Author: Wayne Tam

Burger Crew meeting called to order on May 18, 2025.

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

I. Ordering

DK and Innie: Lil’ Simmzy’s Burger (Simmzy’s own angus beef patties, american cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli) and Mixed Bag of sides (half French fries, half sweet potato fries)

DK: also ordered 15 Minute Wings (Spicy and sweet sauce with homemade blue cheese dressing to cool ‘em down)

Trevor/Angela: Billionaire Burger (Mishima reserve American wagyu beef, pretzel bun, Hook’s 5 Year aged cheddar, Nueske’s candied bacon, pickles, horseradish mayo) and Mixed Bag

Wayne: Bacon Blue Deluxe Burger (Simmzy’s own angus beef patty topped w/ blue cheese, candied bacon, lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli, frizzled shallots) and Sweet Potato fries. I also substituted the candied bacon with peppered bacon

II. Burgers

Starting with the Even, there were no redeeming qualities about them. They were overcooked (some to the point that they were just burnt), under-seasoned, and just didn’t taste like beef. The grind was coarse and loosely packed, but they were just incredibly dry when biting into them even if they weren’t well-done. Even McDonald’s has juicier patties.

The menu also doesn’t advertise the Lil’ Simmzy as having smash patties, but our waitress told us they were. Maybe she didn’t understand what a smash patty actually was, but they were just standard thin patties with no smash/lace that you would expect from a true smash patty. Innie’s initial impression of her burger on first bite was that there was some smoke flavor but she quickly realized that it was literally just ash from being burnt. DK’s was a little less overcooked but definitely still overcooked, as was my Bacon Blue Deluxe burger. Mine was ok for a “backyard” style burger, but far from ok for a restaurant serving a supposedly premium burger. Trevor didn’t think the patty in his Billionaire burger was TOO dry, and it might’ve been because it was a wagyu beef patty.

As far as non-patty complaints go, DK didn’t like the positioning of the garlic aioli on his burger, which was on the top bun. It would be better to have sauces on the bottom bun so that it hits the tongue first. Angela also didn’t think that the bacon in her burger was thick enough for a billionaire; even the bacon she eats at home is better. Since I subsituted candied bacon in my burger for peppered bacon, I’m assuming that I got the same bacon and I agree that it should be much thicker if it’s supposed to be in a “billionaire” burger. The pretzel bun in the Billionaire burger was “fine” and so uneventful that Trevor didn’t even notice that it wasn’t a traditional bun.

Aside from the mediocre patty in my Bacon Blue Deluxe burger, I actually thought that the rest of the toppings were pretty good, but the patty really brought things down, and this was really a common theme among all of the burgers.

III. Sides

The regular fries were shoestring style and nobody had any complaints about them other than Angela preferring thicker shoestring fries. The sweet potato fries were actually really good. A normal complaint about sweet potato fries that we have is that they usually don’t deliver on how good sweet potato fries actually could be, and these actually delivered. They were crispy on the outside, which is very hard to do with sweet potato fries. The sweet potato fries were definitely the winner of the whole meal.

There was nothing exceptional about the 15 Minute Wings but they were decently good for chicken wings. They were a little on the small side, which limited how juicy they could be on the inside, but they were executed about as well as they could’ve been given the circumstances.

IV. Misc

The restaurant is located on 2nd Street in Long Beach, where parking can be difficult to find (meters close to the shopping area and residential just beyond it).

V. Rating/Value/Verdict

Angela: 2.3/$13
DK: 1.5/$8.50
Innie: 2.5/$10
Trevor: 1.4/$11
Wayne: 2.4/$12

Despite being a Long Beach institution, Simmzy’s falls really short, and Trevor has been put on notice that his membership with Burger Crew is in jeopardy.

Next Burger Meeting will be our annual trip, this time in Salt Lake City, starting tonight (June 18)!

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.

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Jan 20, 2024.

Members in attendance: Angela, DK, Innie, Trevor, and Wayne

I. Ordering

Angela/Trevor: Double Western Combo (80/20 brisket blend, American cheese, tangy BBQ sauce, onion straws, buttermilk ranch, and pickles, with waffle fries), extra side of mac and cheese, hazy double IPA

Innie: Single Baldwin Combo (80/20 brisket and tri tip blend, American cheese, Smash sauce, sauteed onions, and pepperoncinis, with waffle fries), beer

DK: Double Baldwin Combo, beer

Wayne: Double Western Combo

II. Burgers

Our experience with the burgers was pretty mixed. Many of us found the patties to be dry, overcooked, and just burnt in general while others thought that theirs were fine. I also found my burger to be cold, as if it had been sitting and waiting to be ordered, but Angela and Trevor really liked theirs, saying that it was a really good western-style burger with the way everything was balanced. Trevor particularly liked the onion straws.

