Seven Brothers a family affair in Saratoga Springs
The Paniolo (Cowboy) burger at Seven Brothers in Saratoga Springs. Seven Brothers also has a location inside The Hut in Provo.
The Plain Cheeseburger (without the cheese) at Seven Brothers in Satatoga Springs.
An order of Crazy Fries at Seven Brothers in Satatoga Springs.
The vanilla milk shake and our Xanadu order sign at Seven Brothers in Satatoga Springs.
The Grilled Cheese and fries at Seven Brothers in Saratoga Springs.
Before this weekend, we had quite a few questions about Seven Brothers, the new restaurant in Saratoga Springs.
Were Seven Brides also somehow included on the menu? (No — but local old-time film musical buffs certainly had to wonder.)
Any relation to the popular Six Sisters Deli and Grille in nearby Eagle Mountain? (No — but can you imagine the comedic potential of hiring both groups to cater your family reunion?)
Could I literally get one entire bite of the Paniolo (Cowboy) burger, top to bottom, in my mouth at once? (Incredibly, yes!)
Seven Brothers has been creating a bit of a buzz since it opened about a month ago. With an original restaurant in Laie, Hawaii, and food trucks operating in Arizona and Utah, we went into our weekend visit prepared for an island, beach vibe — which, let’s face it, is definitely a dreary inversion mood buster around these parts in January. We were not disappointed. The decor inside Seven Brothers included a half-dozen prominently situated surf boards, colorful beach/ocean photography and a couple big screens that were actually televising a surfing competition while we were there. (Not sure if it was merely playing on a continual loop. More visits will tell. Oh, and there will be more visits.)
Something else was readily noticeable upon getting in line: In addition to the beach photography, there were also a lot of photos of gigantic, juicy burgers. Let’s just say the mouth-watering juices were nearly flowing by time we made it to the front counter. Part of that was due to the great looking burgers in the photos and part of it was due to the amount of time it took to get through the line. At this point in time, patrons should not necessarily plan on any part of their visit to Seven Brothers to be extremely quick. We went in the later afternoon, before the dinner rush, and it still took us 15 minutes or so to place our order, and another 20 minutes to get our food at the table. At Seven Brothers, however, good things do come to those who wait.
You know how there’s a phenomenon in busy restaurants like this, where you wonder how you will ever find a table, and then by the time you place your order and are looking around, poof!, a location inevitably opens up at just the right time? It appeared as if that theory would finally be proven false at Seven Brothers, but lo and behold, a table did become vacant about one minute into our what-are-we-gonna-do-now search.
One cool thing about Seven Brothers is that instead of receiving placards with a typical boring number for servers to bring your food to your table there were signs that literally brimmed with positivity. These signs boasted words such as: “memories,” “astounding,” “grateful,” “laugh,” “respect” and “perfect,” among others. We received a card titled, “Xanadu.” I always associate that word with a cool tune of the same title, which I immediately interpreted as a sign that I should road trip to Denver to see ELO this August. This was looking like a productive meal after all.
So, how was the food at Seven Brothers? Pretty impressive from what I sampled.
As for burgers, the Paniolo was almost more than a mouthful. This gut-buster had to be piled 8-9 inches high. Using a pair of giant homemade onion rings for spacers, this burger also comes with grilled pineapple, a couple strips of bacon, American cheese and is slathered in BBQ and house sauce. I had to look at this burger for a minute or two, just trying to comprehend how I was going to attempt to eat it, but figuring I’d probably have to go the knife-and-fork route. However, I did discover that by applying a healthy amount of two-fisted pressure to the burger, I could squeeze it just barely enough to get it in my mouth. It was definitely worth the extra effort as this proved to be one delicious burger.
There were several other exotic burgers on the menu — including several named after the specific individual brothers (hint: the brothers’ names all begin with “S”) — however, most of the rest of our crew opted for more straightforward fare. Our 10-year-old ordered the Twice as Nice burger (double the meat, double the cheese), and nearly finished it. Our 20-year-old, who is definitely less adventuresome when it comes to ordering, got the cheeseburger (without the cheese). Our 9-year-old ordered a Grilled Cheese sandwich and my wife ordered a hamburger in a lettuce wrap. My samples of these items delivered great tastes, but I just crave more toppings.
The fries — which come in three varieties (Home Fries, Crazy Fries and Paniolo Fries depending on your choice of toppings) — are thin cut and sphere shaped. They also don’t lack for salt.
I sampled a vanilla milk shake, which was deliciously topped with whipped cream and drizzled in chocolate sauce. Fantastic!
In addition to burgers, there were four salads — including a signature Coconut Macadamia Nut Shrimp that I would love to sample sometime — as well as a few sandwiches and an Acai Bowl with various fruit.
We rolled out of there just as someone else was desperately searching for a table. Funny how that works.
SEVEN BROTHERS
Where: 731 N. Redwood Road, Suite 100, Saratoga Springs
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday
Prices: $5.50-$13.50
Info: (385) 352-1200, sevenbrothersburgers.com