Redrum Burger

The original Murder Burger! 1997/01/02 The GPS that Hertz provides still lists them as Murder Burger

Redrum Burger, formerly named and occasionally still called Murder Burger, serves up a wide selection of food, and is a Davis tradition. Prices generally aren't cheap for a burger joint/diner, but you get what you pay for in quantity, atmosphere and uniqueness. They have all sorts of traditional burgers, along with ostrich burgers, huge (1 lb) burgers, fried calamari, milkshakes and much more. They can make any shake you can imagine, and put cheese on everything.

One truly amazing item they sell is the ZOOM, yes ZOOM! It stands for Zucchini Onion Rings and Mushrooms. All heavily breaded and deep fried. Can you feel your heart tensing at the thought of that onslaught of healthy stuff? If you do get a ZOOM, don't plan on finishing anything you order, this thing is HUGE.

The enormous one pound burger is served only as a combo, with fries and a drink. It's about $11.50.

Many people still refer to it as "Murder Burger." Under the old name, Murder Burger was a Northern California legend established in 1986 at the Davis location. As for the name change from Murder Burger, Redrum is murder spelled backward. Redrum Burger is the name owner Jim Edlund selected from over 7,000 names submitted in a contest launched after he was unable to come to an agreement with the original owner over the dollar value of the name. In addition to the financial end of things, customers and community members in Rocklin, site of the one-year old second location, objected to the original name and slogan as they chowed down on these giant meat patties. In May 2001, the establishment officially changed its name. The winning name was submitted by four clever individuals, so a drawing declared Shaun Curtis of Cupertino winner of $1,000 and a meal a day for life. Other names making it to the semifinals included Patty Shack, Mr. Goodburger, Grill & Chill, Moo-der Burger and Bird-o-Burger. People from six states, Canada, and Mexico submitted names.

The Rocklin location is long gone, so one would suppose that the community's objections no longer mean much.

The establishment may soon be changing its name back to the original "Murder Burger," having reached some sort of trademark agreement (details unclear, Jan. 2006). This website might offer some clues...

The employees are somewhat punkish. So much so that it's often said that "there seems to be a requirement to have at least two tattoos to work there." The employees are notorious for being somewhat 'alternative,' so much so that the back of the recent Redrum shirts read "Burgers with Attitude" — a possible play on the crust-punk atmosphere of the restaurant.

In the early 1990's, the Murder Burger billboard was vandalized and the plywood hamburger removed. The burger was recovered, however, and it was safely displayed in the editorial office of Davis High School's newspaper, The HUB.

• Reviews from 2005
  

• Reviews from 2006

Comments:

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2007-03-14 01:06:04   I feel as though my project of fixing Murder Burger and everyone in it has almost been achieved. I will never wear another Redrum shirt again. At last I may rest. Be prepared for the days to come. —NathanDodd

2007-04-15 15:02:09   Food is good, but definitley not cheap. —DonaldJaye

2007-04-27 21:15:53   I used to eat there all the time-early 80s- the food was awsome. They even gave me and some of the locals an account that we would pay off every week, we could just call in our order and it would be ready when we arrived, the service was excellent, best burger in town-even better than Nations Giant. However I went in a year or so ago,found the wait way to long, tried again and the same thing.What happened to the days when people remembered your name or your food preference or even trusted you. Thats when Davis was a cool place to live-even the Safeway grocery clerks new our names.This is for all he W.I.S.E. guys who I spent many hours eating with at Murder Burger and having fun! —NotImpressed

2007-04-29 11:25:20   This place is terrible. It has a great rep, but the burgers I've had on my three visits were mediocre and the fries are ALWAYS BURNT. They need to change their oil at least once a week and I doubt they do that. The restaurant is always grimy and the staff isn't friendly. In short, all the above bitching is true. —William.Peacock

2007-05-02 20:31:35   Redrum is definitely not fast. It usually takes about 30 minutes to get your food. The joint is not particularly well-run. They need to get a new door-closer, too. I can still hear it in my sleep: SLAM. And yet, the burgers are very good. Optimal bun to burger ratio is achieved with the 1/2 lb burger — but that's a lot of burger. There are lots of topping options (lots of burger options, too), but no pineapple, which is too bad. A chocolate shake with malt rounds out the meal nicely. The onion rings were huge and greasy — never again. —CovertProfessor

2007-05-02 23:22:55   takes a long time to get food and not exactly a good quantity for the money —KaiWan

2007-05-20 10:51:44   i love hole in the wall places like this..alotta ppl decide to pass and eat at in-n-out, but u gotta give murder-burger a try..food is kinda greasy, but hey wat do u expect with a burger joint..only drawback is that without a coupon its pretty expensive —DonaldJaye

2007-05-27 15:12:23   This place is way overpriced and looks/smells dirty. It takes forever to get your food. How come i can get a burger in a few minutes at anyother place but it takes an hour here. I know how long it takes to make a goddam burger. Last time I tried to go there, I stood in line for 10 minutes and then walked accross the street to in and out. The line didnt even move. —dancohen

2007-06-01 23:09:02   This place left a terrible first impression on me. My one Burger took like 45 mins to make and i had time so no biggie but then, the dude inside treated me like i just showed up on the short bus with a helmet and a big foam #1 hand. MESSAGE TO REDRUM; I understand that it sucks to work but, dont dish out a bunch of crap to innocent customers who you KNOW will take it because they are hungry. If the comments were any indication of the state of the business, i would sugguest new management....... After all the burgers are damn good. GregFurnish

