Carl’s Jr.

I probably won’t write too many of these reviews, but one of my recent compliments stated that I have not been prolific enough in the Unilocal department. Obviously, my review is based on prior visits.
While reading Dani D.‘s most recent reviews I learned that one of the few fast food restaurants that I frequented in the FiDi is now closed. My reaction was very similar to Dani’s.
It closed?!
I last ate here back in July. I liked this Carl’s Jr. because it was seldomly crowded (quite possibly its pitfall!) and they opened until midnight. The food was always hot and tasty. Most of the time it was the Superstar with cheese. I’d pick that artery busting burger up and find my hands full of mayo, ketchup, grease and gooey cheese. I’d go through a stack of napkins just finishing off the sandwich. Awww, and no more seasoned Criss Cut Fries. I loved those hot from the fryer. Oh, and I can’t reminisce without remembering the bottomless drinks; some folks enjoyed these all day long and the restaurant employees really didn’t seem to mind.
In the world of fast food, this Carl’s Jr. was a solid 4. I really hope they’re putting something good in the empty space.

It closed?
Well, the menu was
sandwich was ok and the famous 6 dollar burger a few I know enjoyed
is rather big too, well I think. The line was always long, but when I went never alot of people sitting inside. You could also sit outside too.
One of the few times that I went here I had seen this guy wearing a sweatshirt as pants. shorts, I don’t even know how to explain this one. Just believe me because someone else pointed it out to me.
Very entertaining.

A eulogy.
Carl’s Jr. in Embarcadero was more than a friend, it was a nurturer.
To think of the many mornings where my coworker and I would chow down on the Breakfast Burgers now brings up such nostalgic memories.
Oh, Carl’s Jr. You will be missed.
Who else was so clever as to think about combining ALL of my favorite breakfast items in one delicious burger?
No one, I tell you.
Your genius is unmatched.
You knew how much I loved hash browns. And then for you to put the hash browns INSIDE the burger? What culinary artistry.
But you didn’t stop there — oh no. You layered that bad boy with a sausage patty, a fried egg, bacon, and cheese. Smushed between a hamburger bun. Oh dear, I get shivers just thinking about that beautiful concoction.
Carl’s Jr., my dear, I mourn for you. I weep for you.
Stupid Californians and their healthy eating.
You vegans don’t know what you’re missing out on.
If you ever had a breakfast burger at Carl’s Jr. you’d start killing cows on the spot.

I’d often come here to drown my sorrows in a greasy double western bacon cheeseburger for lunch. Now that it’s closed I guess I’ll have to drown my sorrows in someone’s crotch… or something…

I give this place 5 stars eventhough I am extremly against fast food, but they host the scrabble club for the National Scrabble Association here. I have to say at first I was really confused how that could happen at first… then it occured to me that this way Carls Jr. would have a captive audience for their creamy milkshakes and bacon western burgers. mmmm

«WE NEED A SHIELD!!» ~ A quote from our Carls Jr. food fight from years back.
As a teenager, my friends and I used to come here to eat whenever we hang out at the Clock Tower. There was always room for us and all our bikes. The food was fairly cheap and the drinks were occasionally «free». Fill up your Gatorade bottle with Sprite when the cashier ain’t lookin! They soon wised up to that though. We were quite visable in the window reflection, so they would just shut the fountain off. Went back recently for a quick bite, and to my surprise, the same employees still working the registers. Not much changes in seven years I guess…
GET ME A CHICKEN SANDWICH AND SOME WAFFLE FRIES… FOE FREE!

in the world of fast food chain restaurants, carl’s jr is on top of the food chain. western bacon cheeseburger the best fast food burger ever!

This is the best damn burger joint around. I love the curlie french fries. I love the double western bacon burger. I always leave their full
I ask my friends if they love me & they say yes and then I say enough to treat me to carl’s J? That is the true test of love baby!

Update: Docked two stars off. Disappointed with the Spicy Buffalo that I had again today. Instead of the real chicken breast that is supposed to be, they gave me that processed, fake chicken patty drenched in hot sauce and passed it off as the real McCoy. I am not happy. If I wanted that I would do it DIY style– paying $ 1.69 for the spicy chicken burger and then buy a bottle of hot sauce and drench it in that myself. Pfffft.
* * *
I try to limit my fast food intake to a coupla times a month and so today I became a marketeer’s dream and succumbed to the Spicy Buffalo Sandwich at Carls Jr during lunch. I planned it during dinner in front of the tv last night. I even printed out a $ 1 off coupon off their website. Then I tried to add my own dose of healthiness by not having any fries or drink, and by eating only the top bun. Of course then I drenched it in more ranch. They could definitely use more spicy sauce on the burger. Minus two stars just cos its fast food.
You know how stuff always looks better in the ads than they do in real life? This one tasted as good as it looked. Yum. =)

I swear, I was ONLY going to the bank to deposit a check… but I had a moment of weakness… I thought since I didn’t have lunch (yet), I might as well head out to Carl’s Jr. to try one of those Thin Mint Milkshakes… and right when I was about to cross the street to EC4, I realized that it was Jack in the Crack that sells the Thin Mint Milkshakes… oh no! What’s a girl to do? Oh, but wait! Right there in the window, I see their poster for Mint Chip Milkshakes! I smile and think what a great idea it would be to also order fries…
I knew I was in trouble when I watched the cashier pump the electric green «mint flavoring» into the cup (with hand scooped ice cream!) and spoon some chocolate chips over it… Let me say, that one of my pet peeves is chewing my ice cream and/​or beverages (except for bubble tea drinks…). My straw is clogged with chocolate and I am stuck chewing my drink… The mint flavoring is also kinda weird, when I can get to it… Arrrgh!!!
The fries were OK, though… I finished it outside so not as to pollute the nice, fresh office air.

