The Shack

I have a lot of family and friends from Philadelphia including my Mom and my Sister's boyfriend, Marc. On a visit to LA, we all went to The Shack to watch the Eagles game. The Shack is the Philly bar in LA. Watching a game there is so much fun. Almost feels like you are in the upper deck of the old Vet with the chanting and singing Fly Eagles Fly. Also important is that they are known for their Shack Burger…

The Shack burger is basically a standard burger with a Louisiana Hot Link split and put on top. The burger is the standard 4 oz. patty topped with castup (that's how they spell it in Philly), mustard, mayo, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato and cheese on a standard hamburger bun. While the burger itself was good the kicker was really the hot link. Biting through all of the layers at once was a really great bite of food. Overall this burger does not compare to the others on the list, but if you want to watch some football and have a tasty burger then this is a good place.

Rustic Canyon

Just another Friday night out with my friends and we were going for burgers. The only hold up was where to go. We decided to go to Rustic Canyon Wine Bar. This place was recommended to me by my friend Nate. The picture in the link he sent made this look amazing. Overall this is a great place for a romantic evening. Probably not for three guys eating burgers and drinking beer. Highly recommended for a date night or romantic evening out. Now on to the burger.

The presentation is very impressive. It just looks like something you want to devour. Starting with the Niman Ranch beef used in the patty. This was very good meat and cooked perfectly. The bun was a brioche bun. Thankfully this one was not greasy and was a good complement to the rest of the burger. The meat was topped with cheddar cheese (seems to be the cheese of choice if not some kind of blue cheese) onion fondue, and bread and butter sweet pickles. On the side are some ketchup for the fries and an herb remoulade. The herb remoulade also came slathered on the burger. This was my one issue. I enjoyed the majority of it but they were too heavy handed with the remoulade and it over took the flavor of the whole burger.

Also, remember to add us on twitter. @bestburgerla. Changed the user name to be more search friendly. 

West 4th Jane

I drive by West 4^th Jane on my way to work every day. One day my coworker suggested we check it out for lunch. Unfortunately, they are only open from 5 PM on. So I went to grab a bite to eat and a beer before a softball game. The bar is very nice and has a great beer selection. The bartenders and waitresses all seem very friendly and it appears as though there are a lot of regulars that frequent the bar.

Now on to the burger. The burger is made from grass fed waygu beef which is very tasty. The patty was cooked perfectly and came on a rockenwagner bun with mixed greens and tomato. My issue with this burger is that it is very plain. For $11 dollars it should come with more. You can add caramelized onions and cheese for a dollar each. The rest of the burgers on so far came prepared the way they were supposed to be eaten. I wish this one was similarly made.

Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill

I wasn't expecting to have a burger, but I found myself at LA Live before a concert over at the Nokia Theater. My friend Neil and I decided to try Wolfgang Puck's Bar and Grill. Overall the atmosphere is what you expect from Wolfgang Puck; comfortable but classy. The menu is made up of choices for anyone and everyone.

Among many very delicious looking entrees, Neil and I decided to go for the burger. It came out on a bun covered with sesame and poppy seeds and a touch of salt. Neil likened it to weck from growing up in upstate New York. The bun was an excellent combination with the rest of the ingredients. The patty was made with very high quality meat and was cooked perfectly. It came with a garlic aioli and red onion marmalade. This was also the only burger on the list so far that came with pickles, which I love. Overall this burger was very tasty and I recommend it. 

Oh and this blog is joining the 21 century. Follow me on twitter @bestburgerla. 

Burger Kitchen

I have wanted to try Burger Kitchen since I found out about it. I think I originally found out about it from an ad on this very blog. Since then it has been gaining momentum and even appeared on some best burger lists. So as a birthday / finishing a half marathon celebration for my friend Ngoc, we decided to check this place out.

Trying to keep to my baseline of burgers prepared similarly, I ordered The Natural. This burger is made from 40-day aged prime beef and is served with butter lettuce, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and your choice of camembert or white cheddar cheese. All of this is served on a brioche bun. I was worried about the brioche bun as it reminded me of the Umami burger, which was too greasy for me. This bun was fortunately not greasy and had a nice buttery flavor. Overall the burger was good but not great. The cheese was overwhelming and the prime meat tasted too steak-y and not enough like a burger for my tastes.


Ngoc's boyfriend Matt ordered the Mountain Burger. This burger had BBQ sauce and jalapeño peppers. I noted this because it looked impressive and came with the peppers pretty much whole on the burger.

We also ordered the Australian meat pie. Every review I read about the restaurant, mentioned the great burgers but also said to get the meat pie. We shared the meat pie for the table and it was also a bit underwhelming. It was exactly as expected, meat surrounded by puff pastry.

Overall, the experience was underwhelming and did not inspire me to want to go back to try the other burgers.

