My wife and I are spending the weekend in Borrego Springs and we decided to give Carlee's a try as we heard good things about it here in Borrego.
First off, it's basically a sports bar. It has a very diverse menu including some full plate entrees. So, not just burgers and sandwiches. Plus they are open for breakfast and lunch too.
Anyway, we walked in and the place is pretty dark inside, but you get used to the light level quickly enough. Our waiter came right away and took our drink orders which he brought right away too. We saw a couple of great sounding burgers so we made up our mind pretty quickly. Cathy had the grilled onion burger. It usually comes with Swiss cheese, but she wanted cheddar and they gladly obliged, no problem. She ordered hers done and she said it was done, but still juicy so that was great. I ordered the Ortega burger that comes with cheddar on it. I ordered mine as rare as the cook would cook it and it came out dead rare. Nice! I think the meat was ground chuck as it was very juicy and silky on the tongue. When he brought out the burgers, he brought Cathy a grilled mushroom burger instead of the grilled onion burger she ordered, oops. But it was quickly remedied and dinner went on just fine. I had a Negro Modelo beer and fries with my burger. The fries had a coating on them and were nice and crisp. Cathy had cole slaw and it was some of the best cole slaw I've had in San Diego county. Most places just don't make it well, resulting in bland slaw. This one was perfectly seasoned. We did ask for additional napkins as those burgers were plenty juicy and they were brought immediately. It sure looks like a place where locals hang out so that's a great sign.
We'll go back any time we are in town.
