The Country Hub Cafe & Banquet Center in Riverdale, CA
The place is located on Highway 41 about halfway between Fresno and Lemoore Naval Air Station, basically in the middle of nowhere. I imagine on Friday and Saturday nights this place is quite the honky-tonk, with a full long bar, jukebox, dancefloor and bandstand (one can imagine, Waylon, Willie and Hank causing a ruckus), but the rest of the time it’s a quiet restaurant with the best burgers in the area and along Highway 41 the signs clearly state that. Bad-Ass Burgers is also written on the signs, and that certainly got my attention. I’ve been wanting to stop in for quite a while and so on St. Patrick’s Day 2026 I have the opportunity and, long story short, the burger was probably the best I’ve had. A few days later at a party I was telling a friend just how tasty the meat was, but beyond that, how it broke down in your mouth as you ground your teeth through the meat and how it settled on your tongue and rode along your cheeks and gums toward your throat - the texture was rich and the patty was big - not too big, but nobody would blame you for keeping you elbows on the bar as you pivoted it back and forth from the plate to your mouth. Not only did it taste great, but it felt real. Of course, my friend thought that was too much information and that’s her fault. Last Friday I had the opportunity to go again and it was just as good. As I was getting ready to leave, some guy came in, sat two spots down from me, and said the same thing I said back on St. Patrick’s Day – I’ve seen the signs and I’ve always wanted to stop in. I gave him some friendly ordering advice (medium, for God's sake) and left. Hopefully he did not write to you before I did.