In times of division, hate, marches, hashtags, social media trolling, building walls, etc., there is a group of Manteca men who decided to take matters into their own hands and, well, mouths and bellies.
In summer of 2016, Bill Estrada, 73, and a few neighbors initiated a neighborhood “Burger Boys Club” after a failed attempt to attend Costa’s annual wild animal feed lunch with six of his neighbors. Instead, they ended up at the French Camp Sports Bar and Grill and ate burgers and drank cold beers.
And it took off from there.
Estrada, who was in US Army Intelligence during the Vietnam War and a long-time labor relations executive with General Motors, suggested the group meet up every other Thursday for lunch.
The group agreed.
Since that fateful day, Estrada and the six neighborhood men grew to 14 regulars with an average of eight or nine men participating with simple criteria: 1) visit an establishment that serves burgers at a minimum; 2) has cold beer; and, 3) is under 20 miles away from home.
The group, who did not know each other before moving to the neighborhood, has been to over 20 different establishments in the Manteca metro area.
“For me, the House of Beef in Oakdale with their tri-trip sandwiches and salad bar is the favorite,” said Estrada, who retired in 2008 after serving as a human resources executive for over 25 years in the Silicon Valley in addition to his years with GM. “Our get-togethers are fun and enjoyable.”
Often, a member of the group picks the next venue.
Last Thursday, Dave Perry, 66, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, selected “Famous Dave’s” in Tracy.
Perry retired after 31 years as a real estate asset manager for AT7T/Lucent Technologies. He said he has missed just one or two of the biweekly lunches.
“I am searching for the cold beer and the best burger,” said Perry, who, before last week, found Lathrop’s Haven Acres and Modesto’s P Wexfords to be his favorites, so far.
Benny Del Re, 65, who as a young boy migrated to the USA from Italy, is a retired crime laboratory director. In fact, Del Re and former Santa Clara County District Attorney share in the naming of the county’s George W. Kennedy and Benny Del Re Forensic Science Center at the DA’s crime laboratory.
Del Re assisted in several high-profile homicide cases in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties during his tenure.
Del Re cannot remember how many lunch sessions he attended, “probably due to fading old age memory,” he said.
“One trip doesn’t stand out over another,” added Del Re. “It is always a good time getting together with the gentlemen.”
Neighbor Phil Morgan concurs.
Morgan, 60, who retired from Building Materials stated, “Getting together with neighbors is the attraction for me…and sharing a cold beer, good burger and a laugh or seven!”
Morgan, who assisted in the building of the Discovery Bay community, the Benicia, San Mateo, and Bay bridges, the Devil Slide tunnel, and Stadia where pro and college events are staged, said his favorite, so far, has been Manteca’s Chuck’s Place.
Paul Rossitto, 63, a retired biomedical researcher at UC Davis, has been to nearly 20 lunches and he has his own added burger boy venue criterion.
“The burger boys must have very cold beer,” said Rossitto, “And, any place with table cloths and napkins is off limits!”
Ed Burroughs, 66, the former longtime voice of the Manteca Buffaloes home football games, is a retired attorney and has been to nearly 20 lunches, too. His favorite has been Haven Acres.
Burroughs, who was part of a settlement of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Shell, Dow Chemical, and Occidental for contaminating water wells with the DBCP chemical, stated he enjoys “sitting out on the deck, by the water, on a beautiful day, enjoying great friends, good food and cold beer.”
Ken Howland, 67, is a retired building contractor who once lived in India for three years building an information technology campus to house 800 employees. Like Burroughs and Perry, Howland names Haven Acres his “friends in low places – my kind of place.”
Howland states he is “in search for the perfect burger; it is all about the meat!”
One of Estrada’s favorite quotes is, “a happy wife is a happy life.”
Last month, the spouses of the Burger Boys Club started their own wives-only lunch club.
So, in times of the aforementioned division, hate, marches, hashtags, social media trolling, building walls, etc., perhaps here is a model of the alternative.
