Why do I like the #1 at 25 Degrees the best? Because I’m a man. I like my burger big, messy, and flavorful. I want to pass out after the burger. I want to feel like I fought a great opponent, and I won. I might not ever be the same having lost so much strength battling a nemesis.
My TV ranking system:
So let me tell you what I don’t like. The Bounty? Nah. But to be fair, we shouldn’t have been there. It’s not a burger place, just a place that happens to sell a burger. There was nothing wrong with it, but felt like a diner burger. Drowned it in mayonnaise and called it a night. Ranking: 1/2 Star a.k.a The Nightly News (Serves a purpose, but shouldn’t be competing against Must See TV)
The Foundry makes a great sweat bread. What they stick in between that bread? Not so good. Granted, the burger was over cooked and that pretty much ruins a burger. The chutney was good, the toppings were fresh, the cheese kinda plain. It’s the bun that gives it substance. But fuck a bun. I’m not paying $12 to eat bread. And can we say slow? Terribly slow and it wasn’t packed. It probably took so long because they were slowing perfecting how to overcook a burger. After eating it, I told the gang I’ll probably forget about this burger. 2 1/2 Stars a.k.a Baywatch (We watch for the wrong reason. It’s not good TV, it’s just T & A, but hey, at least it’s good T & A)
And this is where 25 Degrees comes in. I’ll admit that mine was the only burger that came out medium rare so I’m not going to fault the others for not enjoying the burger as much. I’ve had it three times, and this time was probably at the same quality as the last one. But that first time? That’s up there with the greatest burger I’ve ever eaten. It was magical. I wasn’t drunk, I wasn’t high, it was just that good. My roomates feel the same way. They’ve had nights where the burger was more than a burger; it was an experience. And they’ve had regular nights too. It’s a huge burger with bacon, onions, and gorgonzola (similar to blue cheese). That a strong combination. Bold and tasty. Something you think about later. Something that melts in your mouth and has you wondering, “What the fuck is this?” 4 1/2 Stars. The Wire Season 4. (That super burger was The Wire Season 1)
I’m tired of writing. I’m hungry.
xoxo’s
- The Bounty: pass
- The Foundry: 8 out of 10
- 25 Degrees: 6 out of 10
“A 6 out of 10, that’s a D are you crazy?!” was the reaction I got after judging 25 degrees. Yeah that seems harsh at first, but hear me out, I got my reasons.
I started off pretty happy with this burger, me and this burger were going places. It liked me, I liked it, we had a future together! But then, well, things got messy you see. The little things that were appealing at first suddenly become annoying, not worth the hassle, I found myself wanting out. The dressing became too much to handle, it was all over the place, I had to use a napkin every fucking bite. The hint of blue cheese (misleading by a fancier name) was a nice touch, but as I got further in, I realized most the cheese was on the other half of the burger, too strong for my liking. But most importantly - the meat. Im all about medium rare, and this was over cooked. Typical Burger, leading you on with its good looks, then letting you down when you find out what’s inside. Asshole. I WANT OUT OF THIS RELATION-err BURGER! (Am I taking this metaphor too far? I dunno, lets keep going).
Either way, I found myself thinking about another burger while I was spending time with this one. The burger at The Foundry. You were a good burger, you were an 8 out of 10. Why did I leave you for this burger? What the fuck was I thinking? I was harsh on you that one night at dinner, but I take it back. You were warm and soft and not bad on the eyes. But there’s always better out there, or that’s what I tell myself. Deep down inside I know where my true love stands, UMAMI motherfuckers. We will meat (ha) again next week and I know you wont let me down.
Sincerely,
JENNIFER “needs to read more comic books” RUIZ
I am admittedly a burger snob. I don’t normally take pride in such things but my hometown of New Haven invented the American Hamburger* and I feel like I’ve earned the right to hold burgers to a higher standard.