The Yard

I know I have been slacking a bit in the burger eating department. So I decided to get back on track by going to The Yard. I have been to this gastro pub a few times before but have not had the burger yet. First let us talk about the restaurant. I love this place. My first visit was on a date and it is a great place to go and share a few dishes. The Chef roams around the restaurant and on that first occasion came up and explained the dish to us. The chef is Chris "CJ" Jacobson as seen on Top Chef. He just seems to have a good feel for putting together flavors.

Now onto the burger. When it first comes out, it has the look of a good burger. The burger comes with grilled onions, thousand island, heirloom tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. Kicker to this burger is you start eating it and all of a sudden you realize there is a hint of bacon; stealth bacon if you will. There is no mention of bacon in the description. I examined the burger and could not see any bacon. MY only thought was that the bacon was ground into the patty. Usually, when comparing burgers, using bacon seems like cheating or covering up the rest of the burger. With that being said, this burger had a perfect amount of bacon. The bacon worked with the rest of the flavors rather than what seems like a masking agent.



Overall this is a very delicious burger. I feel it still lacks the originality or sophistication of the Foundry or Father's Office burgers. Check out the updated rankings on the right.

Boneyard Bistro

A few years ago we found a new BBQ restaurant from a classically trained chef called Boneyard Bistro. The menu includes your typical brisket, ribs and pulled pork. It also has some interesting items like the BBQ burrito and one time had kangaroo as a special. It also has a great selection of beers and recently expanded to include a nice bar area. As a lover of good BBQ, I was excited to try it. Suffice it to say the BBQ was not great, but we discovered they make some good burgers. 

 
On the night of our visit they had a special appetizer we just had to get. It was sliders with a twist. They came with cheddar cheese, pickle, bacon, mustard and the kicker was a bun of homemade glazed donuts. I have heard of this being done with Krispy Kreme donuts at county fairs, but this was the first time I tried it. It sounds like something you would not want to eat or a dare back in elementary school. I have to say, they were actually amazing. All of the flavors worked together. I think the homemade donuts were the best part. 

On to the real burger. I ordered the classic with blue cheese. It came with bacon and a smoked onion aioli. The burger is presented very well on the plate, especially the Nic's Rant & Ranch, which is pictured below in all of its high stacked glory. When cut in half I noticed it was a little over cooked but still juicy. All in all it was a good burger but nothing spectacular. The bocan actually didn't help the burger and the rest was kind of bland. I have had the other burgers there and they were a bit better than the standard burger, this one left me unfulfilled.

Umami

I feel like Umami Burger has taken the city by storm. I had never heard about it until I saw it featured on the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate." Now it seems as though there is a new one opening every month. I recently found out about one right by my office in Santa Monica. The location only had a few tables inside but a few large tables outside for multiple parties. 

 
Since I felt I should try to keep the tastings comparable, I ordered the Port & Stilton Burger. The burger comes with Stilton blue cheese and port-caramelized onions. The burger had good flavor. They used the right amount of blue cheese so that it didn't overpower the rest of the flavors. The sweet port-caramelized onions were sweet, and complimented the rest of the burger well. The issue I had is with the bun. They seemed to butter the bun and it came out looking good, but was really greasy. All in all it is a pretty good burger, but not the best thing I ever ate.


 
UPDATE: As Umami is the closest gourmet burger place to my work, I figure to eat there more than the others. I recently went back and tried a different burger. This time I went for the SoCal Burger. I think this is supposed to be an upgraded version of an In-N-Out burger. It comes with their homemade bun, butter lettuce, caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes, and of course spread. I ordered it without cheese because that's how I usually get my double-doubles. Unfortunately, my opinion has not changed. The burger was well constructed, all of the ingredients were fresh and the burger was perfectly cooked. The buns are still too greasy and make the burger feel like it was soaked in oil. I will probably go back again, hopefully not for a work lunch, to enjoy a burger and one of the fine beers they have. But its position on my list remains the same.

8 oz

The latest adventure came for my Dad's birthday. Upon hearing about the blog and all of the great burgers I was eating he decided that he wanted to partake. We decided to try 8 oz. Burger Bar. Originally started in Miami, 8 oz. is a perfect fit in Los Angeles. The place is unassuming and low key. There is a great selection of local beers and friendly wait staff. We even had a celebrity sighting in one Luke Wilson. The owner was also circling around and stopped to chat with us. He was very passionate about his food and the quality of his restaurant. He also mentioned there is a good chance of more locations around the country and the city.

 
Now on to the meat! I ordered the Melrose which comes with arugula, garlic roasted tomatoes and red onion marmalade. The meat was perfectly cooked and juicy. The peppery arugula worked in perfect harmony with the sweet red onion marmalade and tomatoes. The best part of the burger is the red onion marmalade. It doesn't overwhelm the burger and the rest of the condiments. When you go, and you will go, you must try the fried olives and the truffle potato skins. They are amazing.

