Victory Burger has been serving creative casual food for the past two years and I stopped by for a meal when it first opened, but hadn’t been back since then. So I was happy to be invited to a media dinner to celebrate their two year anniversary. Sal Bednarz, who owns Victory Burger and the adjoining Actual Cafe, walked us through the menu.
photo: Christina Mitchell
If you like options, you should know that the bun and toppings on the Five Dot Ranch beef burger are completely customizable. I don’t remember exactly what was on the one I tried, but I do remember it being cooked a little more than I prefer.
Victory Burger serves vegan and gluten-free dishes along with plenty of meat to keep the carnivores happy. Let’s talk about the more interesting dishes on the menu.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Arepas are traditionally gluten-free and they’re not easy to find. Have you ever had one? It’s “South American street food, found mostly in Venezuela and Colombia. They’re made of special corn flour and stuffed with delicious fillings. Ours are not strictly traditional, but they’re sure delicious, and go great with a beer.”
photo: Christina Mitchell
The Breakfasty Arepa (soft griddled organic egg w. Beeler’s bacon and cheddar cheese) sounded like an awesome breakfast sandwich, but I found myself longing for a biscuit. My favorite arepas were the Chipotle Chicken (roasted Mary’s chicken with slightly spicy Chipotle mayo and shredded lettuce) and Caribbean Veggie (fully stuffed with crispy fried plantains, avocado, smoked tofu, tamarind-coconut chutney and spicy slaw), which were both sweet and sour.
Actually, several dishes on the menu were sweet and sour, but in different ways.
photo: Christina Mitchell
For example, the lime-molasses dressing on the fresh Weekly Farm Salad (Riverdog flowering Napa cabbage and arugula, Spring Flowers sliced red radish, and cilantro flowers) was more sweet than sour.
photo: Christina Mitchell
The Fried Chicken Sandwich (kara’age-style fried Mary’s chicken with ginger-sweet pepper relish, goat cheese mayo, and chopped lettuce) was more sour than sweet, and it was also gooey and juicy and probably the best bite I had that night.
photo: Christina Mitchell
And if you just need a snack, there were also plenty of fried things with vegan and non-vegan dipping sauce: French Fries, Tempura Pickled Veggies with chicken skin mayo and Sweet Plantains with chipotle mayo or tamarind-coconut chutney.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Don’t you love it when vegan things don’t taste vegan? That was the case with this Strawberry Balsamic Vegan Shake, which was also sweet and sour.
The vibe was very laid back, so Victory Burger would be a great place for a casual meal. And if you love that sweet & sour flavor combo, you should definitely check it out.
1099 Alcatraz Ave, Oakland
510-653-8322
Christina Mitchell
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I adore their Chicken Banh Mi!
I remember not being impressed by Victory Burger, but I did enjoy their shakes. I didn’t realize how much of a selection they had.
Yeah, you should try the chicken sandwich and maybe an arepa.
Oooh I didn’t get to try it. Thanks for the tip!