Before I start I’d like to clear the air: I believe Lou mixed up my ratings for Apple Pan and The HMS Bounty. They received a 68 and a 52 respectively. (I’ll cut him some slack because he wrote all of our ratings on the back of a receipt as we all slipped into a food coma.)
Starting off with The Foundry…GOOD GOD is that burger amazing. I’ve been there twice and have had my burger overcooked both times and I still don’t care. Have you had their Hawaiian Sweet Bread? It’s moist, sweet and holds together better than most buns. Don’t even get me started on their tots which are more or less little tiny knishes condensed into balls of amazingness that you can dip in some sort of purple mustard and oh my god I’m rambling because it was the most delicious side dish this mouth has ever had the pleasure of encountering.
THE FOUNDRY out of 100: 93. I’m bumping them down for twice overcooking my burger. I’m a rare/medium rare guy and they hit me with medium well both times. See the above paragraph for why that doesn’t matter.
Moving on to 25 Degrees. Initially my reaction was positive. I was starving and spent twenty minutes feeling my soul die as I tried to park in Hollywood. I was looking for a reason to remember what happy felt like and guess what helps with that problem? A giant portion of onion rings and sweet potato fries! 25 Degrees started out so well, they even shot down Lou’s myth of horrible service. However, once the burgers came out 25 Degrees showed their real colors. What are their colors, you ask? The same as any TGI Friday’s out there because that’s the closest comparison I can think of for their burger.
“But Mike, you gave it an 89…what gives?”
Well, I got home and I thought long and hard about the burger and decided my rating was off. It was influenced by my hunger and burning desire to remember what smiling felt like.
Let’s start with the bun. The 25 Degrees bun looks beautiful; it’s fluffy and shiny and gigantic. However, as Lou pointed out when our meals arrived, big fluffy buns are frequently used to mask the shortcomings of a mediocre burger. Unfortunately, this old wive’s tale held up.
When you mix a big fluffy bun with sloppy ingredients you’re going to have a bad time. I’m all about structure, people! The bun is the foundation of the burger and this burger was a slop fest. All that fluffiness fell apart before I took the first bite, the telltale sign of a “meh” burger.
Once you got past the bun and my neurotic need for structure the burger itself wasn’t half bad. I got The Number One which consisted of a beef patty, arugula, Gorgonzola, bacon and Thousand Island dressing. The beef was pretty good, not to dry just overcooked. The bacon was top notch, the kind that’s super crispy but it dissolves in your mouth. The arugla was a nice addition but it got mushy from the overload of Thousand Island Dressing.
Bottom line: 25 Degrees got too fancy with the ingredients and then failed to execute a properly made burger. The burger was a glorified TGI Friday’s burger, all that was missing was Jack Daniel’s Sauce and some firecracker shrimp.
25 Degrees out of 100 (revised): Originally an 89 NOW 83
*people from Texas that claim otherwise are full of shit and probably racist.
HMS Bounty: Whenever the NBA final game was.10
The Foundry: 7.7.10
25 Degrees: 7.12.10
BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I HAVE RETURNED. It’s been…christ, it’s been a LONG time since I posted.
Because…well, because I found the best burger! Nothing’s even come close to The Foundry for me, so even though I’ve been to at least another half dozen spots since finding that burger, I haven’t felt much like writing. Why write about the Not-Best burger?
But. Friends, having heard of my search, started requesting trips to burger spots. Eventually that meant trying new places.
And that led to the creation of the Meat Street Irregulars, a group that meets periodically to try out LA burgers.
We first met, informally, for a burger at the HMS Bounty, a bar on Wilshire, near-ish to downtown.
My ex-girlfriend had hipped me to the spot, said their burger was delicious.
She was wrong. AGAIN. All three of us (Jon, Mike and myself) agreed it was the very definition of a Bar Burger. It sated our hunger, but little else.
Their cake, on the other hand? Delicious. Because we were positive they’d just popped over to the supermarket and bought one of those ready-to-go cakes. Cheap and tasty.
