Minetta Tavern

This is my last in my New York series. It was a good run and there were many more I did not get to try. I guess I will have to make another trip. Oh well.

Minetta Tavern was one of the most recommended places. Even after my trip it seemed people were still telling me about it. I went here before going to the Comedy Cellar for a night of comedy. Minetta Tavern is not what you typically think of as a tavern. First off, you should make reservations ahead of time unless you want to wait a long time for a table. When we got there, the bar was packed and we could barely step into the restaurant. Secondly, it felt more like a French café than a tavern. The service felt like a French café as well. I think we got our food before we got our drinks.

I ordered the Minetta burger. Most people afterwards said I should have gotten the Black Label burger, but I was going for the namesake burger. The meat was good but not amazing. It was cooked very well as you can see from the picture. The bun was soft but held up and didn’t get too soggy with the juicy meat. It came with caramelized onions and sharp cheddar cheese. The cheese was very strong but it was a good cheddar so I quite enjoyed that. The onions were flavorful but not overpowering. The biggest issue with the burgers here are the price. Seemed to be a little overpriced at $17 for the Minetta and $26 for the Black Label. But this seemed to be par for the course in NY.

Shake Shack

Shake Shack was one of the places I knew I needed to check out when in New York. I had heard from several people that it is the place to go. There are several locations and there seem to be more every time I visit the website. It started as a hotdog cart in the Madison Square Park in New York. They are known for their burgers, fries and what was most recommended, the custard. The custard is like a cross between ice cream and mouse like textures. There are some standard flavors, but you should check the website for the custard calendar since they have some special flavors. I tried the marshmallow milk chocolate flavor, which hit the spot in the August heat of New York.

The burger is more of a fast food style burger. For my west coast peeps, it is closer to In & Out then Fatburger. I ordered the Shack Burger. The meat was good and flavorful for the level of burger you are getting. The bun was a little soggy, but I am not sure if it was from the humidity or just the way it comes. It came topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and shack sauce. The shack sauce was a little underwhelming and the rest of the toppings were good. Overall, it is a good cheap burger and the fries, shakes and custards are definitely worth the trip.

Smithfield

Post number 2 from New York is for a place called Smithfield. Now this was not on the list of recommendations I received, but I was just looking for a place close to my hotel in Chelsea to watch a game and grab a bite to eat. After looking at some reviews, I decided to checkout Smithfield. After asking around later, not many people I know knew this place even existed. I think it is more of a soccer bar, but it did just fine to watch some American football. The bar was pretty full and happening when I got there. It seemed to full of regulars and everyone seemed to kind of know everyone else around the bar. In what seems to be a theme from my trip, the fries here were also very good.

Now for the surprising part of the post. I think this might have been my favorite burger on my trip. They grind the meat in house. The blend is brisket, short rib and sirloin and it was delicious. I ordered the Black & Blue burger. As I said, the meat was very flavorful and really showed through the rest of the ingredients. The bun was a brioche style bun, but was not overly greasy. The bottom bun did get really soggy from the juices. The burger came topped with Maytag blue cheese, pickled red onions, baby greens and mini pickled cucumbers. All in all, this was a surprisingly good burger.

Spotted Pig

After going to San Diego, my next trip was east to New York. Being my first time in the Big Apple, I felt I needed to try a few of the burgers there. I got several recommendations, and did not get to them all, but I think I got a good representation of the burgers in the city.

The Spotted Pig is in the West Village. It is a pretty small place with a mix of interesting small plates to share and some entrée's you might not want to give up. The room is pretty dark and you might wait a while for a table, but the bar is cozy and the bartender will be happy to make you an interesting cocktail while you wait. I know this is a burger blog, but the shoestring fries that come with the burger were exceptional. I normally prefer steak fries because I like the potato flavor along with the fried flavor. They had a nice amount of saltiness and herbs that did not overwhelm the potato.

Speaking of the burger, this is as simple as burgers get. We are talking patty, bun and cheese. The meat had good beef flavor. It was not the best meat that I have had in a burger, but it was definitely good. The bun appeared to be either homemade or fresh from one of the bakeries in area. It was soft and chewy and absorbed the juices of the meat but did not get very soggy. They used Roquefort cheese, which is known as one of the more pungent cheeses. The cheese really wasn’t as stinky as I would have imagined, and added a good balance to burger. Overall, this was a good burger, but felt it was missing something without some onion or greens to add texture or maybe increase the meat flavor.

