Owner of New Eatery Skips Main Offerings

Alex Lichine thinks his burgers are pretty good. Just don't ask him to try one.

Lichine, a 64-year-old Midtown resident, is owner of on Folsom Boulevard, which opened in October. He's also semi-vegetarian in that he eats seafood, but no other meat.

"Meat doesn't have any flavor anyway," he said, adding that he stopped eating meat 25 years ago, mostly for health reasons. "It's good for your soul – lighter food."           

He's been cooking professionally since 1969, when he walked into an upscale Italian restaurant in San Jose and volunteered to work for free. Forty-five days later he was on the payroll.

Lichine has owned restaurants in Santa Cruz, Los Gatos, Cupertino and downtown Sacramento, but decided to flip burgers in Rosemont because of a lack of competition in the area. He said he opened a casual burger eatery rather than a full-service restaurant because of a decline in sit-down restaurant traffic.

"People used to go out for the dining out," he said. "Now they just go to eat."

He said too many restaurant-goers have become used to McDonald's-like speed and can't wait for a real meal to cook.

With California Burgers and Cheesesteaks, he hopes to balance speed, quality and cost. He buys local and organic produce whenever he can and all the restaurant's burgers come from vegetarian-fed Niman Ranch cattle. Most burgers on the menu are between $5 and $6.

The restaurant's staples include the "Ortega Burger," a combination of green chilies, jalapenos and Swiss cheese on a quarter-pound patty. He also offers a vegetarian burger and the monstrous "One-pound Football" – four beef patties served on a hoagie roll. The french fries are hand-cut each day and sweet potato fries are also available.

Still, he can't please everyone.

Margarita Bedow, a Fair Oaks resident on her first visit to the restaurant, said her pastrami burger was "a little fatty."

She also complained about clutter on the counter, alcohol-themed wall decorations she thought were out of place and the restaurant's decision to charge 50 cents for soda refills.

"I don't think I'll come back," Bedow said.

Others were more appreciative.

Arnold Barraza, an AT&T technician who said he has sampled almost every restaurant in the area while driving around for work, said he will definitely come back after trying the chicken sandwich. He praised the french fries for being "real potatoes."

Rancho Cordova resident Katie Sawyer stopped by California Burgers and Cheesesteaks for the third time and called the restaurant's offerings "healthier comfort food."

"It's not as greasy as most cheesesteaks," Sawyer said.

Lichine said he'll finalize the menu once he sees which items are the most popular. He is planning a grand opening event for January.