Slater’s 50/50

I first heard about Slater’s 50/50 from my friend Tim. He told of a burger patty that was made of 50% beef and 50% bacon. More on that later. I showed up at Slater’s prior to going to the U2 concert at Angel Stadium. I don’t find myself in Orange County that often, so I figure I should take advantage of this opportunity. The restaurant is located in a shopping center and is very unassuming. When you walk in, you are taken back by the décor of a really cool high end sports bar. Everyone there was very friendly and out going and was a really great place to hang out and check out a game.

Since I figured I wouldn’t be out there again, I had to try the 50/50 burger. As I wanted to try to keep it even, I built my own burger (very similar concept to The Counter). I selected a 1/3 pound 50/50 patty. I was not asked how I wanted it cooked, but I am assuming because it is not all one type of meat the cooking can only be done one way. The patty was definitely juicy, but I feel like it was more pork-like than burger. The bacon flavor completely overwhelmed the beef flavor. It was mostly smoky but a little too rich. I also chose the white brioche bun. As I have said before and will continue to say until something changes, brioche buns do not need to be greasy. I know they are mostly butter, but I have had very good ones and allow you to pick up your burger without feeling the need for a shower afterwards. Finally, I topped the burger with cheddar cheese, grilled onions, dill pickle chips, baby field greens and garlic aioli. The toppings were very fresh and added some nice crunch, but were mostly overshadowed by the patty.

True Food Kitchen

For my birthday, my department took me out for lunch and we decided to try one of the new restaurants at Santa Monica Place. After looking at the menus and realizing that we wanted to sit outside, we decided on True Food Kitchen. This restaurant is perfect for Santa Monica. When you walk in, the vibe is that of organic place and most of the menu is locally sourced or organically grown. They also have vegetarian/vegan and gluten free selections. Now you might be thinking, seems a little too healthy to have a good a burger. You will have to keep reading to find out how good it is.

The burger is made from grass fed bison. This is my first bison burger and I must say I am fan. It tastes very similar to beef and as I understand it is leaner. Even though it is a leaner meat the burger was still very juicy and had great flavor. The bun is a flax bun. This type of bun is made from whole grains and flaxseed. It was not the best tasting bun as I usually have a butter filled brioche so this was a little bit of a change. Even though it was health-food style it tasted pretty good. The burger usually comes with mushrooms, which I have mentioned in previous post that I do not care for on my burgers. It also comes with caramelized onions which were sweet and tasty as well at topped with mayo and Parmesan cheese.

Overall this was a very tasty burger. One downside is that it cost $16 which is a little more than what you would want to spend on a simple burger such as this.

Westside Tavern

I have been wanting to try Westside Tavern since it opened, but I was never in the area for dinner. So recently we went to check out a movie at The Landmark, which is a great theater for watching movies. What better way to check out a movie than grabbing a good dinner beforehand. The restaurant is very modern in design and has a fairly simple but elegant menu. It felt like I was dinning at Houston’s or one of their many restaurants. They also have a decent beer and wine menu as well. I highly recommend it and hope to go back again and try the other entrees.

Now to the main event! The burger is very generous in size. This was one of the first burgers I had trouble finishing. This was a good thing because the burger had excellent flavor. The overall taste was very meaty and the condiments complimented those flavors very well. The patty tasted freshly ground and had so much flavor. It was also cooked perfectly, which makes all the difference.The egg bun was like a lighter brioche bun and worked very well, but became a little bit soggy on the bottom due to the juicy patty. The arugula is always a nice touch and the roaster garlic aioli was delicious. The cheddar didn’t add much flavor and the caramelized onions didn’t really come through flavor-wise. Overall this was a very good burger and deserves its high ranking.

BRÜ Haus

BRÜ Haus is a new gastro pub in Brentwood. I heard about it from my coworker Kien because his friend is the head chef. We had been waiting a while for this place to open because we had a sort of connection and we are always looking for somewhere to go to grab a drink and a bite after work. Unfortunately there are no special happy hour prices, but overall the food and drinks were not overly expensive. The place has a great vibe and got pretty busy around 7 PM the Friday we were there. They do specialize in German-style beers and sausages with all sorts of varieties to choose from which is very similar to Wurstküche downtown. Setting BRÜ Haus apart a bit is the better location and the fact that they server a burger along with the sausages.