Crazee Burger

This is the final post on my San Diego burger tour. And why not save the strangest burgers for last? For the last one I went to Crazee Burger. Crazee Burger is known for their off the wall burger creations. One had all sorts of pig in it (bacon, ham sausage etc.). Others include venison, gator and whatever they can get their hands on. The restaurant is in the Northpark part of town, which has all sorts of restaurants and shops. It is a great place to hangout out and there is also plenty of nightlife too. There is also a second location in Old Town San Diego. The interior of the restaurant is pretty basic. It almost feels like a 70’s joint with some wood paneling. They have a bunch of good beers on tap and plenty of sides to go with the burgers.

I ordered the Dansk burger, which is their standard burger with blue cheese. They use a brioche style bun, which had nice chew and held together well. The meat is angus beef and is cooked either pink or done. I got mine pink which amounts to medium cooked meat. It was nice and pink inside and very juicy. The meat was good but not amazing flavor-wise. The burger was topped with lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickles. All of the veggies were very fresh and had nice crunch for add flavor and texture. The best part of the burger was the blue cheese. Usually blue cheese has a very strong flavor and most places put too much on the burger and it can overpower the rest of the flavors. This was not the case here. The blue cheese they used was on the mild side and was very creamy. It was a great compliment to the rest of the burger. Now that I have tried a more standard burger, the next I am in the area, I think I may need to go back to try one of the other burgers. I highly recommend you do the same.

Hodad’s

In my last post I wrote about one of the San Diego burger staples. Now I am going to write about the other. Hodad’s seems to be quickly becoming the official burger of San Diego. The original location is in Ocean Beach. They have also added a location in downtown and now even have a location in Petco Park, home of the hometown Padres. Since we wanted to check out a Padres game during my visit, we decided to go to the Hodad’s in Petco park. Since it was inside the ballpark , there was probably a little bit of a different atmosphere inside, but it had the old diner feel and was pretty busy considering it was a sit down place rather than getting your burger and heading to your seats.

The burgers are also pretty standard burgers style-wise. They come on a sesame seed bun. The patties are 1/4 pound beef patties with a hamburger stand taste. The thing that sets this burger apart is the bacon. Now if you read my blog, I am critical of places that use bacon or other toppings that overpower the meat. At Hodad’s, they have special process for cooking the bacon and for a sort of bacon patty to go on the burger. Whatever they do, it is the right way to put bacon on the burger. The patty still shines through and you get the good salty, smoky bacon flavor. The burger comes with mayo, mustard, onion, ketchup, pickle, tomato, and lettuce. All of the toppings were very fresh and added some nice texture and flavor to the burger. Overall, this is a very good burger. It may not be the greatest burger you have ever had or make you change the way you think about burgers, but it is very good and if you are in San Diego, I highly recommend it.

Rocky’s Crown Pub

In writing this blog, I get many people giving me suggestions on places to try. Pretty much every time I ask where to go in San Diego, Rocky’s was the choice. It is located in the Mission Beach area close to Sea World. It is a tiny place with bar seating and just a few tables. You have to be pretty aggressive to get a table as they are first come first served. I highly recommend getting friendly and trying to share a table with some people not in your party. They have some good beers on tap, TVs around to watch a game, but most people are there for the burger.

The burger is pretty standard, but I can see why people like it. There is only one burger here. You can get it either with cheese or without. The patties seem like they are hand formed as they were not the standard circular shape you usually see. The meat was good, but not a ton of flavor. They let the meat speak for itself. The burger comes with iceberg lettuce, fresh tomato, red onions and lots of pickles. This burger is really good and juicy. It kind of reminded me of a burger you would make at home and enjoy in your backyard with your friends.

Alchemy

This is the first in a series of posts from a trip down to San Diego. I had a lot of fun and had some good burgers down there.

