Originally started as Jake’s Burgers in 1991, at a location in Delaware, Wayback Burgers specializes in hand-pressed, never-frozen burger patties, hand-scooped milkshakes, turkey burgers, chicken sandwiches and monthly specials. From this simple start, Wayback Burgers has grown into an expanding chain of restaurants with 120 locations in 27 states and several foreign countries. Their future plans include a number of restaurants in the United States, the Mid-East and Northern Africa.
Wayback was chosen as the name for the restaurant because they want to provide food the way it used to be. They pride themselves in moving backward in that one sense.
Russ Salazar and I were on our “first Saturday” trip to all the Hospice Thrift Stores to buy things we really don’t need for 50% off and decided to stop at the Wayback Burgers at 1300 East Bidwell in Folsom. We had passed it on other Saturdays, and this was going to be our first visit.
It is the corner business in a small mall on the north side of East Bidwell, just east of Blue Ravine. The outside walls are all glass, giving it a great natural lighting.
It was very clean and the decor is “retro,” like “burger joints” from the 1950s.
You order at the counter and they give you a number to take to your table, then deliver your food to you when it is ready.
Since I am still a bit “out of sorts” with my new knee, Russ ordered while I found a table. For our test meal, he decided on a Crispy Chicken BLT that stood out on a poster in the window and a single cheeseburger with American cheese, “their way” – lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions. To this he added an order of “O-Fries” which are a mix of onion rings and French fries (like the “Frings” we got in South Lake Tahoe). He had considered a chili dog, but remembered neither of us needed a third sandwich (or a second one for that matter).
As we were waiting for our food, I noticed a picture of a Triple-Triple burger that you can purchase for about $18. It is not three burger patties and three slices of cheese, but nine of both (2200 calories if you wonder). I still haven’t figured out how you could eat that one…or why.
Soon the food arrived, delivered by a very happy and friendly young lady, who would later even refill our drinks for us.
The sandwiches were both cut in half, as Russ had asked, and I started with the burger. It was very good and both Russ and I both commented that the bun was different and excellent. The bun was a bit yellow and the nice young lady told us it was an egg bun.
The Crispy Chicken BLT was likewise very good. Russ liked the crust on the chicken. I thought it might have been cooked a bit too long, but was still very good.
When I first looked at the picture of the Crispy Chicken BLT I mentioned to Russ that the bread looked like a hamburger bun that was upside down. Sure enough, I was right, the young lady said. Inside out buns for non-burgers, a novel idea.
We both really liked the onion rings and the fries. The onion rings were nicely cooked with a great crust and the skin-on fries were crispy and full length. There were very few little pieces in the container. Russ said he likes the little pieces since they are usually crisper.
All in all, the food was very good and much better than I had expected.
The menu are Wayback Burgers is fairly large. They have quite a list of burgers and other sandwiches, including a Cheeeesy, Chipotle, Rodeo, Philly and a Cheesesteak. There are also chicken, turkey and veggie sandwiches, hot dogs several ways, chicken tenders and a WB Cod sandwich. And a selection of specials.
Their real speciality is you creating your own burger. You start with a Single, Classic (double) or a Triple patty burger, select your cheese, top it off their way or your way and add your choice of sauce. They will even let you select the spices for the meat. I usually look at those lists and have the person make it the way they like it. It saves a lot of decisions.
For sides they have fries in many combinations, Mac & Cheese Bites, House-Made Chips and something called Irish Nachos, which have no connection to Ireland other than the fact that the jalapeños on them are green.
They also have salads, several kids meals, fountain drinks and real milkshakes and malts, made the way they should be with hand-scooped ice cream.
The Wayback Burgers in Folsom is open daily from 10 until 10 and can be reached at (916) 597-2697. You can also look at their menu and find other locations at www.waybackburgers.com.
As an interesting side note, because of a larger Islamic population in that area, their location in Milpitas, CA serves Halal meat.