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.

Prohibition Burgers and Beer

I have driven by Prohibition Burgers and Beer a few times and decided I needed to check it out. I mean the name of the place has beer and burgers in it. Upon entering I was greeted with extreme excitement as I was the first to arrive. The wait staff was very helpful and very attentive. The theme of the restaurant is 1930’s gangsters and all of the burgers are named as such. The décor is very modern swanky. The beer selection was decent. I could see this place becoming a great place to hangout and grab a burger and a beer in the valley. There will also be TVs playing mob movies. At the end of the meal, the manager came over and asked us for our opinion and wanted real feedback. The restaurant has not been open for very long and they are still fine tuning the menu. I plan to return after a while to see if there were any changes. But here is my initial review.

On to the burger. I ordered the John Dillinger. I am not sure what type of meat they use, but it cooked well and had very good flavor by itself. My only complaint is that the patty fell apart while I was eating the burger. The bun is a standard brioche style bun but seemed a little stiff and the bottom became a little bit soggy. It also had a garlic butter melted into the top of the bun. The burger came with apple wood bacon caramelized onions, gruyere, white cheddar, and mozzarella. The bacon was used well since it complimented the flavor of the burger without overpowering it. The mixed greens were a nice touch and the onions added good flavor. I wish there would have been more of them. The cheese seemed like a waste since the mozzarella overpowered the other two cheeses. Although I couldn’t taste all of the cheeses the mozzarella flavor worked with the rest of the burger. The one thing missing was some sort of sauce. I felt it could have added some more flavor and made it a little bit less dry.

Pete's Burgers

I went to a speaker series event at USC and my friends Ngoc and Tim wanted to go for burgers afterward. I went to my resources and had a couple of places in mind. We didn’t want to move the cars all the way downtown and we all live in somewhat different directions. IT was also around 10 pm when we finally left campus and headed over. We finally decided to go to Pete’s Burgers. I had driven by this place so many times while going to school at USC and I never stopped in for a bite. The building is kind of a Victorian style exterior, and the inside is very 50’s style diner. As we were there so late we didn’t get a chance to hang out inside as they were closing down, so we got it to go. This is the first entry on this blog of a standard cheap burger. I ordered a burger and fries and the total came out to $5.25. Ngoc ordered the pastrami burger (second picture) and Tim ordered the bacon burger. We also tried the onion rings, which were a little stale tasting. I am not sure how to do that with a deep fryer, but they did.  

On to the meat! This is your standard fast food style burger. The patty is ¼ pound. The bun is a standard sesame seed bun. The burger comes with lettuce, tomato, chopped onions and Thousand Island dressing. It is superior to a fast food chain, but can’t quite compare to the fancier gourmet burgers. Overall, if you are around SC and wanting to get a quick bite to eat and burger, this is the place to go.

Mad Bull’s Tavern

Mad Bull's Tavern (@madbullstavern) is a new gastropub that opened in the Valley. I was very excited when I found out about this place since there were not many late night places to hang out on this side of the hill. The place is perfect for watching a game since they have TVs all around the walls of the bar. There is a great beer list consisting of microbrews, imports and the usual fare. The menu is typical of bar food, but with a homemade twist. They also have a nice happy hour every night from 4-7 PM.

I decided to try the MBT Burger. It is made of 100% angus beef. The meat was cooked a little over medium, but was not dry. The burger came topped with manchego cheese, bacon and crispy onion stings. The cheese was good and not overpowering. Fried onion strings are always a good complement to a burger. The issue was with the bacon. To me, bacon needs to be a complimentary part of the burger, otherwise it overtakes the flavor of the burger. This burger was case in point. Moist of the flavor I got from each bite was bacon. Overall it is a solid burger. I do recommend Mad Bull's for a good time, the burger left a little something to be desired.

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.