The first place I went to was Alchemy. It is a sort of gastropub style restaurant with a tapas like feel. It is located in the South Park area of San Diego. I highly recommend this area as there are lots of cool little restaurants and bars and its less touristy than the Gaslamp district. They had a good selection of beer and wine and some of which were quite small but everything looked very good and some things that I may have to go back on a second visit to try. They also have a cool event called “Dining with Six Strangers”, where you get to try a three course meal with 5 people you don’t know. What better way to meet new friends than over a delicious meal?

On to the burger. The overall presentation of the burger made it very appealing. You could tell the toppings were very fresh. The meat was cooked perfectly. It was incredibly juicy. They use Paso Prime grass fed beef, which I think limited some of the flavor since grass fed beef is usually a bit leaner. The bun was a brioche style bun but was cut with too much bun on the top so the bottom got very soggy. The burger was topped by tomatoes,bibb lettuce, housemade pickles, onions and mahon cheese. Like I said before, the veggies were very fresh and the pickles were very good. The best part was the mahon cheese. It was the first time I have had this type of cheese, let alone on a burger, and it was a perfect complement to the rest of the flavor of the burger. This was a very good burger and great way to start my burger tour of San Diego.

Bleeker Street

Several people have recommended Bleeker Street since it opened a few years ago. It is a New York style restaurant inspired by Greenwich Village. The interior feels like a cross between an outdoor café and a gastropub. The place is located in the Village Walk in Tarzana. It is a great area with all sorts of shops and restaurants. The one thing I will say is that the restaurant seems to be a little over priced. Most items on the menu feel very similar to a gastropub but are priced like a fine dining restaurant.

 On to the burger. The meat was Angus grass fed beef. While it tasted fresh, it did not have that great meaty flavor and was a little over charred as well as being cooked to more of a medium well than a pink medium. The bun was one of the better buns I have had in a while. It was a brioche style bun and had good chew and held together nicely. The burger came topped with organic greens, vine ripen tomato, smoked gouda cheese, crispy onions and roasted garlic aioli. First off, the smoked gouda did not add much to the flavor of the burger. It did not melt on the burger and I got none of that smoky flavor. The greens and the tomato were very fresh. I wish there were more of the onions because they were very flavorful. Overall, I was a little disappointed because it came recommended and it was overpriced for what you got.

Tompkins Square

Tompkins Square was actually one of the first places recommended to me when I first started the blog. So I have been wanting to try it for a while. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thought it was going to be more of a bar scene. It turns out that it is actually more restaurant and chill place to hang out and catch a game. They have a pretty good beer selection and there was a pretty good vibe in the restaurant.

I ordered The Eddie. At first glance, I noticed the bun. It seemed as though the bun was a sort of brioche style bun but seemed at first to lack the special quality of a good bun. Once finishing the burger I realized this bun worked well since it did not get overly soggy and held together. The meat when tasted alone was a little salty and had okay not outstanding flavor. It was cooked to a perfect medium. The Eddie also came with blue cheese, cracked pepper and caramelized onions. I did not get the cracked pepper flavor. But the onions were a nice touch and the the blue cheese was creamy and not over powering, which is impressive in its own right. Overall, if you are in the area and looking for a chill place to hang and get a good burger, check out Tompkins Square.

 

Plan Check Bar

Since I work on the Westside of LA, I tend to check out most of the places in the area for burgers. A couple of my coworkers found Plan Check Bar and I had to try it. The restaurant is kind of tucked away from a major street, but is worth checking out. It has a chill gastropub-like environment. They have a great list of beers and wine. One of the people I went to with also got the fried chicken and they said it was very delicious. I may need to go back and try that next time.

I order the PCB burger. All of the burgers come with Akaushi red wagyu beef. The meat was good and flavorful but not the most flavorful I have had. It also seemed very salty. The waitress let us know that they salt the patties before they cook them, which is normal, but I think they were a little heavy handed this time. The coworkers I went with said that usually the burgers are not this salty. They use what they call a “crunch bun”. I am not sure what the crunch refers to but the bun was soft and held together nicely. It came topped with americanized dashi cheese, house made pickles, schmaltz onions. I personally wasn’t a fan of the cheese. It basically seemed like a fancy version of the cheese used in fast food restaurants. I think because of the cheese and the saltiness, I really didn’t get much flavor from the pickles and the none at all from the onions. It seemed like it was an off day, so I should go back because I could tell there was potential for a good burger, but on this day is was only average.