Speaking of the burger (look I’ve learned how to transition), I tried it on my first stop in. The overall presentation is very nice and it looks like a good hearty burger. The first thing I noticed was that the brioche bun resembled that of the bun at Umami. If you remember my view of this bun, I was not pleased. This bun did not change my mind. It was very tasty and had a good texture, but overall it was way too greasy and made me not want to pick up the burger. The meat was cooked well although it was probably cooked a little past medium, but was still very juicy and flavorful. The burger came topped with butter lettuce and very ripe tomatoes. The menu said it came with gruyere cheese, but it tasted more like American cheese to me. It also came with a homemade sauce they called 1K. Seemed like a take on thousand island and it worked very well with the rest of the burger. I got the burger with fries and there was a special spicy mayo that is very good on burger as well.


Overall this burger is very good and I recommend it highly. I just hope they think about switching out the bun for a less greasy brioche or maybe a pretzel roll since it is a German-style pub.

Prohibition Burgers and Beer

I have driven by Prohibition Burgers and Beer a few times and decided I needed to check it out. I mean the name of the place has beer and burgers in it. Upon entering I was greeted with extreme excitement as I was the first to arrive. The wait staff was very helpful and very attentive. The theme of the restaurant is 1930’s gangsters and all of the burgers are named as such. The décor is very modern swanky. The beer selection was decent. I could see this place becoming a great place to hangout and grab a burger and a beer in the valley. There will also be TVs playing mob movies. At the end of the meal, the manager came over and asked us for our opinion and wanted real feedback. The restaurant has not been open for very long and they are still fine tuning the menu. I plan to return after a while to see if there were any changes. But here is my initial review.

On to the burger. I ordered the John Dillinger. I am not sure what type of meat they use, but it cooked well and had very good flavor by itself. My only complaint is that the patty fell apart while I was eating the burger. The bun is a standard brioche style bun but seemed a little stiff and the bottom became a little bit soggy. It also had a garlic butter melted into the top of the bun. The burger came with apple wood bacon caramelized onions, gruyere, white cheddar, and mozzarella. The bacon was used well since it complimented the flavor of the burger without overpowering it. The mixed greens were a nice touch and the onions added good flavor. I wish there would have been more of them. The cheese seemed like a waste since the mozzarella overpowered the other two cheeses. Although I couldn’t taste all of the cheeses the mozzarella flavor worked with the rest of the burger. The one thing missing was some sort of sauce. I felt it could have added some more flavor and made it a little bit less dry.

Pete's Burgers

I went to a speaker series event at USC and my friends Ngoc and Tim wanted to go for burgers afterward. I went to my resources and had a couple of places in mind. We didn’t want to move the cars all the way downtown and we all live in somewhat different directions. IT was also around 10 pm when we finally left campus and headed over. We finally decided to go to Pete’s Burgers. I had driven by this place so many times while going to school at USC and I never stopped in for a bite. The building is kind of a Victorian style exterior, and the inside is very 50’s style diner. As we were there so late we didn’t get a chance to hang out inside as they were closing down, so we got it to go. This is the first entry on this blog of a standard cheap burger. I ordered a burger and fries and the total came out to $5.25. Ngoc ordered the pastrami burger (second picture) and Tim ordered the bacon burger. We also tried the onion rings, which were a little stale tasting. I am not sure how to do that with a deep fryer, but they did.  

On to the meat! This is your standard fast food style burger. The patty is ¼ pound. The bun is a standard sesame seed bun. The burger comes with lettuce, tomato, chopped onions and Thousand Island dressing. It is superior to a fast food chain, but can’t quite compare to the fancier gourmet burgers. Overall, if you are around SC and wanting to get a quick bite to eat and burger, this is the place to go.

Mad Bull’s Tavern

Mad Bull's Tavern (@madbullstavern) is a new gastropub that opened in the Valley. I was very excited when I found out about this place since there were not many late night places to hang out on this side of the hill. The place is perfect for watching a game since they have TVs all around the walls of the bar. There is a great beer list consisting of microbrews, imports and the usual fare. The menu is typical of bar food, but with a homemade twist. They also have a nice happy hour every night from 4-7 PM.

I decided to try the MBT Burger. It is made of 100% angus beef. The meat was cooked a little over medium, but was not dry. The burger came topped with manchego cheese, bacon and crispy onion stings. The cheese was good and not overpowering. Fried onion strings are always a good complement to a burger. The issue was with the bacon. To me, bacon needs to be a complimentary part of the burger, otherwise it overtakes the flavor of the burger. This burger was case in point. Moist of the flavor I got from each bite was bacon. Overall it is a solid burger. I do recommend Mad Bull's for a good time, the burger left a little something to be desired.