center on the corner of Hopyard and Bernal. I have heard a lot of hype so I decided to try it out. Here is my review:
When I arrived at 11:30 am on Saturday, it was literally being overrun by the Pleasantonians. The line was nearly out the door, people were snagging tables before they ordered, and the kitchen was franticly pumping out burgers but it wasn't fast enough. The police even showed up to restore order (more about that later).
We waited patiently (around 8 minutes) till we ordered. Each of us had the #1 which is a standard hamburger, fries and drink combo. It was around 15 bucks for both of us. They gave us a buzzer and we found a table (actually a good friend saw us in line and saved it for us). We waited around 8 minutes and watched the char-grill spew flames while the customers jockeyed for position. It was loud but the booths were really nice with excellent back support.
We retrieved our burgers and I have to say, it was very good. The burger was very large and tasty. I had the sweet potato fries and my daughter ordered the french fries. As crazy as it was in there, an employee asked if she could refill our cups. That was nice. But then, I noticed a disturbance near the rear door.
An large angry man was dressing down the manager The manager asked the man to please go outside. The manager appeared to be apologizing but the man was still giving him an earful. Maybe he didn't get his order fast enough? Who knows?
We finished up and walked out and noticed two cop cars pull up and bee-line to the angry customer sitting outside. He had a sheepish look on his face while he was being interrogated by another cop. They surrounded him. Since the beginning of time, scarce resources (in these case hamburgers) always causes conflict.
So what's the bottom line on The Habit? I really liked it. My only suggestion is that you go during off peak hours because the place can get really crowded. In and Out burger is still the best value in town, but if you want to pay a little more and get a bigger burger, I highly recommend The Habit.