5 Guys Burgers and Fries

I finally got around to trying 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. I had heard about it for a while. I even remember taking some east coasters to In-N-Out and having then proclaim that 5 Guys is way better. I ended going to the West Hollywood location with my brother-in-law. When you walk in, it is obvious why there are the comparisons happen so often. Growing up going to In-N-Out, I felt like 5 Guys was a bizarro version, like when the Seinfeld crew had to go to Reggie’s instead of the usual diner. It did seem a little more low key, it more of a Fatburger vibe to me than In-N-Out.

As for the burger, you can get any combination of toppings you want. I chose lettuce, ketchup, mustard, pickles and grilled onions. The burgers are made to order and the meat had really good flavor for a fast food burger. The bun is a standard sesame seed bun. I think there could have been more flavor from the grilled onions and the rest of the toppings seemed a little scarce. I think that was the difference between In-N-Out and 5 Guys. In-N-Out’s grilled onions and and spread set that burger apart. Honestly, the burger tasted closer to a Fatburger, which I like more than 5 Guys as well. But these are clearly the class of fast food burgers in my opinion and this point each person probably has their favorite. Which one is yours? I would love to know!

Sauce on Hampton

I found out about Sauce on Hampton on Facebook through the owner/chef who I went to high school with. From what I remember of him in high school, I never expected him to be a chef, granted there was a long time between when we were in school and when he opened the restaurant. Boy am I glad to be wrong on this one. I have been to Sauce a few times prior to trying the burger. The idea behind the restaurant is to bring farm fresh local and organic ingredients to the customers. This is a great concept, especially in the Venice/Santa Monica area. The food there is so fresh and flavorful, that I just feel good after the meal and want to go back for more. I highly recommend you check it out. There is also a chance that you may get a homemade cookie on house. Trust you don’t want to miss out on those.

On to the burger. My expectations, based on the style of restaurant, was fresh ingredients and good meaty flavor. The burger delivers on that account. The meat was fresh and had that great beefy flavor I ordered the Red, Wheat and Bleu burger, as it was the closest to the other burgers I have reviewed, and the one that seemed most appealing to me at the time. The burgers come on a whole wheat bun, which on the surface seems like it would be dry and boring, but it was actually quite soft and held together well. All the burgers are topped with spinach, fresh tomatoes, and homemade aioli and Dijon mustard. I didn’t get too much of the aioli or the mustard but the greens and the tomato were very fresh and added to the burger. Finally, the burger I ordered came with blue cheese and grilled onions. This was the one negative I had for the burger. Usually blue cheese is overwhelming, but I thought the burger could have used a little more. Same with the grilled onions. A few more would have really given off that sweet flavor and added something extra to the burger.

Port of Call

I was in New Orleans for Jazzfest and I just had to find the best burger there. So I asked around and Port of Call was the consensus best burger that I had to try. One of the people in our group is part of the New York burger club and she said Port of Call is the place to try. It was voted best of New Orleans a few times as well. The restaurant is at one side of the French Quarter. This is a small place and they do not take reservations. When we got there, at first we couldn’t figure out how to put our name down, but then we found one of the employees with a small note pad writing down names. The wait was over an hour! And people were still coming in. So grabbed a drink and staked out the bar. We eventually got seats at the bar where it is first come first serve. Manners should be left at the door when you are trying to get a seat since people are pretty ruthless and will grab the seat from you if you don’t sit down right away. Another interesting twist, was that they do not have a deep fryer, which is strange in New Orleans. So instead of fries, the burgers come with a baked potato. I highly suggest this over the other sides. It just seems to work together.

These are no frills burgers. The bun is a standard sesame bun. It really acts as a vessel for the rest of the burger. The patties are ground fresh daily. They do not skimp on the size of the patties. The meat was cooked to a perfect medium and was very juicy. I felt it lacked some flavor for being freshly ground. I am not sure what it was, I think we get spoiled here in Los Angeles with the quality of the meat we get in our burgers. The burger came with lettuce, tomato and pickles. You can also choose to get cheese and/or mushrooms. I got mine with cheese. They literally pile shredded cheese all over the burger, but it would have been nice if the cheese was a little bit melted. Overall, this burger is a well executed standard burger.

