Pearl's Phat Burgers

Those willowy women of Mill Valley might look like they eat nothing more than carrots but I've seen them here. They eat. How could they not? Pearl's is well-loved and delicious and that phact alone seems to phly in the phace of the organic-vegan-gluten-free-Whole Foods-loving Marin stereotype that abounds in these parts.

When all those categories have been hit upon though, this is apparently where one comes for the splurge meal. Not cost-wise; calorie-wise. Families, teens, solo diners seeking a sinful little splurge? Everyone is coming here as the lines and full tables sometimes attest.

Their burger menu is extensive with mini burgers, kobe beef burgers, buffalo burgers, Ty Flo-endorsed burgers, and the list goes on.

The rest of their menu is also extensive, causing one to flip-flop continually until arriving before the cash register and committing. Will it be chili fries? Sweet potato fries? Onion rings? Perhaps a Cobb Salad which everyone knows is actually as deliciously bad for you as an actual burger? The choices are good; the food is tops in this genre.

One thing I particularly like about Pearl's Phat Burgers is that solo dining phenomenon. Here, I feel no shame as the quality and environment seem a high step above In N' Out. It's a perfect place to get your phat on before sneaking around the corner and slipping into the movies.

Can you tell that I like Pearl's? I do. It's one of the best priced, tastiest burger purveyors in town.

Yay, I finally tried Pearl's!!!!

It took me awhile to decide which burger to get beucase they all sound pretty gosh darn tasty. Here's what I eventually got:

Phat Bobb - mini size - $5.99
Bacon, onion, rings, BBQ sauce, jack and mayo.
This was a very tasty one! I even pulled out a bacon to eat it alone...YUM! My only complain was that the onion rings look dinkier than expected...but its fine. And I wish there was more of the sauces.

Fries - size small - $2.99
Generic cooked to order fries...can't complain :)

Although my first experience here was great...I feel it still does not do me justice! I must go back and try other burgers....the kobe and the buffalo!!!

The Kobe Beef Cheeseburger is wow, my favorite. In my opinion it's up there with Super Duper and maybe even better. Try the chili cheese fries.

Ate here while working up on Marion and guess what. I'm eating here again with the guys because we're working here on West blithdale .....oh yea!
Great burgers , so tasty, and i love mine with blue cheese. Fries, and of course cold beers.
See You there in Mill Valley.

Pearl's lived up to the hype. Yes, its endorsed by Tyler Florence, who happens to live nearby, and Bobby Flay, one of the top burger mavens in the US, but I have to say it was damn fine. Niman Ranch beef, seared on a hot griddle, cooked properly, was super juicy. I got the Bula Burger- Not sure why its called that, but who cares? it tasted great. It had a saucy white swiss cheese like sauce on it, thick cut perfect bacon, and a spicy pineapple bbq that was bomb. Other members of our party had the Turkey burger, which they loved and the Veggie burger which was equally raved about. This place is a hole in the wall, but legit. If you find yourself in this little elite enclave of Norcal, then please give it a try, I doubt you will be disappointed.

A bit pricey for what you get (~$10/burger) -- not super healthy and my grilled chicken burger was drowning in bbq sauce. Reminded me a bit of theme park food.

+ $0.27 if you want a wheat bun instead of white bun.

Not the worst, but not the best...would try elsewhere.

I'm very sad to report that Pearl's has closed as of about 2 months ago.

At this point, the mantel of best burger in Marin is probably going to pass to Super Duper.

Today, we tried the restaurant that took over Pearl's fabled space. Sadly, it did not measure up.

Farewell Pearl's. You were always a reason to go to downtown Mill Valley.

We're going to really miss you!

Years ago, the "hole in the wall" burger joint in Mill Valley was Phyllis', which was about a block further up Blithedale Avenue. For various reasons Phyllis' suffered in quality and eventually vanished from downtown, leaving a void for a good burger joint in the area.

Years ago also, this spot where Pearl's Burgers is now was the subject of a hot "landlord/tenant" dispute with Stefano's pizza. Stefano's packed things up and moved directly across the street, making room for a new "hole in the wall" burger joint almost 15 years after Phyllis' scurried out of town.

Now that you are caught up on the local "history lesson" about the comings and goings of tiny restaurant places, you are probably wondering when I will get to the point about Pearl's. What's the point, though? You already know they have yummy bacon cheeseburgers, milkshakes, fries, kobe-beef substitutes and turkey burgers. The only advice I can give is the same that I remembered from the last "hole in the wall" burger joint in Mill Valley...grab extra napkins and get it "to-go" if it is a nice day outside. Odds are good that you will (a) make a mess and (b) there will not be much room to sit down. Hey, rents are high in this area. If you want these places to "make it"...there's not a lot of money to splurge on square footage. Welcome to Mill Valley!

So after that horrendous bad burger at "Hamburger" in Sausalito...we walked by Pearl's. Now I've heard of Pearl's before and what really brought me closer was the smell coming out of the place.

I had to cleanse my mouth with a better tasting burger so we stepped in. They have a pretty good selection of burgers to choose from. Now I didnt want to overwhelm myself with a really large burger but their specials seemed quite good. Luckily they do serve mini versions of the specials. So after thinking a bit I decided to make it a bit easier on my stomach, and as much as I love bacon I opted for no bacon. Just save it for next time.

So we ordered a mini mushroom burger which came with jack cheese and mayo. And we ordered a small side of sweet potato fries. And of course to wash down this tasty burger I got a bottle of Stewarts Root Beer.

So after a short wait our burger and sweet potato fries arrived. The sweet potato fries were very nice. They looked like they would be hard but they were just slightly crisp and really soft inside. And the shape of the fries, that shape got me thinking..how do they shape them that way? Just look at the pictures and if you can explain to me that would be great.

The mini mushroom burger was the size of the burger over at Sausalito. But this was so much better like 500 times better, it was juicy and flavorful. The cheese was melted over the burger and kept the mushrooms in from falling. It was like a protective tent and once you bit into the burger your could see mushrooms piled up. The juices would drip from the burger but it wasn't juicy to the point my bun was soaked. All this in a "mini" version of their burgers. Imagine how big the regular burger would of been then.

Overall I was very satisfied, tasty burger with sweet potato fries all washed down with some nice cold root beer. Maybe everything tasted better since the bad burger from before...i don't know..either way I was very pleased with Pearl's.

Yes, each item is under $10, technically. But everything comes individually. For a meal, I'd probably have to promise my first born.

I got the Phat Bob burger and added avocado, so with ONLY a burger, my total would have been just over $10. Wowzers. It was absolutely delicious, so there ya go.

I paid for my burger +avocado, my cousin's burger (the Sly one-- very spicy, very good, she killed it), a beer and a soda, and spent $31!! Whoooooa. That's enough to stop me from going back unless I'm in starving and walking down East Blithedale after a long hike up Mt. Tam and need a phatty burger (pun intended). Then, yes, I'll be back. Until then, I'll look for something good, but a little easier on my wallet.... you understand.

We came in on Thursday evening and only shared the place with a few other patrons. Our burgers came quickly. We sat outside on a perfectly cool evening and ate slowly. Very nice and relaxing.

Staff was friendly. Store was clean and well-stocked with condiments, etc. We found street parking directly across the street in front of Stefano's.