Hot’s Cantina

Hot’s Cantina is a neighborhood bar around the corner from where I grew up. My friend knows the owners so he is always suggesting we go there to see his friend and maybe get some free stuff. It is a pretty cool place to hang out and watch a game. This type of place is great for a neighborhood. I wish it were there when I still lived around the corner. Now on to the burger.

I got the Hot’s Famous Burger minus the avocado, as I am not a fan. Let me start with the meat. It was cooked to perfect medium and had good flavor on its own. Not the best I have ever had but good. Next is the bun. This is the biggest fault with the burger. The bun was a fairly generic hamburger bun and the patty was too small for the size of the bun. The burger is topped with a Mexican enchilada cheese, cilantro, tomato and grilled onions. The flavors all work very well. The best part of the entire burger is what they call hamburger sauce. The sauce is a tangy spicy mayo/Russian dressing combo. It really does steal the show. Overall, this is a very good burger so if you are in Northridge, you should stop by and give the burger a try.

Blue Dog Tavern

It was my friend Brandon’s birthday, and I thought, what better way to celebrate than trying a new burger joint? I decided it was finally time to check out Blue Dog Tavern. I mean it is about 5 minutes from where I live and I have been hearing good things. When I first heard I could not figure out where this new place was. Then I heard that it was a former dentist’s office then I knew this could be something great. The bar has a great atmosphere. It is a mix between a sports bar, gastropub and a dive bar. You can also send them photos of your dogs and they will put them up in restaurant. They also have a very good beer selection. It seems like a good place to hang out and have some beers while not being too much of a dive or club.

And now on to the burger. Brandon ordered the Chi Chi Burger and our other friend Brian ordered The Dickens. In trying to keep with my standard burger, I ordered the Blue Dog Burger. I got it without the mushrooms because as I mentioned before I am not a big fan of mushrooms and the other burgers did not have them. The bun was a standard white bread bun. It held together well but did not add much to the burger other than keeping everything together. The meat is a house packed blend. I am not sure if they just cook everything one way but the waitress did not ask us how we wanted out meat cooked. It came out a little above medium but was still juicy. The burger came topped with Swiss cheese, caramelized onions and their homemade root beer barbeque sauce. Upon taking the first bite, there seemed to be a lack of flavor. I tried the meat by itself and there was not a lot of flavor in the meat. The most flavor I got was out of the onions. I also tried The Dickens burger and the same bland taste existed there as well.

Overall, the burger was satisfying and the fries that came with it were very tasty. And it was not the best burger, I plan on going back to Blue Dog Tavern and trying the other burgers and to hang out and grab a beer. I think you should do the same.

The Infield

It finally stopped raining enough for me to take my car to the car wash. Luck for me the car wash I went to is right next to The Infield. This place is awesome. It is completely baseball themed. The menu looks like the old style scoreboards. The tables are all about baseball teams. The one I sat at had Yankee facts and pictures on it. The best part is the chairs are all old stadium chairs. They had some from Angels Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, and my choice Wrigley Field. Not that I am a Cubs fan but having been there before, it is the sentimental choice.

Now on to the dogs. I had a Groupon so I needed to get to $12 dollars. This worked out so I could try two different kinds. The first I honored my heritage by getting the Koufax Dog. It is a standard Hebrew national hotdog served with your choice of toppings. I chose ketchup, mustard and onions. The dog was perfectly cooked and was nice and plump.

The second choice I wanted to get one with the Sabretta dog in it. The person at the window recommended the Deli Dog. The dog came topped with deli mustard and sauerkraut. The Sabretta dog had great snap and again was cooked perfect. Nice and red inside.

If you haven’t figured it out yet; April Fools! But seriously, if you are looking a good place to eat hot dogs and hang out, check out The Infield. And follow them on Twitter (@theinfield). They have all sorts of deals every day.