 

The Gorbals

I have been wanting to try The Gorbals for a while now. Once I found out that they had bacon wrapped matzoh balls, I was in. The restaurant is located in an old hotel. I actually had trouble figuring out where it was at first. It is very strange when you walk in from an old building to the clean modern look of the restaurant. The menu is very eclectic and has some interesting takes on old classics, including the matzoh balls. We also tried the popcorn chicken gizzards, roasted marrow, and the mofongo. All of the dishes had distinct flavors. The menu also changes every so often, so I may need to go back to check out the fried chicken and ribs which are supposed to be amazing but were not on the menu when I was there.

 On to the burger. My first observations was that this is a messy burger. I went to cut it half and the burger fell apart! The bun was nicely toasted sesame seed bun. The meat was well seasoned but wasn’t the great meaty flavor of the burgers I have at the top of my list. The burger is listed on the menu as “Burger, onions six ways”, and they were not kidding. There was some sort of onion mayo, onion slices, chopped ions. I think there were pickled onions. I don’t even know if I figured out all six ways.  Even though the burger was good, I don’t think it is why you go to The Gorbals.

Local Peasant

I have been wanting to try The Local Peasant for a while now. There are so many great gastropubs in the city and when I found one in the valley I had to check it out. The restaurant is very unassuming from the outside. I actually didn’t know it was there until I looked it up. Inside the décor is standard upscale pub, with beers on a chalkboard on the wall and some communal tables and a long bar to grab a drink and some food. The rest of menu looked very good and the waitress said the short ribs are the best thing on the menu. I will have to go back to try other things.

There are two burgers on the menu. One has egg and the other doesn’t. I took the waitress’ opinion and got the one with the fried egg. The meat is all natural grass fed beef and the flavor really showed. Even with the egg on top it had the really good meat flavor that I look for in a burger. The bun may have been almost as good as the meat. It was a brioche bun that had a good chewy texture and didn’t get soggy with the egg yolk dripping all over. The burger also comes with onions and a choice of cheese, I chose cheddar. The burger was very good, but not elite. My one change would be more onions. It was really great when I got all of the flavors mixed together with the meatiness from the patty to the sweetness of the onion and the gooey egg yolk. I want more of that.

Hole in the Wall Burger Joint

I have had many people tell me about Hole in the Wall Burger Joint. Many claimed it to be one of the best burgers they have had. Naturally, I had to check it out. It took me a while to get around to it, but it was worth the wait. The place is aptly named. I went to the West LA location. It is located behind a strip mall off a side street. Normally the driveway would lead to the loading zone or an alley behind the mall, but in this case it leads to meaty deliciousness. The place is not that big. There are a few tables inside and a couple more right outside on the “patio”. The order process is similar to The Counter where you fill out your sheet. There are a lot fewer choices, but they are all quality choices.

As you can see above, I chose the beef burger. The beef is grass fed angus meat. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium, a little pink on the inside and a little char on the outside. The meat was fresh, but didn’t come through as much as I would have expected. They have 5 different choices for bun, including brioche, pretzel and even no bun. Of course I had to go with the pretzel bun. On first glance it looks impressive.

When you get that full pretzel taste included with all of the other flavors it is really tasty. Unfortunately, it seemed to get lost a little bit. I think because the bun wasn’t salted, the flavor got a little lost. I got my burger topped with onion mayo, cheddar cheese, lettuce, sliced red onion, mustard pickle relish, and sautéed onions. The sautéed onions were very sweet and plentiful. Almost made the burger hard to pick up. The mustard pickle relish was the flavor that held it all together. I recommend adding that to whatever combination you choose.

Overall the ingredients are fresh, the place is cozy and chill. If you happened to be in west LA and can find it, I highly recommend trying Hole in the Wall Burger Joint.

