The newest lunchtime rage downtown is Best-O-Burger, a kind of little urban version of In-N-Out on none other than Belden Lane: Angus beef, cast-iron skillets, fresh-baked buns, housemade fries (and onion rings), plus a few extras like daily-made gelato and gelato shakes. The tidy red and yellow space opened on the corner of Pine and Belden on Monday, and by Thursday the line was snaking out the door for four hours straight, from 10:30 a.m. till 2:30 p.m.



The burgers are cute li'l sliders—in orders of one, two or three—and are done just right: slightly pink inside and perfectly proportioned to their little fluffy bun. The fries are delicious, crunchy and perfectly salted like McDonald's but a tiny bit fatter and fresher-tasting (Best-O uses rice oil, by the way). We can't speak to the onion rings as they were flat out by the time we made it over. Next time we'll try them along with the Romaine-O Fingers Salad, hearts of Romaine intended to be dipped into ranch or Italian dressing. And, thanks to Eater SF we already know that there's a whole other "secret" menu online where you can find daily specials, meatball-and-mozzarella sliders, gelato-cookie sandwiches, and something called a Fat Bob (two burgers, one bun).

So, to sum up: Next week we try the meatball slider, onion rings, Romaine salad and a gelato ice cream sandwich to finish. Bad news for our waistlines, but good news for our American souls and wallets.