Burger-up cowboy, there’s a new patty in town.
The deal: Signature burgers at reasonable prices ($3.95 to $6.95, with the exception of the triple patty Kings Peak Burger at $9.95), served up fresh and hot. “Our beef is raised with extra care in the USA with no added hormones, antibiotics, 100% vegetarian diet.”
On the menu: a Texas Burger with bacon, cheese, onions and BBQ; USA burger (turkey with pepper jack); Central Park (beef with pastrami); Alaska (salmon patty with dill mayo) and Oregon (veggie burger with mushrooms).
It’s owned by a local, Dale Eckebrecht, who ran the Shakey’s Pizza next door for years. The interior of this former fast-food resto has been transformed into a cozy bike-centric cafe (there are several mountain bikes as decor), a big screen TV and juke-box. Drive-through is still available. Kids welcome.
The burgers are solid, if not entirely life-altering. BiteClub snaged a Big Sky Burger ($6.95) — a moist bison burger with mushrooms, cheddar and onion. A little bit of Montana on a bun. In a good way.
Love the sweet potato fries, well-executed fried zucchini and option of getting the rest of your daily serving of veggies (mushrooms, green beans, onions and pickle spears) all breaded and dunked in bubbling oil bath. Props for homemade tater and macaroni salad.
The biggest selling point, however, may be the “brews” portion of the name. Several types on tap as well as bottles, plus value-minded Bohemian Highway wines ($9 a bottle). Daily Happy Hour from 4-6pm.
One big minus: Smelling like a hamburger isn’t sexy. Clouds of eau de hamburger were wafting out of the kitchen on our visit. Which at first was kind of yummy, but wore thin — especially after we left and the odor lingered behind our ears for hours. Might be wise to invest in a heavy-duty ventilation system. That or encourage the drive-up.
Brody’s Burgers and Brews: 3135 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa, 526.4878. Open daily 11am to 9pm.
My son and I have driven past this numerous times we weere on vacation and decided we would try a new place and I have to tell you the burger was fanta
I was on vacation my son and I wnated to try a new place the burger was very good and I loved the fries we will definatly be going back loved that the beers were only a $1.00 for draft this will be one of our family places.
We went there quite a few times when they first opened. The last time was when I asked for my burger “medium rare.” I was told that County Public Health would not let them cook them that way.
So I got a burger that was overcooked and dried out. I have not been back.
If Applebee’s, a national chain can offer a “pink” burger, I have a hard time believing Buger’s & Buns comment on this as a County Public Health requirement.
Public health’s job is to look for unsanitary conditions, not to be the “medium rare” police. That’s my understanding. Correct me if I’m wrong.
i’M SCARED NOW…GOT EXCITED THAT FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE IS MAKING SOMETHING OTHER THEN A “BEEF” BURGER AND AFTER READING THESE REVIEWS I HAVE MY DOUBTS…IN THIS ECONOMY WE ALL WORK HARD FOR OUR MONEY AND WHEN WE DO GO OUT WANT TO MAKE IT WORTH OUR WHILE……ARE YOU GOIN TO CHANGE GIVEN THE REVIEWS YOU HAVE READ??? IF I GET A BAD BURGER YOU AND EVERYONE WILL HEAR ABOUT IT…LOUD AND CLEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DON’T REALLY THINK YOU NEED BAD PUBILICITY IF YOU WANT TO STAY OPEN FOR LONG..LET’S GET IT RIGHT SO YOU CAN CONTINUE YOUR DREAM AND WE ALL HAVE A GREAT PLACE TO GO.
This is now our “go to” place for burgers. We live in NE Santa Rosa and many a times we need a place to go for a “nice” meal with other families with kids. The burgers are fantastic, the sweet potato fries are the best in the county (in my opinion!) and the beers on tap a big bonus. But not as big a bonus as the FREE JUKE BOX for the kids! It’s a small area to eat but the kids like to get their own table(s) while us adults get our own too. Yes, he wait is a bit long for burgers but it’s well worth it. Their turkey burger is my favorite by far.
Wow! A group of us from work went there and it was great! A Lagunitas IPA on tap, amazing burger selection (Salmon, Bison, etc…) and affordable. They also have terrific fries; plain fries, garlic fries or sweet potato fries. I am definitely going back!
I gotta say, this is one of the best burgers I have had, especially in this town. I think most people can agree that a new restaurant has “Things” to work out. Having frequented this place since opening day, I can say with confidence that Brody’s Burgers and Brews have greatly improved every day they are open. For those who had a bad experience, it’s time to try again.
Great prices, great atmosphere, and a great burger. Thanks Dale
We had dinner at Brody’s Burgers and Brews, Fantastic. One of the best Bison Burgers we have ever tasted, and definitely one of the best burgers in Santa Rosa. Keep up the good work. Fun atmosphere, and friendly staff………
We will be back!!!!!!!!!!