Innie and DK thought that their burgers tasted mostly like their condiments, which was the only thing keeping the burgers from being too dry. DK said that he wished his burger had more pepperoncinis; Innie said she didn’t even notice any in hers, and after some deliberation, we think that it’s possible that they accidentally gave her a classic smash burger instead of a Baldwin.

III. Sides

Everyone thought that the waffle fries were just ok, and just like with my burger, I thought that mine were really cold while others described theirs as “not hot.” Several of us thought they lacking seasoning; I usually eat fries without using ketchup or other dipping sauces, but I felt like I couldn’t eat these without ketchup because of lack of flavor.

On the bright side, the mac and cheese was praiseworthy according to Angela. It was was super cheesy and the morsels of Cheez-Its on top added a nice crunch.

IV. Misc

Everyone liked their beers; Trevor said his was the best double IPA he’s ever had. The outdoor seating isn’t a great experience when it rains, with tables that are too close to the edges of roofs and parts of the ground that get flooded with puddles that you need to walk through. They have their own small parking lot but it doesn’t hold that many cars. The women’s restroom was pretty much out of soap while we were there.

V. Rating/Value/Verdict

Angela: 3.6/$12
DK: 3.7/$12.75
Innie: 2.8/$10
Trevor: 3.4/$9.50
Wayne: 1.5/$6

Next Burger Crew meeting will be at Lowboy in Echo Park.

Burger Crew meeting called to order on July 7, 2023.

Members in attendance: Angela, DK, Innie, Sumana, Trevor, Wayne, and special guests Chris, Lucy, and Will

I. Ordering

Gretel only has one burger on their menu, the Gretel Griddle Burger (two patties, white and yellow American cheese, red onion, garlic aioli, pickles), which comes with a side of fries or you can substitute a side for $2.

Angela/Trevor: Burger and fries (asked for burger cooked medium rare)
Innie: Burger and fries
Sumana/Will: Burger and fries along with an additional side of mac & cheese (bacon, scallions, bread crumbs) and a Phil’s Last Dog (charred Vienna beef, mustard, onion, relish, tomato, pickle, sport pepper, and celery salt)
DK: Burger and grilled carrots (harissa and sorghum)
Wayne: Burger and blistered shishito peppers (kewpie mayo, togarashi, fried garlic)
Chris: Prime Rib French Dip (baguette, horseradish aioli, au jus) with fries
Lucy: Pork gyoza (garlic, scallion, soy)

II. Burgers

Trevor’s immediate impression of the burger was that it was very “neat,” as in clean to eat; Sumana said that it held together very well. The burger’s two patties stayed distinctly separate while biting into it, as opposed to other multi-patty burgers where texturally they might as well be one larger patty. Innie likened the burger to an upscale Big Mac and everybody agreed on the similarities to a Big Mac, like the double patties, sesame seed bun, the spread, the pickles, and the overall taste. The patties were very meaty and well-seasoned, with a good amount of chew to them.

As far as how the burgers were dressed, DK appreciated the fact that the burger had both white cheddar and American cheese slices. Innie mentioned that her burger had a lot of mayo; when she cut hers in half, a bunch of it oozed out. Our working theory is that because the pickles were so thick, they created extra voids in the burger construction for mayo to fill. Aside from working as mayo importers, the pickles were a hit with everyone, both because of their thickness and their flavor, and the red onions provided another welcome contrast. The buns held up well and the fact that they had sesame seeds was also appreciated.

III. Sides

Mac and cheese: Sumana said the mac and cheese was amazing. It didn’t use traditional elbow macaroni for the pasta and instead used corkscrew/fusilli pasta, which provided a lot of areas for the cheese to go in. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, and the bacon in it was perfect.

Shishito peppers: These were also very good, and as is always the case with shishito peppers, most were sweet while some were randomly spicy, but not in an overwhelming way. They had a good char on the outside from the blistering, and the kewpie mayo dip was a great accompaniment.

Fries: Most of us felt that the fries were largely average, not bad but not great. They were shoestring and single-fried. There wasn’t much else to say about them.

Carrots: DK said that the carrots must have been grilled for a long time because you could just fork right through them. He didn’t care for the sorghum on top of the carrots, which were similar to popcorn. The harissa sauce that came with them was a good mix of being spiced without being overwhelmingly spicy.

