Alvin M.
Yelp
Looking for a place to eat on the intersection of 98th and International in East Oakland?! You can't miss this restaurant when you pass by it, because its exterior is all bright colors, with HYPHY BURGER tagged in loud yellow paint across the side. There's also a refurbished minibus parked out front, tagged with more phrases, including HYPHY, GAS BREAK DIP, YOU FEEL ME, and more.
This place definitely looks like a burger joint with a drive-thru, mercifully eschewing the barren design aesthetic that has ruled us for decades now. Walk in the door and you'll be greeted with a dining room that's spare and yet boisterous all at once. Hyphy Burger feels like a neighborhood quick-service restaurant where everyone knows everyone, which gives it the correct ambience for eating a hamburger in the sloppiest possible fashion. After looking at the menu, I was now ready to order & chow down! (and I only had ordered a burger & a soda) LOL!
Burgers at Hyphy come one of only two ways. You can get a regular Hyphy Burger, complete with two patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, grilled onions and "You Feel Me" sauce. You can also get a Burnout Burger, which adds jalapeños, peperoncini and pepper jack cheese to the proceedings. Apart from the requisite fries, there are no other add-ons or sides offered, so don't bother asking for bacon or frizzled onions or any of those other goodies. You get what you get at Hyphy. It's that kind of place.
So what's the hype with the Hyphy Burger if you may ask? You can say that it's a customized double cheeseburger. The two patties were smashed down on the griddle, greased with American cheese, and then stuffed inside a potato bun that looked pre-squished.
Don't let that deter you - as I customized mine by adding lettuce, tomatoes, and grilled onions - messy but hefty. If you know your burgers, you know that sloppiness is a feature, not a bug.
Try it out for yourself, and know that this is worth the hype!