I have wanted to try Burger Kitchen since I found out about it. I think I originally found out about it from an ad on this very blog. Since then it has been gaining momentum and even appeared on some best burger lists. So as a birthday / finishing a half marathon celebration for my friend Ngoc, we decided to check this place out.
Trying to keep to my baseline of burgers prepared similarly, I ordered The Natural. This burger is made from 40-day aged prime beef and is served with butter lettuce, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and your choice of camembert or white cheddar cheese. All of this is served on a brioche bun. I was worried about the brioche bun as it reminded me of the Umami burger, which was too greasy for me. This bun was fortunately not greasy and had a nice buttery flavor. Overall the burger was good but not great. The cheese was overwhelming and the prime meat tasted too steak-y and not enough like a burger for my tastes.
Ngoc's boyfriend Matt ordered the Mountain Burger. This burger had BBQ sauce and jalapeño peppers. I noted this because it looked impressive and came with the peppers pretty much whole on the burger.
We also ordered the Australian meat pie. Every review I read about the restaurant, mentioned the great burgers but also said to get the meat pie. We shared the meat pie for the table and it was also a bit underwhelming. It was exactly as expected, meat surrounded by puff pastry.
Overall, the experience was underwhelming and did not inspire me to want to go back to try the other burgers.
I know I have been slacking a bit in the burger eating department. So I decided to get back on track by going to The Yard. I have been to this gastro pub a few times before but have not had the burger yet. First let us talk about the restaurant. I love this place. My first visit was on a date and it is a great place to go and share a few dishes. The Chef roams around the restaurant and on that first occasion came up and explained the dish to us. The chef is Chris "CJ" Jacobson as seen on Top Chef. He just seems to have a good feel for putting together flavors.
Now onto the burger. When it first comes out, it has the look of a good burger. The burger comes with grilled onions, thousand island, heirloom tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. Kicker to this burger is you start eating it and all of a sudden you realize there is a hint of bacon; stealth bacon if you will. There is no mention of bacon in the description. I examined the burger and could not see any bacon. MY only thought was that the bacon was ground into the patty. Usually, when comparing burgers, using bacon seems like cheating or covering up the rest of the burger. With that being said, this burger had a perfect amount of bacon. The bacon worked with the rest of the flavors rather than what seems like a masking agent.
Overall this is a very delicious burger. I feel it still lacks the originality or sophistication of the Foundry or Father's Office burgers. Check out the updated rankings on the right.
A few years ago we found a new BBQ restaurant from a classically trained chef called Boneyard Bistro. The menu includes your typical brisket, ribs and pulled pork. It also has some interesting items like the BBQ burrito and one time had kangaroo as a special. It also has a great selection of beers and recently expanded to include a nice bar area. As a lover of good BBQ, I was excited to try it. Suffice it to say the BBQ was not great, but we discovered they make some good burgers.
On to the real burger. I ordered the classic with blue cheese. It came with bacon and a smoked onion aioli. The burger is presented very well on the plate, especially the Nic's Rant & Ranch, which is pictured below in all of its high stacked glory. When cut in half I noticed it was a little over cooked but still juicy. All in all it was a good burger but nothing spectacular. The bocan actually didn't help the burger and the rest was kind of bland. I have had the other burgers there and they were a bit better than the standard burger, this one left me unfulfilled.
I feel like Umami Burger has taken the city by storm. I had never heard about it until I saw it featured on the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate." Now it seems as though there is a new one opening every month. I recently found out about one right by my office in Santa Monica. The location only had a few tables inside but a few large tables outside for multiple parties.
Since I felt I should try to keep the tastings comparable, I ordered the Port & Stilton Burger. The burger comes with Stilton blue cheese and port-caramelized onions. The burger had good flavor. They used the right amount of blue cheese so that it didn't overpower the rest of the flavors. The sweet port-caramelized onions were sweet, and complimented the rest of the burger well. The issue I had is with the bun. They seemed to butter the bun and it came out looking good, but was really greasy. All in all it is a pretty good burger, but not the best thing I ever ate.
UPDATE: As Umami is the closest gourmet burger place to my work, I figure to eat there more than the others. I recently went back and tried a different burger. This time I went for the SoCal Burger. I think this is supposed to be an upgraded version of an In-N-Out burger. It comes with their homemade bun, butter lettuce, caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes, and of course spread. I ordered it without cheese because that's how I usually get my double-doubles. Unfortunately, my opinion has not changed. The burger was well constructed, all of the ingredients were fresh and the burger was perfectly cooked. The buns are still too greasy and make the burger feel like it was soaked in oil. I will probably go back again, hopefully not for a work lunch, to enjoy a burger and one of the fine beers they have. But its position on my list remains the same.
The latest adventure came for my Dad's birthday. Upon hearing about the blog and all of the great burgers I was eating he decided that he wanted to partake. We decided to try 8 oz. Burger Bar. Originally started in Miami, 8 oz. is a perfect fit in Los Angeles. The place is unassuming and low key. There is a great selection of local beers and friendly wait staff. We even had a celebrity sighting in one Luke Wilson. The owner was also circling around and stopped to chat with us. He was very passionate about his food and the quality of his restaurant. He also mentioned there is a good chance of more locations around the country and the city.
I may get some flak for this but I think I liked it better than Father's Office. As stated before I think I need to go back to Father's Office but in Santa Monica for a fair comparison.
So here we are at last. The Foundry is #1 on the list. Chef Eric Greenspan has created a great place to go for good food and a great time. He walks around, greets the customers and makes everyone feel welcome. Our waitress Stacy was also fantastic. She was playful and all about our burger adventure asking us where we thought the best burgers are and gave us the run down on the burger there.
I have eaten at three places mentioned, including the top two, on the original list. So far I agree with the LAist. The Foundry burger is so unique and well put together; I feel it deserves its own category. There are many more places to go. We are always looking for suggestions as well and your thoughts on your favorite burger. Go eat and report back!
I found out about The Counter about two years ago. Since then, it seems as though it has multiplied constantly. They now have over 20 locations throughout the US and overseas. The great thing (and possibly worst thing) about The Counter is that you can build your own burger. You get to choose your patty, bun, cheese and toppings. You can even get it without a bun if you so desire.
