How did we end up at PUBlic House in Old Town Temecula for a late lunch pre-brewery crawl on that rainy Wednesday afternoon in October? Well, it started with a hunt for the town’s best burger.

Although we had the best sliders of our lives that Monday night in Old Town at The Edge, Rob wanted to find the best burger. We had a late breakfast that morning after a full day of wine tasting the day before. After breakfast {even though we were all “wined out”}, we knew we had to taste the wines of the vineyards where we were staying at South Coast Winery! {More on South Coast tomorrow for Wine Wednesday!}

We walked over to the tasting room where Gregg began pouring us some exceptional wines. He also gave some food pairing recommendations and talked about a burger he makes with wine, as well as described how to make a Caribbean-style fish. He had my mouth watering so much that I almost asked him if we could come over for dinner.

We joined the Wine Club there and while I was at the register signing up and paying it, something occurred to me. We had not yet had a burger.

“HEY!” I said to Rob. “Why don’t you go back in there and ask Gregg where we can get the best burger in town! We’ll do a late lunch there before we check out the local breweries!”

He sprinted off into the tasting room and came back with a solid answer:

“PUBlic House.”

There wasn’t any hemming and hawing from Gregg. There was no “In and Out” burger response like we’d receive the day before. {Which, by the way, we did not pass up on In and Out while we were there!} With Gregg, it was PUBlic House all the way.

So we went.

It was a rainy afternoon and I was grateful that we spent the beautiful day before doing all of the tasting and enjoying the vineyard views. Today was a perfect day to recover and then spend the evening beer tasting.

The host stand was outside and we asked if we could be seated at the bar. I thought that they’d lead us inside. But instead, they led us around the back to the part-covered outdoor bar. The outdoor heaters warmed the area as the rain beat down. Despite the rainy dreariness, it was so nice to be outside in the fresh air. It was the perfect ambiance.

As we pulled up a chair to the bar, we were happy to see that there were several local beers on tap!

The bartender caught us squinting to figure out the taps. He declared that there were more upstairs and slid a beer menu in front of us. The Limited Editions immediately caught our eyes.

Don’t they sound soooo good? I ordered the Farking Wheaton W00tStout while Rob ordered the Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin. If you don’t know what a merkin is, just do a google search. Our bartender told us to do the same. 😉

I know it says that these are 12 oz beers, but the pours just seemed bigger than that!

We tasted each of them. And while similar, I liked the Velvet Merkin just slightly better. I reread the description and realized that the W00tStout was 13% alcohol against the Merkin’s 8.6%. It was my turn to drive for the brewery crawl that night. It was at that moment that Rob and I realized that it would be best if we switched beers.

Then we searched the menu for the restaurant’s burger description:

HELL YEAH!

But 10 oz?! We decided this was a burger we’d have to split. We also put in an order for some Opal Basil Fries. While we were waiting, we perused some more of the menu. I texted the photo below to a friend of ours who loves S’mores more than anyone we know. We thought it would be the perfect dessert for her!

That prompted me to look at what was under “The Little People” Menu:

Isn’t that the foodiest menu you’ve ever seen for a kid?!

Then the burger arrived…

It was difficult to cut in two, but we managed. And let me tell you, it was sensational. But it was huge and just one half was filling enough for lunch. I wanted to slather that horseradish sauce on everything. Some of the best horsey sauce I’ve had! And you’d think that side salad was an afterthought; but it was just as enjoyable.

The fry basket was huge. I actually took the following photo AFTER we ate our fill of the fries. We didn’t put a dent in it at all. It was all burger that afternoon!

These fries were good, but I liked whatever fries they were testing out and passing around beforehand. I think they were truffle or parmesan or something.

This burger did not disappoint. We’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good burger in Temecula. The rest of the menu intrigues me, too. We really liked this place and know that if we lived there, we’d probably be there often. Too often, I’m sure! Thanks, Gregg, for the recommendation!

Do you eat horseradish? If so, how do you use it?

Cheers~
Carrie