We had dinner at Brody’s Burgers and Brews, Fantastic. One of the best Bison Burgers we have ever tasted, and definitely one of the best burgers in Santa Rosa. Keep up the good work. Fun atmosphere, and friendly staff………
We will be back!!!!!!!!!!
We had dinner at Brody’s Burgers and Brews, Fantastic. One of the best Bison Burgers we have ever tasted, and definitely one of the best burgers in Santa Rosa. Keep up the good work. Fun atmosphere, and friendly staff………
We will be back!!!!!!!!!!
Went to Brody’s during the day, burger wasn’t very good, we were not very happy, nasty dried out burger, no flavor, burn’t tasting. It seems like if the big, bald guy isn’t behind the grill, they just can’t get it right, my friends agree, and we will probably not go back, I haven’t seen the big guy in a while. But good luck Brody’s, maybe we’ll be back when you find someone that can cook them right.
Ate there on Friday and it was delicious! Loved the Bison burger!
Went there last night and LOVED it! We both got burgers with bacon and cheese (hey, if you’re gonna splurge- may as well commit to it!) Both burgers were juicy and delicious and cooked perfectly (pink in the center- just how I like it!) Dining partner got regular fries and I got the sweet potato fries. For the price- you can’t beat it. Two specialty burgers, two medium fries and two beers- $22. Not bad! The ONLY thing I would suggest (hoping the owner’s reading)- the sweet potato fries could use a lot of seasoning. Perhaps some combo of salt, paprika and a bit of sugar? Would really make those wonderful.
I LOVE this place!! get a turkey burger with bleu cheese…HEAVEN!!! the garlic fries are excellent also. highly recommended!!
Oh I just wanted to add: usually I’m one of the more critical people on here. Maybe I got the burger on a good day or something but I enjoyed it. What’s funny is that when any froo-foo upscale place opens, people always say “give them time to work the kinks out”….I think the same should apply here. I’m not doubting anyone’s negative experience but a new restaurant can’t be easy to open. And as long as the owner stays receptive to criticism it can only get better. Just my opinion folks, take it or leave it.
We were looking forward to trying this establishment. I was very disappointed. My wife had a small cheeseburger, I had the buffalo burger and my son had the chicken strip. Both of the burgers were dry and lacking flavor. Even the bacon they put on my burger did little to add to the hamburger.
Wow….I actually had it last week (got the Texas burger) and was pleasantly surprised…The fries were really good and the way the burger itself was done reminded me of the old Broiler Burger.My first impression was good.
I ate there on Friday and hate to say I won’t be going back. Average burger with one lettuce leaf. I was looking forward to the deep fried dill pickle spears since I got hooked on them in BBQ restaurants in North Carolina. The pickles were mushy and covered with a thick, flavorless crust and were very disappointing. Almost $12 for a small soda, burger and burnt pickles. I hate to see someone put their heart and soul into a business and then end up with mediocre but that’s where Brody’s is at right now.
As an owner of a restaurant who was subjected to having the pleasure of being reviewed by the bite club and then being assailed on this forum , you have my support!For every ten negative comments you see on this forum I am sure you get as many nice comments to your FACE!My advice is to follow the vision which first inspired you to get into this business and work on providing a good product on a person by person basis.I can probably guarantee you that these people did not get into this business with the intention of giving ba d experiences to anyone!Keep your heads up and work with the positive experiences of making people happy and take the negativity with a pinch of salt(pun intended).
Went there today and honestly do not think they have the model to survive.
Basically it is another hamburger joint with some decorations. For some reason they are touting cheap eats. The customers that will keep them in business do not want cheap eats, they want quality, taste and service for a reasonable price. You want cheap they will go to McD or Arbys for the buck meal. The beef was dry, tomato tasteless, and the service came across that you were just another crabby customer. If they got beef that was tastier, with a little more fat content, and cooked it to order, not 175 degrees to dry it out, it would be a better burger. I wouldn’t mind paying an extra buck or two for quality. Look at Taylor’s in St Helena. 15 bucks for a burger and fries and the lines go down the block. Not saying that they have the same clientele, but we don;t need another mediocre so-so burger place. Do something different. Get custom made buns for you, or a special sauce, and for heavens sake, get some tomatoes that actually taste like they are suppose to.
Not anywhere as good as the old Broiler Burger. Meat overcooked and tasteless. Mediocre fries…give them about a year. Family can feed it for awhile, maybe it will get better and take off. Nothing on that side of town anyway.
Another unimpressed customer here. We had two cheeseburgers yesterday and they were overdone and tasteless, as has been mentioned here. The sweet potato fries were decent but nothing special. I also had a small cup of turkey chili which was decent, but I’ve made better. It was also freezing inside (Admittedly it was freezing *everywhere* yesterday.) We’ll give them another try in a month or two and at dinner or on a weekend, so we can guzzle a couple brews with lunch. In the meantime, the burger needs work, Bro(dy).
