Month: December 2024

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Dec 14, 2024.

Members in attendance: Angela, DK, Innie, Trevor, and Wayne (myself)

I. Ordering

Everyone but Wayne: The Royal burger (pronounced with an invisible “e” at the end of Royal): 1/3 lb Angus beef patty, with lettuce, American cheese, an over-medium egg topped with special aji sauce, served on a brioche bun, and a side of yuca. Also, it’s not listed on the menu, but the Royal has a separate sausage patty in addition to the beef patty that surprised everyone

Wayne: The Suprema burger: 1/3 lb Angus beef patty marinated in beer, Italian sausage, 2 strips of bacon, over-medium egg and grilled onions. Served on a brioche bun, and a side of yuca

Angela/Trevor: also ordered The Butifarra (labeled as the world’s most famous sandwich): jamon del pais made in-house, and a side of fries

II. Burgers

We started off discussing my Suprema since it was different from everyone else’s. I thought it was overly salty, where every ingredient just layered on the salt. I couldn’t taste the Italian seasonings in the sausage over the salt, the bacon was salty, and I couldn’t notice any beer in the patty’s marinade, maybe because of the salt. The egg was perfectly over-medium, which is how I like eggs in my burgers because the yolk is still like a thick gel without being overly messy.

As for everyone that ordered the Royal, they really liked the sausage patty and considered the beef patty to be an afterthought and not necessary for the burger to taste good. Innie jokingly said that they might’ve included the beef patty just so that they could officially call it a burger. Trev said he’d want that kind of sausage patty on his pizza. Angela said that if the Royal had hash browns instead of a burger patty, it would be a wonderful breakfast sandwich since it had an egg and sausage already.

We all thought that the burgers were constructed really well. The buns didn’t fall apart, and the burger ingredients didn’t fall out of the burgers and drip everywhere. Having the lettuce as a barrier to the bun from the wet ingredients probably helped in terms of structural integrity. We did all wish that the burgers had more acid of some type to balance the flavors. The brioche buns were soft and buttery while still being sturdy.

III. Sides

The general consensus was that both the yuca and fries were cooked perfectly well, with crispy exteriors and fluffy interiors, but they were both unseasoned, and both would’ve benefited greatly from at least a little salt. We still enjoyed both for what they were, but seasoning would’ve put them over the top. Innie also said that the yuca was really good when they were hot but became more dense in texture when they became cold.

The Butifarra was really good. The bread was fluffier than it looked, and the meat was shaved into thin slices and it had sauce on top of it, somewhat like a Philly cheese steak.

IV. Misc

There’s a tiny parking lot in front of the restaurant. They had just opened three months earlier when we visited them, so it seemed like they were still trying to figure things out (aka: service was slow, even for our cups of water to come out). The menu missing a pretty integral part of the Royal (the sausage patty) is another hint that they’re still figuring things out. Interestingly, they took over the space of what used to be a donut shop, which might present its own challenges when running a restaurant.

V. Rating/Value/Verdict

Angela: 3.8/$14
DK: 2.2/$12.50
Innie: 4.0/$14
Trevor: 3.7/$12
Wayne: 2.2/$14

Next Burger Crew meeting will be at Double N Up in Los Angeles.

Yelp
701 Lincoln Blvd Venice, CA 90291

Members in attendance: Trevor Y., Angela d. Wayne T., DK, and Innie C.
Special Guests: Marissa

I. Ordering

Trevor – Banh Mi Burger (med. rare)
Angela – Lincoln
Wayne – Banh Mi Burger + Fries
DK – Banh Mi Burger
Innie – Banh Mi Burger

Banh Mi Burger Description
Angus beef, mozzarella, pork pate, fried onion, jalapeno, cilantro, pickled daikon and carrots

Lincoln Description
Angus beef, American Cheese, lettuce, tomato & onion

II. The Burger
Walking in everyone was clearly excited about the Banh Mi Burger and I’m sad to report it didn’t live up to expectations. Not necessarily because it wasn’t good but perhaps more because we had high hopes.

With that said, as a group we found the meat to have a good beefy flavor however poorly seared it may be. The most enjoyable bites of the burger were when it had a right mix of the patty, pickled veggies and jalapenos. The least enjoyable bites were the ones that had too much of the over-powering sweet sauce that was drizzled? on the burger. We could have gone without the sauce or much less of it and much much more pickled veggies. If we ever come back I would ask for those modification if getting the banh mi burger. I also need to mention this last since it was so forgettable, the mozzarella cheese really didn’t add anything flavor wise to the burger. I imagine a havarti could have elevated this to a new level.

Angela being the lone purist with the Lincoln burger found it be a solid yummy burger. She described it as:
-good patty
-melty cheese
-Pickle-y pickles
-good grilled onions

So if find yourself at Lokal Sandwich Shop and not feeling adventurous, the Lincoln is a very safe burger to order.

III. The Sides
I feel like this burger crew is about to have it’s spin-off mini crew for fries. I will submit to the readers of this blog post a template to judge fries moving forward.
– Method Cooked: Double fried
– Moisture Content: too high, soggy
– Category: >5mm, <10mm therefore not shoestring and not steak fries….sooo regular?
-Flavor: too potatoe-y (read: outer crisps to fluffy center ratio is off)
-Seasoning: salt

IV. Miscellaneous
They have both indoor and outdoor seating so if you have that pup you want to bring along they are welcomed in the outdoor benches. It’s the corner tenant of a small parking lot however the parking spaces in the lot are huge. I would recommend carpooling in the biggest car you can find.