Short Order

I have been wanting to try Short Order since I first heard Nancy Silverton was opening a burger joint. I am a huge fan of Osteria Mozza and Campanile, which she was also a part of. The restaurant took a little longer to open than expected, but it was worth the wait. It definitely fits in with the Farmer’s Market. It is a two story restaurant, but it is not very big so we had to wait a little while to get seated. There are a few patio seats which will be very nice during the summer. Aside from the burgers, we ordered the pickle chips (which were a special appetizer) and the Short Order Spuds with truffle salt. I highly recommend the spuds. They are basically potato wedges made from a baked potato and definitely opt for the truffle salt, it is well worth it.

Now for the reason the we are here. I ordered the Ida’s Old School burger. The meat is grass fed from Magruder Ranch in Mendocino County. The meat was very fresh and had good flavor. The one weird thing is that you can only order your burgers either Medium Rare or Medium well. I usually order my burgers medium. I ordered it Medium Well because I do not like it too rare. Funny thing is that they cooked the medium well patty to a perfect pink on the inside with a little char on the outside. The bun was a standard brioche bun. It served its purpose, but the burger was a bit messy and the bottom of the bun got soggy and did not hold the burger together. The burger was topped with cheddar cheese, SQIRL handmade pickles, rosso bruno tomatoes, griddled onions, iceberg lettuce and secret sauce. I didn’t get a lot of the cheddar flavor but the pickles and the secret sauce (which was a little like thousand island, but with a special twist). I also usually don’t like tomatoes on my burgers, but the ones used on this burger were very good. Overall, the burger was good and I recommend it. I look forward to trying some of the other burgers there. I also need to go back when it is warmer to try the shakes.

West 4th and Jane (Redux)

So I reviewed West 4th and Jane almost a year and a half ago. Since then, it has become one of our favorite happy hour places after work. The upstairs area is a great lounge-y place to hang out and play connect 4 (provided by the restaurant). The wait staff is very friendly and the beer selection is still very good. Over the past year, they have revamped the menu and even updated the burger, so naturally I had to give it another try.

The new burger is made with Ground Waygu beef. The meat was pretty good but didn’t deliver the strong meat flavor of the elite burgers on my list. I also ordered it medium and it was a little undercooked, but not to the point where it needed to go back. The bun was one of the best parts. It had some poppy seeds on the top and had a somewhat salty flavor to it. It also held together well even with the juicy patty. The burger comes topped with truffle mayo, fried onions, goat cheese, and purple Cherokee tomato. I did not get a lot of the flavor from the truffle mayo. The goat cheese was very creamy but I think they were a little heavy handed with the cheese. It kind of overwhelmed the rest of the flavors. The fried onions were a good touch, but I felt there could have been more of them. I should have been able to get that salty fried onion flavor in more bites.
Overall, it is still a very good burger and great place to hang out. So stop by if you are in the area.

Tavern on 2

I don’t spend a lot of time in Long Beach, but I recently became acquainted with the Long Beach USC Alumni Club. Their president kept mentioning Tavern on 2 to me as a great burger place in Long Beach that I needed to check out. They decided to host a fundraiser at Tavern on 2. This was a great opportunity to check out the burgers and hang out with my fellow Trojans. If you haven’t spent much time in Long Beach you might not be familiar with the Belmont Shore area. 2nd Street is a great stretch of restaurants and shops and is within walking distance to the ocean. Tavern on 2 is a small gastropub with a good selection of beer and a menu featuring everything from burgers to breakfast. The staff there is all very friendly and attentive.

On to the burger. Some people got the short rib burger, which looked great, but that wouldn’t be a real comparison. I went with the Black & Blue Burger. The beef is Paso Prime Ranch Beef. The meat was a little charred but not necessarily over cooked. The bun, part of the reason I chose the burger, didn’t have the full pretzel flavor I am usually used to. It really just felt heavy and made the burger filling. The burger was topped with Maytag blue cheese, rosemary candied bacon, horseradish mayo, arugula and tomato. The star of the burger was the horseradish mayo. It was flavorful and the best part of the burger. The arugula and tomato added the pepper and sweet flavors that you really look for in the burger. The blue cheese was a little overwhelming. It is a strong flavor and it kind of took over the flavor of the burger. Bacon can also overwhelm the burger. The bacon flavor did not come through. Overall there seemed to be something off with the overall flavor of the burger. Now that I think about it, I think it is the rosemary in the candied bacon. The burger definitely sounded better on paper then it was in execution. I would love to come back and try the short rib and chorizo burger.

