Javan’s – Isla Vista

I’d heard the burgers were good here, and inexpensive. Sandwiches, too. McMarko and I decided to check it out instead of going to his de facto cheap and cheerful sandwich shop.

I had my fears about bad parking, as the autumn quarter was just starting at ucsb, but we scooted into a spot right in front on the street. Great parking karma!
Another thing that surprised me, but in a bad way, was the interior. I wasn’t expecting some cozy warm co-op style place with fluffy sofas or anything, but I also wasn’t expecting a large space that looked hardly more than a high school gymnasium with a couple long tables at it. The no frills environment is probably what helps keep the costs down, though. And there’s an option to eat outside, so a day of nice weather can mean a pleasant lunch.

I went with the standard burger, which only cost $2.50. The bun was nice and toasty and the accoutrements were good, but the burger itself was dry and underwhelming, which the other positives could not outweigh. However, this is why it’s a $2.50 cheap burger. Next time, I’ll get a bigger burger so there’s less chance for the little meat patty to overcook. It’s a nice photo at least.

My chili cheese fries, however, were great! Much better than I expected. I think it cost more than the burger, coming in around $2.75 and totally worth it. The chili seemed homemade, or at least doctored up enough with good bits to seem homemade. The fries were a good size shoestring and didn’t get too soggy under the chili. I really enjoyed these.

McMarko did indeed get a sandwich, as this was his foray into an alternative to his usual sammie spot and he decided this was better than his usual, and for the same price or slightly less. I’d say, if the parking were consistently better, we’d come here more often. Alas, it’s still I.V. So no thank you.

Javan’s
938 Embarcadero Del Norte
Goleta, CA 93117