YUCK! Saturday night… we had (3) “Brody” cheeseburgers. VERY burnt, FLAT patty and absolutely tasteless (except for the burnt flavor). We had French Fries and Fried Pickles. The Fries were greasy, and the Pickles over-battered. None of us liked our burger, or even finished it. If your going to do one thing (Burgers) please at least get THAT right! Also ordered a glass of wine, only ONE chard & cab to chose from… and it wasn’t even served in a wine glass! $30.00 NOT well spent, we will not be back. Also, I agree with an earlier post the restaurant is not well ventilated, so you come out smelling like a burnt greasy burger..YUCK!
My family had dinner there last Sunday…I am a real customer, not a planted review by the owner or employee to get you to come.
I had two texas burgers…a little greasy and lacked seasoning…and a kids meal…with the smallest burger we’ve ever seen. My 9 year old did not like it…and that’s rough for a burger! She’ll eat anything. She also said the fries tasted funny. The garlic fries were gross and had a wet mess of galic mush on it…the highlight was the sweet potatoe fries. They were excellent.
The burgers are ok priced until you realize they don’t come with fries. A hamburger, fries and a beer cost eleven bucks. If it was a sit down joint with good food and wait staff come to your table AND deliver…might be worth it.
We are not going back.
Good luck…it’s hard to find a joint serving this kind of fare…all i can say is ‘fare’ well.
buns were cold, tomatoe was cold in a cold roommakes for a cold burger. Buns should be grilled. Sweet potatoe fries were good.
I was not impressed. Bland burgers and small, but the price was fair. The fries were over cooked and greasy. Id much rather have a burger and fries from Super Burger. Heck, ever try the Washoe House burgers? Flavor ROCKs on those bad boys!
I’ll pass on Brodys
Mom? Is that you?
The cup is always half empty for you massspecgeek. I’m sorry. You are more than a cynic, you are a paranoid harbinger of negativity with turf toe. Stunt your growth this will.
Brody’s rocks! My Texas burger was spot on, the perfect meld of bbq, onions, bacon, and the Bison is cool too, the saut’ed mushies could have used some seasoning, but Brody’s house ale is good and at a good price too! Good place to hang out on a Sunday, catch the game and enjoy brew’s n beers!
I look at the RC diss as obligatory to making the comment look even remotely plausible… “Well, I listed all the good stuff, now what bad scrap can I throw in for balance? I know — the soda! No one really cares about that anyway.”
Yeah, I’m a cynic.
Interesting, though, that Cool Crisp Lettuce follows with a diss on RC. I agree totally, and find that sometimes restaurants start out with RC and move to the real stuff after people complain.
I did get this message directly from the owner, however…
“I have put so much work into Brody’s and I am so grateful to hear when customers enjoy their meal.
I take the comments that people make seriously and adjust anything I can to make Brody’s as perfect as possible.
(We actually have a new fan motor coming to assist in keeping burger cookery in the kitchen)”
I can’t help but wonder if the comments for this post have been astroturfed — the most recent comment by SRGuys feels kinda funny. It really sounds more like a set of talking points for the restaurant instead of a genuine tale of customer experience. I mean seriously, what customer talks about “cool crisp lettuce” and says “Remember folks this is not your generic hormone laden hamburger” after exhorting the reader to “definitely try this and you will be pleasantly surprised”. Now that I look back, in fact, several of the previous comments look a little suspicious, with repeated references to moist flavorful burgers, cleanliness and keeping prices low. Seems like elements of a script being repeated in different styles.
We went there and decided to share a Brody’s burger with pepper jack cheese, large sweet potato fries, and a couple of drinks. I was pretty impressed with the place especially considering they have been open for only 40 days. There was quite a bit of people coming in and through the drive-thru; however, they handled it like they have been doing it for years. Very friendly staff which is alsways a plus. On to the burger, it was moist and cooked through but not burnt. The toppings which consisted of cool crisp lettuce, tomato and onions with ketchup and mustard mixed together. The bun was wonderful because it was like a corn bread type of bun. It wasn’t crumbly and held up nicely when eating it. The fries were the bomb. They were just excellent with a nice crispy crunch and full of flavor. I would recommend a nice dill mayo dipping side for them though. I have to say, when you order a large, it is a large. I love that when you order a large fry it is what you ordered and not some medium or small being passed off as a large. The prices are pretty fair and reasonable and the food comes pretty quick. I am not keen on RC products and wish they had coke or pepsi…however, that is just my preference but it all works. I will be back and want to try the salmon burger. I would say definitely try this and think you will be pleasantly surprised. Lots of parking and great retro look inside which is clean too! Keep up the good work and keep prices reasonable and the quality up there. Remember folks this is not your generic hormone laden hamburger so you are getting a good quality burger.
