Burger crew meeting called to order on Saturday, March 16, 2019 @ Noon (Wayne’s pick). The original location was actually supposed to be SideBar Grill, but in true Wayne fashion we ended up somewhere else. *See brackets for side story*
[At a burger crew meeting a couple years ago, Wayne picked a place in DTLA and we all showed up and were turned away because someone didn’t make a reservation. So we wandered around looking for another place. The next place Wayne picked ended up being closed for a private event. By that point I was starving and just about ready to kill Wayne to get some sustenance. We ended up finally finding a spot, that ended up pretty dang good.]
Not sure why, but SideBar Grill was closed. Yelp said they should be open, and there was no sign on the door. Weird. Anyway, we yelped and walked down the street to thirty-eight degrees. Ended up being a good call!
Members in attendance: Angela d. (hey, that’s me!), Trevor Y., Wayne T., DK, Innie C.
Junior members in attendance: Marty d.Y. (our little slider)
Guests: Christian Y.
I. Ordering
Trev and I ordered The Thirty-eight ($14): ground sirloin/brisket patty, garlic aioli, onion relish, point reyes blue cheese (we opted out of this), wild arugula. It included hand-cut fries.
Wayne also got The Thirty-eight, but got his with the blue cheese.
DK ordered the Backyard ($14): ground sirloin/brisket patty, house-smoked bacon, dill pickle chip, grilled red onion, tomato, lettuce, cheddar cheese, 1000. He added jalapenos. Included hand-cut fries.
Innie also had the Backyard ($14).
Chris ordered The Thirty-eight ($14). No salt!
II. The Burgers
The burgers were very good. They tasted like a steak probably because of the sirloin/brisket blend. The patty was thick, had a nice chew, and could have used a tad more seasoning. The burgers were served to order and were so hot and juicy. When we bit into them, the juicy was so hot it burned our fingers a bit! The buns were nice gooey ones that held up to the super juiciness of the burger. Toppings were all very good. The sweet onion relish on the thirty-eight was good. The blue cheese really complemented the burger and wasn’t over powering, but don’t get this burger if you don’t like blue cheese. The flavors were all nicely balanced, there was good texture and crunch in the burger, and the meat was yummy delicious!
III. The Fries/Sides
Fries were good, standard. They weren’t overly salted. Comes with ketchup and garlic aioli. Good texture. Crispy outside, soft inside.
IV. Miscellaneous
They have a big beer list. There is plenty of seating, but it was pretty empty at noon. Our server was great! They also give paper straws so + for less plastic in the landfills. They had several TVs, but no game audio. There is a parking garage nearby for easy parking.
V. Value
The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered. We would pay anywhere from $11 to $12.50 for just the burger. So the prices were generally on par with what we received since the $14 also included fries.
VI. The Verdict
3.3, 3.8, 3.8, 3.9 and 4.2. Great burgers! Happily surprised. Wayne, I suppose you survive to live another day.
Next burger crew meeting: April 6th at The Social List in Long Beach (Angela’s choice). Yay! I got my review in just under the wire =)