Lab Brewing Co

I was first alerted of The Lab Brewing Co from my friend Neil that works out in the Agoura Hills area. He saw that they were offering a challenge that if their burger is not one of the 10 best burgers you have eaten in LA, then its free. I figured this was a challenge I couldn’t pass up. The restaurant has a very swanky modern décor but is not pretentious. It is very inviting and friendly. As you can tell from the name of the place, they brew their own beer on site. We got to meet with Roger, who is one of the owners and the beer master. He is very passionate about beer and can really explain the differences between the different types and flavors. He also brews some very good beer. I think our group really enjoyed the Cold Fusion Java Porter and the new IPA he just created. Since we only went for the burger we didn’t get to order any of the other food, but other items on the menu looked very good, so I may have to go back to try some other items.

Lets get to the challenge. I tried THE LAB Burger. The burger comes with a Wagyu Kobe beef patty that is ground in house. The meat was very flavorful and really showed through the rest of the flavors. This was the sign of good things to come. The bun is a La Brea Bakery bun. It was nothing special but held the ingredients together and had a nice texture. The burger is topped with caramelized onions, arugula, bacon and blue and gruyere cheeses. The onions and the arugula were very tasty and offered a sweet and peppery flavor which complemented the meaty flavor of the patty. The cheeses were well used. Blue cheese can be overpowering sometimes, but they used the right amount of cheese and it worked extremely well with the other flavors. The cheese really made the burger. The bacon is a little bit of a mystery for me. I really didn’t taste it in the burger, but to be honest, I am not sure it would have made it better. I am very happy to say that they passed the challenge. This truly was one of the 10 best burgers in LA.

Fraiche

I went to lunch with a couple of coworkers to Fraiche. Fraiche is a fancier restaurant right by my office, but have some decent deals for lunch and happy hour. We went to the location in Santa Monica. There is also a location in Culver City. The lunch menu features several other sandwiches and some entrees that sound delicious but are a little pricy for lunch. Overall, this is a great location for a good meal and probably more of a business lunch location.

The burger is called a the Truffle Burger. It is served on a brioche like bun. It is not overly buttery and is a little lighter than most. One issue I had is they toasted the bun a little too much so I tasted charred. The meat seemed like it was freshly ground, had very good flavor. It was also cooked to a perfect medium. The burger came topped with boshetto cheese and what they call onion fondue. The onions were sweet and the cheese was a little understated. Now you wonder why its called the Truffle Burger, because it also comes topped with a truffle aioli. The aioli was very creamy and a little earthy but not overly flavorful. Overall it is a good burger, but I am assuming the other entrees are a better bet at Fraiche.

The Curious Palate

Merry New Year! (Sorry big Trading Places fan). Its been a little while since my last post. I have been on a burger fast for a little bit due to the holidays. I feel some good burger vibes for 2012.

For the first burger of 2012, I went to The Curious Palate (@curious_palate) at Santa Monica Place with my department from work. It is located in the Marketplace on the third floor. Them menu is full of fresh salads, sandwiches and comfort food. There isn’t a ton of seating in the restaurant, but there were many people getting their food to go and eating out on the patio. If it is a nice day out I would recommend this tact.

On to the burger. The patty was think and juicy. It had decent flavor but was a little overcooked and couldn’t match the burgers at the top of the list. The bun was the standard brioche bun. It had good texture but kind of fell apart as it got soaked with the juice from the patty. It came topped with gruyere cheese, baby greens, tomato, red onion, and house made pickles. Everything was fresh and crisp. The last aspect of the burger were the two sauces. The first is a homemade aioli. I am usually a fan of a homemade aioli, but it was hard to taste over the other sauce. Luckily, the other sauce, a tomato jam, was really good. It was a little tangy and almost had an Italian flavor to it. If your are in the Santa Monica area and want to have a good burger outside on a nice day, I can think of worse places to go.