order a double quarter pounder but something was getting lost in translation.  

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Burger Truck - Wevelgem, Belgium

I was excited to find this burger truck at the finish line of Gent-Wevelgem.  I was starving so I ordered two hamburgers with grilled onions and mustard. The first bummer was that there was no mustard.  The second bummer was that my hamburger might have actually been made out of ham.  

I no longer wanted to eat two HAMburgers so I decided to share my misfortune with Alexis Ryan by giving her my second burger.  

She confirmed that the patty was definitely not beef like the man told me it was.  It was more like a sausage mystery meat burger.  Mystery is for hot-dogs, not burgers. This fake burger could have been salvaged had there been some mustard, the greatest condiment known to man. At least the bun was good.