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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

M Street Kitchen

I met up with some friends and coworkers for dinner after work and we decided to check out M Street Kitchen. This used to be La Grande Orange. The menu seemed to be the same. There is a variety of items from sushi to fried chicken to burgers.

Speaking of burgers, I ordered the cheeseburger. It comes on a typical sesame seed bun. The meat is house ground all natural beef. It wasn’t overly flavorful and a little bit on the small side. The meat flavor did not come through as with other burgers I have tried. It comes topped with lettuce, onions, pickles, tomatoes and Russian dressing. Finally, it was topped with shredded cheddar cheese. The cheese wasn’t fully melted and tasted almost cold. Overall I was a little disappointed as everything else on the menu seemed so flavorful and fresh.

Jack N’ Jill’s

We went to Jack N’ Jill’s for lunch a while back and kind of forgot about it. The Santa Monica location is a bit on the small side and there is a lack of seating. The first time I went I got the rotisserie chicken, which I highly recommend. They also have a lot of pastries that I have not tried, but they look amazing.

On to the meat! I ordered the Hickory Burger. The burger comes on standard bun. The meat is nothing special, probably a standard 80/20 blend. It was cooked well to medium. It comes topped with cheddar, tomato and lettuce. It also comes with bacon. If you read this blog you know my feelings on bacon. But this was a perfect application of the delicious meat. The burger stood on its own and the bacon was purely complimentary and that is a good thing. Bacon can really steal the show making it a less impressive burger. I will say the star of the show was the hickory barbeque sauce. It was tangy and sweet and complimented the rest of the burger. There is also an aioli on the burger, but I feel it is wasted since it gets lost behind the barbeque sauce.

Oscar's Cerveteca

Oscar’s is a new restaurant in Venice. My friends and I met up there for dinner one night. I read some of the reviews on Yelp and a few of them were touting the burger, so I had to give it a try. Before we get to that, a little more about the restaurant. It is a smallish place, so be prepared to wait a little bit for a table. The menu is a mix of Latin tapas and interesting entrees. Everyone else at the table seemed to really enjoy their meal.

On to the burger. The burger comes on a standard hamburger bun. The bun was nothing special but it held up well amongst the sloppiness of the burger. The patty tasted fresh and was cooked to medium as requested. It had a very distinct peppercorn flavor to it. It kind of overwhelmed the rest of the flavors. It came topped with cheddar cheese, grilled onions, tomato and iceberg lettuce. I could have done without the iceberg lettuce. It added a little crunch, but fell out the back of the burger while eating it. Overall it was a pretty good burger.

BLT Burger

I found myself in Vegas recently. Before going I did some research and reached out for some burger recommendations. I seemed to have a consensus to check out the BLT Burger in the Mirage. The restaurant seemed to be a typical casino restaurant and was quite busy when we showed up. We ended up skipping the line to sit at the bar. The restaurant had a good vibe even though it did feel like hotel restaurant.

 I ordered the Shaft’s Blue burger minus the mushrooms. The patty is made from certified angus beef. It was a well cooked medium and was very juicy. The flavor of the patty did not stand out among the rest of the burger like others I have tried. The bun was a toasted white sesame bun. It was fairly ordinary, like something you would get at the supermarket for a backyard BBQ. The burger came with blue cheese and balsamic caramelized onions. The blue cheese was very creamy, but a little too strong and overwhelmed the burger. The best part of the burger were the caramelized onions. They have really good flavor and went well with the rest of the burger. Overall, this burger was ordinary. I don’t think it was bad and if I was at the Mirage craving a burger I would go back, but I don’t think I would seek it out.

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.