The Famous Buffalo Burger Is Back
The home of what some locals claim to be the best buffalo burger on Catalina Island is back open, now serving food for both take-out and sit-down customers.
The DC-3 Grill & Gifts is open daily from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. It is located at Catalina’s private plane airport, known by pilots and locals as the “Airport in the Sky” because it is located high on a hill, 1,600 feet into the sky.
But you don’t need a plane – or a friend with one – to go there. You can get there from Avalon ($34 R/T) and Little Harbor ($68 R/T) via the Wildlands Express van. Hearty outdoor adventure souls can walk or ride a bike to it, tho it’s 10 miles from Avalon and 13 from Two Harbors.
You can get breakfast or lunch at the DC-3. Its primary culinary attraction is the buffalo burger. Its thick, juicy and tasty and is made from South Dakota buffalo, not from the ones roaming around the interior of the island.
At $22.95 it’s not cheap. Pilots even call it “the $100 burger” because that’s about what it costs once they factor in fuel and landing fees.
The attached video is of a day PubClub.com flew to the Airport in the Sky to get the burger (yes, it’s that good). It shows the view from above of approaching and landing on the island, as well as scenic shots flying over Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, the Redondo Beach Pier and the Queen Mary in Long Beach.
Although as luck would have it, the grill at DC-3 was broken the day we were there so we didn’t get our buffalo burger. It’s fixed now.
DC-3 Grill Link: www.catalinadc3.com
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