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.

Corkbar

I was downtown at Staples Center for All-Star weekend and decided to stay away from the crowds at LA Live for dinner. I remember by friend Neil (who is supposed to be contributing to this blog) has wanted me to go to Corkbar for a while now, so I gave it a shot. The restaurant is sort of tucked away from downtown on the first floor of an office residential building. It is not very big but has a very foodie vibe. Our waitress was very personable and was knowledgeable about the menu and drink list. They have a good wine list and plenty of microbrews for any taste you might have. The menu is always fairly small and everything looked very good. But, we were there for one reason…

The burger is not huge but was very filling. It comes on challah bread but was not as egg-y as most challahs I have had, which made it a bit like a brioche. Overall, this bun was very good. I thought they could have sliced it to have more on the bottom half but I enjoyed it. It comes topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, house-made pickles and roasted tomato burger sauce. Other than the sauce, the toppings were lost in grand scheme of the burger. The reason they are lost is the meat is amazing. I think this was the best burger patty I have had since I started blogging. The waitress told us that the chef grounds the beef for the patties fresh at the restaurant. You really need to go try this burger. It may not be the best all around burger, but the meat is worth the price of admission.

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Blu LA Cafe

UPDATE: Blu LA Cafe is closed. 

Back to burgers in in Los Angeles. I found Blu LA Cafe through other burger blogs and websites so I thought I would try it. The restaurant is located in downtown LA and that can be either good or bad. In this case, the restaurant is not in a great location. There is only street parking and regular public parking and most of the street parking is in front of homeless people city. The restaurant itself has a cool vibe but a limited beer selection. The service was a little slow but we were a big party.

The burgers all sounded interesting. I was interested in the tamarind turkey burger, but I need to keep this blog legitimate. I ordered the sage derby burger. Most everyone got the Blu LA Café burger. I tend to shy away burgers with bacon on them as I feel it masks the taste of the burger rather than compliments it. The burger is a ½ pound angus beef patty. The odd thing about this place is that they did not ask how we wanted the burger cooked. I usually like mine medium and a little bit juicy. This came out about medium-well. They also were overly seasoned almost as if they were covering something up. The burger was topped with sage derby cheese, grilled onion, garlic, lettuce and tomato. The one redeeming feature was the brioche bun. It was perfectly sweet and tasty and not greasy like some.



Overall, this place was very disappointing. Hopefully my next adventures will bring better burgers. Be sure to find out @bestburgerla

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.