 
I may get some flak for this but I think I liked it better than Father's Office. As stated before I think I need to go back to Father's Office but in Santa Monica for a fair comparison.


 

The Foundry

So here we are at last. The Foundry is #1 on the list. Chef Eric Greenspan has created a great place to go for good food and a great time. He walks around, greets the customers and makes everyone feel welcome. Our waitress Stacy was also fantastic. She was playful and all about our burger adventure asking us where we thought the best burgers are and gave us the run down on the burger there.

 
Speaking of the burger at the Foundry, I have eaten it once before. The first time I had this burger it knocked my socks off. The burger comes open with melted cheddar cheese coating the patty and arugula, baby cucumbers and sun-dried tomatoes. On the side are three dishes used to top your burger. The first is a homemade aioli. The second is caramelized onions. The last is the bacon pineapple relish. All of these components, while they seem odd and different, work together well on the burger. The real show stopper here is the lightly toasted Hawaiian bread used for the rolls. The roll is sweet and soft and works as a texture against the onions, relish, cucumbers and meat. 


I have eaten at three places mentioned, including the top two, on the original list. So far I agree with the LAist. The Foundry burger is so unique and well put together; I feel it deserves its own category. There are many more places to go. We are always looking for suggestions as well and your thoughts on your favorite burger. Go eat and report back!

The Counter

I found out about The Counter about two years ago. Since then, it seems as though it has multiplied constantly. They now have over 20 locations throughout the US and overseas. The great thing (and possibly worst thing) about The Counter is that you can build your own burger. You get to choose your patty, bun, cheese and toppings. You can even get it without a bun if you so desire.

On this occasion I got a 1/3 pound beef patty with Danish blue cheese, pickles, grilled onions, lettuce blend and roasted garlic aioli on a hamburger bun. As with every other burger I have written about so far, the patty was perfectly cooked with right amount of pink in the middle. I believe this is the first time I have ordered the blue cheese on my burger. The blue cheese is very strong but tasty. Overall I have never been disappointed with the food at the counter. I do highly recommend the horseradish mayo; simply divine. It should be used on everything. It comes with the crispy onion strings, which is how I discovered it. So go, order it and enjoy!

Bar Food

The original purpose of this blog was to document our adventure through the best burgers in LA list. But as I have come to realize, there are many good burgers that didn't even make the honorable mention of the list. One such example is at Bar Food on Wilshire. I was there recently for happy hour before a softball game. I usually stop off prior to a game for food and a beer as I play more relaxed afterward. I found Bar Food a few months ago. It is a great place with high-end bar food and a great selection of beers including a few that they make themselves.

The burger does not compare to Father's Office as it is not as gourmet. As far as regular burgers go this one is pretty good. The burger comes on a typical sesame seed bun with cheddar cheese and what they call bacon jam. A good sign was when I cut the burger in half to get a good look at the layers, and the patty oozed juices. I like my burgers medium and this one was perfectly pink throughout. The cheese was melted and a little bit gooey. I did not get a lot of the bacon flavor out of the "jam", but it was tasty. As far as burgers go this is certainly not the greatest. But for a happy hour burger and for only $6 ($9 normally) this is a great deal and certainly goes well with the great beer selection.

Father’s Office

When thinking about gourmet burgers in Los Angeles, most Angelinos would immediately think of Father's Office. There are two locations, the original being in Santa Monica with a second one in Culver City. Our visit for the purposes if this adventure we visited the Culver City location. Neither location is open for lunch, which is a shame because there is no better lunch than a good burger and fries. The burger at Father's Office is only made one way, their way. No substitutions available. It comes with caramelized onions, bacon, a blend of blue and gruyere cheese, topped with arugula. It is just about perfection on a bun. Perfectly cooked meat smothered in caramelized onions and melted cheese.


 

I had very high expectations as this was always touted as the best burger in LA. Truth be told, I came away feeling a little disappointed. While the patty was good and the arugula was the perfect complement, I had a hard time tasting the gruyere and blue cheeses over the caramelized onions. As a lover of blue cheese, I wish the flavor came through more. I am hoping this was an off night and maybe a second visit would prove to alleviate some of the disappointment. I have also heard the Santa Monica location serves the better burger but is also more crowded. Next time we will fight the crowds to see if there is a difference.

Welcome to our Adventure!

Welcome to our Adventure in Burgerland!

As you may or may not know, Los Angeles is home of many of the finest hamburgers ever created. Earlier this year, my friend Sean discovered the website LAist.com published their list of the best burgers in LA. Upon sharing this list with our other friend Neil and myself, the three of us decided to set off on an adventure of the ground beef (and possibly turkey or other protein) variety. Our adventure will take us through the list by LAist (link found here) and wherever else we find an upscale burger on the menu!