That meeting led to us reconvening at The Foundry, as they wanted to taste what I considered the BEST BURGER IN TOWN.
Unfortunately, the BEST BURGER IN TOWN was overcooked. Fortunately, we invited Jen, and her pretty face made the well done burgers go down much easier. All agreed that even with the burgers coming medium well as opposed to medium rare, the burger was still excellent.
Also, we had a delicious strawberry shortcake, where they roasted the strawberries. Killer.
And, when we complained about the overcooking, they took the dessert off the bill. Classy.
Which led us to 25 Degrees. Now, I’d been there several times, was very VERY underwhelmed. But Jon considered it The Best, and I am nothing if not fair. So we tried it out.
Service was leagues better than I’d experienced in the past. Every other time I’ve been there, I’ve encountered the worst service in the history of the word Service. This time they were friendly and attentive.
The burger itself was decent. Overcooked (which may be some kind of Meat Street Irregulars curse, we’ll see), but still a solid taste. While the rest of the crew had the #1, I made my own burger. No one was less than satisfied, but only Jon and Mike found themselves thoroughly enjoying the burger.
We were all too full from fries and huge buns to consider dessert.
And I’ll say this: eating with a crew is infinitely more fun. We will be going to all the “best” burger places in the next few weeks, even going to a few places a second time (we’re gonna try The Foundry again, at some point, see if they can cook it right on a second try), and eventually we will have a definitive answer to WHAT IS LA’S BEST BURGER??????
And now, the MSI scale:
Next week: UMAMI BURGER
26 Beach Cafe, 10.9.09
I’m gonna try something here, because…well, I’m a lazy cunt. Bullet points AS REVIEW. let me know if you like it:
GRADE: B-
(Would you vote for this man?)
25 Degrees, 8.31.09
25 Degrees and myself have a sordid history.
Well, to be clear, every time I go into that place, it’s goddamned drama. The service is uniformly terrible, and there’s at least a 74% chance they will get my order wrong.
One time, aw man, one time they fucked up a grilled cheese sandwich.
Grilled cheese, dawg. It came out carmelized. Can you carmelize cheese? I dunno, but it was brown and hard and burnt beyond all recognition.
But this is about their burger, which is not as horrible as everything else.
Like The Counter, 25 Degrees has a do-it-yourself menu, allowing you to mix & match ingredients.
I’m on the fence about this whole idea. Sometimes, yeah, it’s fun. But I think at this point I want the chef to tell me what’s best. I’m some schmuck with a blog, he’s the one trained to make excellent food.
Presumably.
I keep it simple when faced with such menus. That mitigated the pain only slightly.
The meat was juicy, as I’d ordered it medium rare, but remarkably, lacked flavor. The sharp cheddar wasn’t sharp. The bun was decent, but the bacon I’d ordered was burnt.
I did like the sweet potato fries and the vanilla malt, and this particular time the wait staff was merely disinterested, vs. drenched in hipster ennui.
Nick & I spent the meal discussing what’s wrong w/America (he’s British, see) and concluded: everything.
At which point Nick thought it would be a good idea if he became president.
Which, really, not such a bad idea. Or maybe I was just drunk on vanilla malt.
GRADE: C
(Salad as the side for a burger? Inconceivable!!!)
Capitol City Grille, 9.20.09
I’ve gotta cut this place a bit of slack, it was only their second day, they were obviously working a lot of the kinks out, and I heard, after eating my burger, that their food the night before was even worse.
That said, the burger was very much not good. The meat was bland, the bun dry, I asked for grilled onions so they gave them to me..ON TOP of the regular chopped onions.
The lettuce was shredded, which I think was done mainly to hide how old it was.
Also, it was all served open faced, with the patty halfway off the bottom bun. C’mon, I need a fork to get my burger all in once piece? Really?
The wait staff was nice if inexperienced, the dessert, a big warm cookie w/ice cream, was decent, and the tvs were gigantic.
Place is a sports bar, see. Which, in addition to the other awesome aspects, meant it was filled with douche bags. Yay!
