Bear + Flag Roadside
7152 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel, (831) 293‑8608 | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, 1021 Highway 68, Salinas, bearandflagroadside.com
Burger joints dotted the way along Route 66 to California. Steinbeck described them in The Grapes of Wrath – places with names like Al & Suzy’s, Carl’s Lunch and Will’s Eats, where guys like Al toiled over the griddle, slapping down hissing onion burgers. Steinbeck must have appreciated burgers, because in Cannery Row, he mentions that Doc was always slow getting from point A to B because he’d stop for a burger. All well and good, if you choose to dine tableside. But at Bear + Flag, the burgers are rich and juicy. And we mean drip‑onto‑your‑clothes‑and‑seat juicy, should you try to eat one in the car. Chef Todd Fisher’s blend of aged beef is semi‑officially 70‑30 meat to good stuff ratio. In reality, the scale tips more toward 60‑40. And that means flavor – husky, smoky, opulent flavor. And a mess. So just order and sit inside, or at one of the picnic tables. It will save on the cleaning bill.