Reno/Lake Tahoe burger report (with pics!)

I was in Reno/Tahoe for 4 days in late September...[img][/img]

in just just the first day I sampled 3 burgers!
I also enjoyed buffets, and Mexican food, but this is the BURGER forum, so here are the BURGERS!!!!



first pic below is Snowflake Drive in, South Lake Tahoe, CA
snowflake drive-in burger 10/10/2006 83K

snowflake drive-in, south lake tahoe, ca 10/10/2006 81K

opened Claimjumper burger 10/10/2006 95K
Claimjumper burger.... Reno, NV
a regional chain, with most locations in southern California, with a few in NV, and AZ, and CO... very good burger; great place for a chain . Great salad bar (except this particular location did'nt have any salad bar.

claimjumper burger 10/10/2006 86K

claimjumper restaurant, reno, nv 10/10/2006 88K
Juicy's Burger, Reno, NV below

this burger was just okay; did'nt really "woo" me...
strange cooking method, as it was cooked so well on this one side, but the other side was not "crusty" looking, just kind of boring looking.[img][/img]
there are 3 Juicy's locations (one in Reno, one in neighboring Sparks, and one in Carson City (on the way to Tahoe). Burgers did'nt live up to their "giant" name... as in Juicy's Giant Burgers...
it was a bustling place, where you ordered at the counter, and they called your number when your order was ready. I sat at picnic tables outside, although there was plenty of indoor seating, as well...

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this was my favorite burger! It was from Izzy's Burger Spa, outside the Jim Kelley's Nugget Casino located on the north shore of Lake Tahoe (Crystal Bay, NV). I love the way the burger blended so perfectly with the toasted roll, and condiments...


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next is the Char Pit burger, Kings Beach , CA (below)
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it is just a few miles from the north shore Lake Tahoe casinos...
I love the "ambience", and while the burger was pretty good, I enjoyed the "Izzy's burger spa" one even better; it was juicier, and fresher tasting, but yet still cooked thoughout..
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I hope you enjoy looking at these burgers as much as I've enjoyed posting them!

I suddenly have a craving for a big charbroiled juicy cheeseburger!!

ellen in AC area

Juicy's Burger does not look very juicy.

That claimjumper burger is the one for me! It looks wonderful. The rest are a little....meh...

Thanks for taking all the trouble to get all the great pics!

Great post! I think the Sno-Flake would be for me.

Great report...nice job with the photos. I've been to all of those places and Claimjumper's gets my vote also.

Claimjumper bun looks sooooooo good.
Do they make their own there?
Great pics and post, as usual!
You always make me hungry reading your travel tales!

I agree RE claim jumper burger looking the yummiest. But those fried from Juicy's sure do look good. Damn, I REALLY want a burger, now. LOL!

The one thing We have enjoyed at Claim Jumper that stands out in my mind is the Huge '7 Layer'or so Dark Chocolate Cake. I have forgotten the menu name, I just recall that it was about $7 and it was an outstanding dessert!!

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

Claimjumper bun looks sooooooo good.
Do they make their own there?
Great pics and post, as usual!
You always make me hungry reading your travel tales!

hi roosy,
I'm pretty sure Claimjumper makes their own rolls, (it sure tastes homemade)as I know they make their own desserts. (I love their deep dish apple pie)

I'll be in Vegas next month, where they do have a Claimjumper in the Summerlin section of town (near the Rampart casino)
This time I will get the "frisco burger", which is like a patty melt..
I'm overdue for one of their patty melts again...

But I'll mostly be making my buffet rounds in Vegas (espescially the prime rib ones)

thanks for the responses, guys!

quote:

Originally posted by HotDogHead

Great post! I think the Sno-Flake would be for me.

my thanks goes out to the roadfood poster "felix" who suggested I try the Snowflake. I was not familiar with it before.

Their burgers are charred nicely, but because they are thin, they did not hold the juices in well.

quote:

Originally posted by CheeseWit

Great report...nice job with the photos. I've been to all of those places and Claimjumper's gets my vote also.

thanks for the compliment! It was my pleasure!
It espescially feels good to know that I've just about finally mastered the art of uploading a photo unto roadfood.com (yippie)
My thanks goes out to Al-the-Mayor on that , for "walking me through it" a few weeks back on the phone!

Yes, Claimjumper was a winner! I like the way the meal was "packaged".
Great pickles, roll, cheese, etc....
and you can tell tender-loving-care went into the burger, as it had a small "forkhole" in it, which meant that the "chef" actually cared enough to see that it was cooked medium, as requested.

(how many times do you order a burger medium, or medium rare, and it comes out ridiculously well done?!?!)

This chain really has their act together. Wish they had some locations in Jersey!!! (there seems to be one in Illinois, but that's too far!! I'd rather just fly to Vegas!) (or Reno or LAX)

ellen in jersey

I havent had dinner yet and that Claimjumper burger(and that good looking bun!)look fantastic...thanks for sharing your pics!!

quote:

Originally posted by markolenski

Juicy's Burger does not look very juicy.

it did'nt live up to it's name, as it was neither "juicy" NOR "giant"!

I have added one more burger pic (the Char Pit) that I thought I had already put in ..

if you guys can handle looking at one more burger, it's the last one on my Reno/Tahoe report..

I think most of you will still agree that Claimjumper stays "tops"...
I also loved the Izzy's burger spa one..

happy messy burgers!

But . . . . they all looked very well done. Many of us burger aficionados will not eat such well done hamburgers. But if you enjoyed them that way, that's all that counts. For me, it has to be medium rare, possibly medium if it is very pink. Very nice pictures, though.

quote:

Originally posted by BTB

But . . . . they all looked very well done. Many of us burger aficionados will not eat such well done hamburgers. But if you enjoyed them that way, that's all that counts. For me, it has to be medium rare, possibly medium if it is very pink. Very nice pictures, though.

I agree with you TOTALY, BTB!

As I like my burgers med rare- medium also!! And just like you said, sometimes medium works , as long there is still a good amount of PINK.

And yes, they almost all cooked them too long... except for Claimjumper and Izzy's.

I even paid to have another one at the Char Pit, and I purposely said "medium rare" this time. (I already had ate about half of the first one, so I did'nt ask to do an "even exchange" , like I normally would)

I ate at the claim Jumper yesterday, I ordered the chicken and noodles and what I got was a bowl of chicken Alfredo. After looking at the pics I'll definitely go for the burger next time.

OH, just found this trip report...TYTY!!!

Claim Jumper is my favorite chain. I can honestly say, after almost 25 years of dining at various locations, I've never been disappointed.

Great burger pics. Looks like some new added roadfood places for me.

Yup, another vote for the Claimjumper here.. Man that burger looks fine!

First burger just looked sad. Thanks for the pix

I just noticed a Claim Jumper restaurant in Tualatin, Oregon, a Portland suburb. The recommendations of y'all have encouraged me to give it a try.

Chips,
If you go , please try to shoot a photo of the 7 layer cake I mentioned above (from the dessert menu). It is a very attractive dessert item.

Do they burn every burger out there?

Hello All

New here in the local stores are ClaimJumper brand tv diners, any connection?

Jim

Jellybear,
People have gotten so uptight here about uncooked meat thses days that the only place you can usually find a burger cooked towards medium rare is some of the higher end restaurants with the $10 burgers.
Ed