The service is very fast and very good and friendly and the menu is very diverse. I ended up getting an actual banh mi sandwich to go and it was delicious!

V. Value
We rated how much we’d pay for our burgers and it ranged from $10-$13 which is a nice tight distribution.

VI. The Verdict
If compared to the elite burgers of southern california it would get a “good-ish” rating and not something worth going out of your way to get. But if I were in the area I wouldn’t be opposed to getting another burger with the modifications I had mentioned above. Most of the crew concurred with ratings of: 3.7, 3.9, 3.6, 3.8, 4.2.

Next burger crew meeting: Saturday, Dec 14 – allikaphiy – Long Beach

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at noon (DK’s pick).

Members in attendance: Angela, Trevor, Wayne, and me, Innie.
Member in attendance 24 hours later:  DK

As highlighted by its prominence in the restaurant’s name, the unique feature of this establishment is their made-in-house flatbreads.  According to their website, the flatbreads are baked to order from dough that is made on-site from scratch.  

I. Ordering

The menu at BunGraze includes several different burger options.  Trev and Angela ordered the BBQ Burger (bacon, bacon jam, onion ring, and BBQ sauce, $11) as a combo (+$5), Wayne ordered the Breakfast Burger (bacon jam, eggs, cheese, lettuce and tomato, $11), and I ordered the OMG Burger (jalapenos, mushrooms, roasted garlic, onion jam, and onion rings, $12).  DK ordered the Smashed Burger (cheese, pickles, spread, and onion jam, $10).

II. The Burger

We have to hand it to the restaurant… They know to highlight the best feature of their burgers.  The flatbread was universally loved by all the members, and was hands down one of the most praise-worthy buns we’ve had.  It was soft, yet still had a satisfying chew and subtle crispness, reminding us of a good pizza crust.  Some of us spied a conveyor type contraption in the kitchen, which was likely the oven that baked these goodies fresh to order. 

That said, the meat patties of the OMG, BBQ, and breakfast burgers were a sad, tough, and dry counterpart to the delicious flatbreads.  In addition to their textural issues, the patties for these burgers were also formed into an odd, thick puck that concentrated all the meat into the middle ⅔ of the burger.  Structurally, this led to an uneven ratio of meat to bun throughout the burger, with no meat on the edges and a jaw-unhinging amount of patty in the middle.  Tellingly, one of the members stated that the bites with just bread and toppings were their favorite parts.

Those of us who were in attendance on Saturday speculated that most of our issues with the burger construction would be solved by ordering the smash patties.  We assumed that the flattening of the patty would result in a much better distribution of the patty and toppings within the burger.  As luck would have it, DK ended up ordering the Smash Burger during his venture the next day, and he indeed did not have the same complaints as us.  He reported that the smash patties were nicely seared and beefy, and had no mentionable issues besides the burger being a bit too mustard forward.   

The opinions on the burger toppings ran the gamut from good to bad.  The sauces in the burgers (as well as the optional sauces served tableside) were all flavorful and played well with each other.  The onion rings in the OMG and the BBQ were a bit too bready, with the breading getting soggy quickly amid the sauces and with not a lot of onion in the middle.  The bacon on the BBQ and the breakfast burgers were unanimously panned by Wayne, Trev, and Angela.  They reported that the bacon tasted stale and was very chewy in a Wayne-NOT-approved kind of way.

Also, stock up on napkins when you eat here.  The flatbread on the burger is utilized such that one edge of the burger is “sealed” (sort of like a pita wrap or taco).  While this may seem like it would be helpful in keeping the eating experience neater, the edge acted like a funnel to leak all the sauces and juices to the sides.  Eat with napkins handy. Or, perhaps we all just need to take a lesson from Joey to understand proper sandwich eating protocol.

III. Sides

Trev and Angela ordered a combo, and opted to choose garlic parmesan fries as their choice of side.  These fries were amazing.  They were well-seasoned, crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.  We were impressed with the uniform adherence of the garlic and parmesan to the french fries.  In our experience, most garlic parm fries share a similar issue, where all the toppings immediately fall off during the delicate transfer of a loaded fry from basket to mouth.  We give kudos to whatever fry seasoning technology Bungraze has.

IV. Miscellaneous

Bungraze is located in Little Tokyo, which means parking may be tricky and/or expensive.  We met at lunch on a Saturday so we felt the full force of this predicament.  From personal experience, be cautioned that the Japanese Village Plaza parking structure across the street may be tempting in its convenience, but may cost you an arm, leg, and/or your first born child. 

Our ordering experience was a bit curious.  We arrived and lingered at the register for a good 5 minutes in front of the (assumed) owner, without being addressed. While he wasn’t unfriendly, it felt odd to just wait there for a while in front of him.  There was also an ordering kiosk at the corner by the door, so maybe this was a subtle hint to use it?  

If you choose to order tap water to accompany your meal as I did, be prepared to either be thirsty or to constantly go up for refills, because the cup I received was TINY.  

V. Value

The members were asked how much they would pay for their burgers. The prices given were $8.50, $10, $10, $10, and $13, so fairly close to the given prices.

VI. The Verdict

The ratings given by the members were 2.9, 3.2, 3.0*, 3.1, and 4.3.

[*Only because of the bun]

Due to me procrastinating this review, the following burger crew meeting has already happened! That review coming soon….