If you like Carl’s, this is the cleanest, newest one I’ve been to in San Francisco.
5 stars for their great big fat 6-​dollar burgers.

Lo, breach the doorway on the North-​East corner of Embarcadero Center Four, and before you unfolds the quintessential fast-​food dining experience in downtown San Francisco. Once in inside you experience one of the few relatively serene franchise burger joints in the City… one completely unlike the teeming pits of inner-​city malaise that surround the Carl’s Jr’s at Halide and U.N. Plazas. Absent is the ever-​present army of street urchins and the unavoidable aura of urban decay that accompanies them. Instead, expect an affordable oasis of quick service amongst the metropolitan swank of Embarcadero Center.
Seating options are plenty with small tables dotting the core of the dining area. Ledge-​style tables line the windows, with seemingly impregnable slabs of load-​bearing concrete neatly dividing them into booth-​like segments. A semi-​enclosed patio with transparent walls adjoins the dining area to the north, giving outdoorsy diners a fresh air option with a view of Embarcadero Plaza.
The line gets long at lunch, but the staff hustles and keeps it moving. Self-​serve soft drinks give you the opportunity to custom-​ice your own drink, and scamming a free refill is never a problem. Service is quick, terse, and and efficient. Assembly and presentation of hamburgers seems a bit better than what you’ll find near the Civic Center.
If you’re ambling along Market street while jonesing for a Famous Star or a Western Bacon Cheeseburger, it’s worth the walk down Market Street to Embarcadero Center if you take pleasure in a nice environment, and you’re not up for dealing with the freak shows at U.N. Plaza or Halide. It’s a bit spendier than most fast food, and Burger Bistro it ain’t. But when you’re in the mood for a quick lunch and the comfort of franchise familiarity, the EC4 Carl’s gives the downtown crowd the opportunity to lunch on familar grub that won’t break the bank, and do so without Civic Center né’er-do-wells surrounding them…

Fried zucchini & a double six dollar burger from HELL!!! Hold the bummage please. This location is also lacking the ‘Green Burrito’ menu which seems like a fair trade.

In And Out has just got a better publicist than Carl’s Jr, thats all. The $ 6 burger is awesome. Sloppy like a burger should be. Come to think of it, sloppiness is the key defining characteristic of a Carl’s Jr burger.
I think the Oreo Cookie Shake also can’t be beat. There is some crazy new orange flavored shake thing now, but its not a patch on the original OCS.
Hold the fries though — those things tend to the spongy when they should be crisp. Flacidity isn’t an attractive characteristic under any circumstances

Now keep in mind this is for the Oakland store over by the Macarthur Bart station. Carl’s jr is Mmm MMM Good! Their $ 1.29 spicy chicken kicks ass (I order it with no mayo, of course, gotta watch that waistline).
Plus there was a guy selling pirated DVD’s inside. Doing my duty as a good citizen I informed the gentleman that he was violating the copyright laws of the United States, and that I should turn him in to the FBI.
He told me to go f’ myself.
Bottom Line… if you want a good place to eat hamburgers and get movies, this is the place to go!!!

I think their BBQ sauce has crack in it. That’s the only explanation of why I keep going back there. I mean the food is probably a little bit above average for a fast food joint, but not by much. But that damn Western Bacon Cheeseburger. DAAAAMN! I can honestly say, that is the only thing I ever order there. I figure, why waste a trip to Carl’s Jr. and not get the best thing on the menu. I know that nothing else contains the addictive lifeblood that is their combination of onion rings, meat, cheese, «bacon» and BBQ sauce. Their french fries? Completely nasty. I would venture to say the worst in the fast food circuit. Fried zucchini, now that what I’m talkin about!!! They also have Squirt on tap at the soda fountain, they get an extra star for originality.
But I have to say, i miss the days of accordion fries and ketchup in individual containers…(like McDonald’s BBQ sauce). Those were the days of Carl’s Jr. and I miss them. Ahh, nostalgia for fast food, only in America right?

I’ll give them a two for being empty. At least I can get a seat, but as far a food. I mean, its fast food, but let me know if you DON’T have tartar sauce when I order my fish and chips so I won’t even have to bother.
I mean, its good that they hire people with mental disabilities and I’ll let them slide with the omitting of the aforementioned condiment, but fish n’ chips aren’t the same without vineager and/​or tartar sauce.
Fries were good though and its an ok place to go for a quick bite to eat if you’re in a rush. I’m assuming not around lunch time in the financial district, but when I went, it was more around dinner time so it was empty.

They have Squirt (YAY)! But its weak (boo).
I saw the CUTEST old man eating there on my last criss-​cut fries run. Not that I make a habit of eating fries for lunch, but ANYWAYS.

Def’o THEE fastest service Carl’s Jr. ever… faster than any drive-​thru. And you don’t even need a car. Just don’t park in the 4EC cobbled turn-​around «street». It’s a public through-​fare, but the security guards there don’t know that. They are also ignorant of the fact that «This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb» is a band, and not a warning sticker on my bike. Save yourself the trouble of dealing with mental midgets with guns, a billy club, and a radio to call for back-​up mental midgets by locking your bike on Drumm Street.

With both downtown Wendys shut down and my ban on McD, when I get the urge for fast food grease, this is about the only place left. It’s a good spot if you’re eating alone because you can sit on the stools along the windows and hide with your paper while you enjoy your famous star and waffle fries ($ 4.75 incl tax) and watch the action on the street. Fairly clean, though it used to have a bit of a bum problem. Didn’t have one today, though.