2007-06-19 01:41:40   I don't eat there that often, but I decided to go back and wait 40 minutes for a burger again. Hey, I had some time to kill. The burger was okay, but it had one of those plastic bread bag ties on my sandwich. How in the world did that get there? I don't think I pissed off any of the employees, but who knows. Seasoned fries were good though. —BrentLaabs

2007-06-20 17:12:37   After stopping there today, on the way from Sacto back to Santa Cruz, I felt compelled to post a comment. We arrived (4 of us) at 11:50. My companions received their food about 30-35 minutes after the ordered, mine was about 45. That was after I asked the front counter where my food was twice. This was the worst burger I have ever had at this place, and I will not stop again. The restaurant was not even busy! At the price, $11.01 for a 1/4 pounder, fries, and shake, I expect good, decent food. They handed me an overdone pattie, with a piece of cheese that wasn't even melted. If I had had the time, I would have asked for another one. There was another diner who was complaining right before me about waiting 45 minutes and not getting food. Save some time and some money and go to In and Out. The food is consistent and less expensive! If anyone knows REDRUM's e-mail, please post. I'd like for them to commend on how the place has gone downhill! —Larry

2007-07-18 10:49:44   This place sucks ass the people who work there are all tools should be in a group home and food is overpriced sucks SUCKS BAD, what happened to good hole in the wall places with good food? this place just plain sucks ass —dickjones

2007-08-04 03:41:24   wow this is the dirtiest restaurant i have ever ate at i am sorry but wow and the flies i totally lost my appitite —Brians

2007-08-15 10:04:33   "Despite going in there totally excited and really stoked about the menu and all the options, I was unimaginably disappointed with the food there. I'm really hoping the half-inch charred fries, completely tasteless and plain burger with none of the stuff I asked for and all the stuff I asked them to leave off of it abundantly present is a fluke. I'm trying to work up the openness to go back in there again, but the exorbitant prices and the terrible food I got there last time sort of put me off the place. Convince me though, and I'll go back. It's certainly got a reputation. I will say though, they had good local rags from Sac. - DanielMedinaCleghorn "

-EXACTLY HOW I FEEL —KaiWan

2007-10-30 12:07:16   Since moving to Davis five years ago, I have consistently hoped that Redrum would shape up into a dependable source for non-corporate food. Unfortunately, eating here continues to be a gamble. If executed correctly, their menu great: big burgers, any flavor shake you can imagine and some of the best fried food I've ever had. But more often than not my order is wrong, the food is crappily prepared or the staff is so out of it (both in behavior and appearance) that I actually don't want to eat what I've ordered. The owner seems so intent on differentiating himself from In-N-Out that I can't help but wonder what he's smoking. Hand written menus are cool, but not if they were taped to the wall 15 years ago. And where does he do his hiring? Methodone clinics? —JewpiterJones

2007-12-14 19:55:33   Love their shakes, although they are on the pricey side. Oreo shakes = ^_ —BenShmidt

2007-12-17 19:20:59   I'd rather eat at places where most of the employees aren't ex-cons and wash their hands before making and serving my meals. —thelonepiper555

2008-01-01 10:10:58   This place is very dirty employees are very rude dirty and scum try to avoid this place

—Brians

2008-01-20 23:23:49   This place is DIRTY! My friend's brother used to work there, and he will never eat there because he doesn't trust the food. That tells you something!! —Dr.Lindsay

2008-01-25 17:57:37   I dont much care for the place, there use to be two people there that were obviously on drugs, all they did was fight while they were working in front of everyone, not good for business! It is filthy! The owner is a known drug addict and hires drug addicts! Who would want one of them feeding our children?! I tried to go back because I use to really like the food years ago, I was happy to hear they had fired the one rude drugged out lady that used to work there, think her name started with a L, lisa or somthing. Wake up Jim, you have rude discusting people out front working for you your place will slowly go to pot! —roni

2008-02-11 22:24:36   I just ate here a few days ago... I would NEVER want to go back again. the food tasted plain and the workers were rude. this place is so dirty. the back door from the parking felt like it was about to break down. the burger they gave me had so much mustard i stop had to stop eating. the workers do look like they were "high." nothing look cleaned :(. i will not be going to the place again. hope all is well. —ChiYang

2008-02-12 00:28:06   expensive but good —cobugi

2008-02-12 00:29:49   i thot the people who worked there were extremely nice. me friend even commented saying we need more places like these. —cobugi

2008-02-17 21:27:35   Ate here recently. Pretty good, although nothing remarkable. Kind of pricey, and the place isnt excatly sparkling clean, but the staff was nice enough. Be prepared for a wait though. —CindyBanh

2008-02-18 18:27:17   Peanut butter milkshake is to die for. —AlexPerkins

2008-02-19 20:20:45   I ordered 2 milkshakes and bbq fries tonight. The bbq fries were fine, but the milkshakes I got were really really watered down. Are they even supposed to put water in milkshakes!? Anyways, on my previous milkshake orders, it was fine, but this time it was watered down. —BenLee

2008-04-07   My experience was "eh". It is quite run-down inside. I don't mind regular wear and tear since I like cities and hole-in-the-wall type places, but yeah, I wouldn't take out-of-towners to this place to make a good impression. I will say that the variety of burgers and sandwiches is good. Maybe it's best to grab the food to-go and eat it at a park or something. —YupYup

• I totally agree. I ate there with my parents and the door in the back *slams* when it shuts. It was so annoying while we were eating. The food was really good, but the place really needs some fixing up. —BrandonBarrette