And just fyi, every other dish ordered by my group was judged sub par.
Maybe I’ll try it again. In 3 years.
Grade: D (Because it wasn’t nearly as bad as Hamburger Hamlet)
(Katie, minutes before tearing right into…a salad??!)
Hamburger Hamlet, 8.28.09
After we had ourselves a shoot up in the woods above Beverly Hills, Katie and I found that we were both hungry.
And, as I’d spied The Hamlet on our way to the shoot, it only made sense to stop there.
The Hamlet’s been at the top of my “list of burger places to go to” since I started this here project. Because, see, me and The Hamlet? We got history.
When I was a kid, my dad would take me there almost every weekend for a good year, because he worked in the building above the old Hollywood location. He loved their chocolate cake, called it suicide cake.
Which, thinking on it now, little weird, dad.
Also, my uncle, who, in his youth waited tables at pretty much every restaurant in this fine town, worked there. Uncle at Hamburger Hamlet = FREE BURGERS.
So that was cool.
But that was decades ago.
So Katie and I walked in, had ourselves some burgers.
Well, I had burgers. She had some giant salad, because her body’s a temple and she’s an actress and spin coach and obviously does not know what life is all about.
It’s about burgers, see.
But not the Hamburger Hamlet burger, of which I had two wee sliders, the better to maximize my tasting options. Their signature burger? oof. Lemme explain. TIME FOR BULLET POINTS!!!
Now, their Hickory burger was slightly better, mainly because it was slathered in hickory sauce, and you have to be that deaf/dumb/blind kid Tommy from….well, Tommy to mess that up.
BUT. The service? Excellent. That waiter was a goddamned master of his craft. And the chocolate cake? Well, didn’t want to make me kill myself, but I did take the leftover home and nosh on it for several more days.
GRADE: D
(They do know how to amazingly decorated a latte)
Blujam 9.13.09
To put it plainly, I’m on a different level now, folks. Mine palette has tasted some of the best burgers in town, so at this point? Nothing but the best will impress.
Blujam tried to impress me with a big patty and a huge fluffy bun. Bush league. It takes more than a little razzle dazzle to get me.
Where it counted, the actual taste, is where they…well, they didn’t fall down, but they didn’t stand tall, either. The meat was a bit bland, the onions were tasty, the cheese unremarkable.
The burger was just sustenance, really. Not a single thing memorable about it. And that, my friends, is not nearly enough.
GRADE: C
(They’ve got shiny silverware!)
8oz Burger Bar, 9.17.09
After eating here last night, I’ve figured out what makes a great burger. It’s not just a great patty, or excellent condiments, or some strange special ingredient.
It’s every component of the burger working in concert, creating a combined taste that is greater than the sum of its parts.
I figured this out because the 8oz burger bar’s burger did not do this. Their patty was delicious, a blend of “sirloin, tri-tip, short rib and chuck cured in our himalayan salt locker”. Now I don’t know how a himalayan salt locker comes into play, here, but it sure didn’t hurt.
Unfortunately, that was really the only stand-out part of the burger. The lettuce, the pickles, the tomatoes, the bun, all were decent. Standard. None of those elements took away from the meat, but they didn’t help the taste along, either.
The great burgers I’ve had so far, The Foundry’s burger, Father’s Office’s burger, those were burgers where each piece was given the same excellent amount of care. Where the overall taste was factored using each element as a necessary part of the equation.
It’s a complex culinary arithmetic, but it’s what’s required for such a dish.
8oz burger bar, while their menu was solid, their service excellent, their waitress saucy and fun, should really put a bit more effort into creating a Fine Burger, not just a fine patty.
And don’t give me the “put they let you choose what kind of cheese, and what kind of sauce and what kind of whatever you want on your burger” retort. I want not buffet freedom. I want a chef to give me a dish saying “This. This is what I have created. It is perfect as it is. I know better than you. Do not substitute. Eat.”
Grade: B-