I was very disapointed with my first time here, the burger was overcooked and flavorless. I asked for medium rare and was told that they cook all of their pattys to medium and assured that it would be moist and juicy, when I got it it was not moist or juicy and the only flavorful part was the condiments(lettuce,tomato,pickles etc.) I may wait a few months and give them another try but I doubt it as there are better burger places out there.
Hmm, different experience here. Our family of five had a texas (bacon, bbq and fried onions), a central park (pastrami, swiss and mayo) and three kids meals (hamburgers and chicken strips). Fries and onion rings were decent, but the burgers — without exception — were poor. The problem with all of them was terribly overcooked meat. And I don’t just mean that I like my burgers rare (which I don’t) and these were well. Instead, they were thin, almost blackened and nearly crunchy. Seriously, I have never had a burger anywhere where the meat was so badly overcooked. The prices were okay but I don’t think we will be going back.
I’ve been dreaming about bison burgers and rocky mountain oysters since the bizarre food trend landed on American soil some time ago. Although I didn’t receive my neurotic nad craving, I was able to experience my first bison burger at Brody’s. The friendly, humble and homely looking register rank assured me that the meat would be properly cooked…and it was. A moist, flavorful, decent sized patty with a delightful hint of pink at the center. The small order of garlic fries was a wonderful accompaniment to this satisfying meal. Now let’s talk location. Cleveland Avenue has always struggled with its personality; festering as an ever-changing, nonconforming cyst on the Santa Rosa streetscape. Views from my diner style table included said street, the newly constructed HWY 101 wall and the very popular Sonoma County Jail…so sterile and industrial, it’s almost cool. Brody’s, aside from the weak beer selection, is a fair call for your next burger fix.
I go to Brody 4x a week and it is wonderful, the food tastes homemade like your at a family cookout! the pickles even taste homemade, the bison burger is amazing! friendly staff also has a drive thru, but if you want burgers this is the healthy choice for Santa Rosa, and if you drive by and it looks empty ….woohoo lucky you no line! definitely a keeper this one
I had the Turkey burger with Swiss, no mayo, and BBQ on the side. It was healthy and delicious. I also like their cornmeal buns. I will go back for sure. They are kind of hidden, and with the In & Out opening nearby, I hope they can pull through in the long run… I also like the seats at the booths, firm but comfy. It’s also very clean. Brody’s is a keeper (just don’t raise the prices and I’ll keep coming back)
-DJ
I had the Turkey burger with Swiss, no mayo, and BBQ on the side. It was healthy and delicious. I also like their cornmeal buns. I will go back for sure. They are kind of hidden, and with the In & Out opening nearby, I hope they can pull through in the long run… I also like the seats at the booths, firm but comfy. It’s also very clean. Brody’s is a keeper (just don’t raise the prices and I’ll keep coming back)
-DJ
Tried Brody’s two weeks ago with three friends. All agreed we would keep Brody’s in our regular Tuesday lunch rotation.
I had the Central Park (beef with pastrami) and split a large order of the sweet potato fries. The burger was good. It had some juices dripping out as I ate it, but they provide napkins. I liked the sweet potato fries, but would likely get an order to myself next time. I would also experiment with a different burger.
Two friends had the garlic fries and they smelled like they had plenty of garlic.
We arrived a little after 12:00 and there was a line of about 6-8 people, so it took awhile to get our handcrafted burgers.
Coincidentally, my wife stopped by the same day for an early dinner. She order the Alaska (salmon patty with dill mayo). She said it was too salty for her.
Love the name
Do they sell t-shirts in size 3T?
“The biggest selling point, however, may be the “brews” .”
Heather, you have to be kidding, right? WHAT “brews”. I looked at their menu and I saw Budweiser, Bud Light(more Bud), Redhook(more Bud), Michelob Ultra(more Bud), some imports, a couple of Lagunitas brews, and, oh, yea, don’t forget the O’Doul’s! Bud is bad enough, but it’s FOREIGN OWNED! Just like Miller and Coors! How about being a little more patriotic and support our local brewers?!? Please?
No wonder “Me” says it looks empty when they go by, it’s probably because of the beer!Or what these companies purport to be beer.
So Dad and I tried this last Tuesday. Did we get there before you??? The” Brody “caught my eye as we drove by. Burgers, Bikes and Beer, what more could you ask for? Enjoyed our burg, not too greasy, maybe some sauces with the fries would be fun. The manager was very helpful and pleasent. Loved her info about the bikes and her own pink cruiser. Ask about Crusty’s bike shop while you indulge in your next burger.
Great food and a great staff!
Glad you finally reviewed this place. Everytime I drive by, it looks empty!
Between Russell and Bicentennial.
Gotta go check this out! Nearest cross-street?