IV. Misc

Everybody who ordered alcohol loved their drinks, and if you love your soda, they offer free refills on sodas. The atmosphere/lighting of the restaurant is a little dark but it gives it a cool vibe. As we had previously encountered in Chicago, the restrooms were seemingly unlabeled, as in you would never know which rooms were the restrooms without either being told or just trying to open doors. The burgers didn’t come out as quickly as we had previously experienced at the earlier Chicago restaurants, which isn’t to say that they were slow, but just not as typically fast as we had come to expect in Chicago. Our waitress was very friendly and she even offered to split the check for us because she had been keeping track of who ordered what.

V. Rating/Value/Verdict

Angela: $14, 4.0
DK: $18, 4.4
Innie: $17, 4.0
Sumana: 4.7
Trevor: $13, 4.3
Wayne: $13, 4.1

Next Burger Crew meeting is at Mott St for dinner!

Burger Crew meeting called to order on June 4, 2023.

Members in attendance: Angela, Innie, Trevor, and Wayne

I. Ordering

Angela/Innie: Chori Dream (chorizo smash burger, sous vide 60 min egg, dream spread,
pickled jalapeño, butter toasted martin’s potato roll)

Trevor/Wayne: Supreme Dream (Thicc bacon, smash chorizo burger, sous vide 60 min egg, dream spread, American cheese, pickled jalapeño, sliced avocado, butter toasted martin’s potato roll)

Trevor also added a potato smash patty to his Supreme Dream.

II. Burgers

The reason that everyone got burgers with chorizo patties was because they had run out of beef patties by the time we got there even though we were there by noon. This was an ominous sign of how Breakfast Dreams runs their operations…

Regarding the burgers we did get, the first thing that everyone excitedly agreed on was that the sous vide eggs in the burgers were amazing. The yolk was runny but was thicker than other traditionally runny egg yolks (like sunny side up), so it didn’t make a mess in your hands while eating the burger. The chorizo patties were smashed, which gave them a nice crisp on the outside, and they held up surprisingly well because when I watched them being smashed, some of them seemed to be splitting apart, but in the assembled burgers they were fairly intact. We suspect that they were made entirely out of chorizo because it was very flavorful the way that you would expect chorizo to be, but it also wasn’t overly salty like you might expect a purely chorizo patty to be. We couldn’t imagine what the burgers would taste like with regular beef patties because the combination of flavors worked so well together with the chorizo patties.

Everybody also liked the pickled jalapenos and dream spread that was in all the burgers. There was also a hot sauce on the side that was spiced but not overly spicy with a short, mild burn. The buns were also a hit with nice soft texture and sweet taste. The burgers were also deceptively small, meaning that we ended up becoming more full off of them than we thought we would be based on how they looked.

For the Supreme Dream burgers, the avocado added a nice creaminess, and the thicc bacon was cooked perfectly with a nice chew to it. Trevor thought that the potato patty (which was like a crispy hash brown) that he added to his burger was a must, but Angela wasn’t a fan of it, thinking that it diluted the otherwise perfect construction of the burger.

III. Sides

There were no real sides to be had. Breakfast Dreams only really offers additional toppings for the burgers, like avocado, double bacon/chorizo, or the potato smash patty.

IV. Misc

It took FOREVER for us to get our food. If you come to a pop-up for Breakfast Dreams, don’t plan to eat for an hour after you place your order.

Everybody put in their orders around noon, and despite what seemed like no significant crowds, we didn’t get our last order until 12:50, so it took nearly an hour for them to complete all of our orders. While I was standing by their booth waiting for our orders to be called, it seemed like they were only sending out one assembled burger every five minutes (I wish this was an exaggeration), and when I was watching them put the patties on the griddle, they were only using half of the griddle space. The only time that I saw them use the entire griddle space was when they needed to cook more bacon, in which case they filled the other half of the griddle with bacon. Apparently that half of the griddle is only for cooking bacon…

While the patties were cooking, they would only lay out the ingredients for one burger at a time (like the buns with everything else but the patty). The logical thing to do would be to lay out multiple orders with everything but the patties so that they could just put the patties on and serve the order, but instead they would put a patty on one burger and then wait to assemble the ingredients for the next burger sequentially. It was actually pretty infuriating to watch considering how long we had to wait. Also, besides running out of beef patties, they were also close to running out of buns. I don’t understand how either of those two things could happen considering how slowly they serve their food.

Other miscellaneous for this particular event (which was some kind of off-roading swap meet) was that parking was a little hard to find, and there was also nowhere to eat so we ended up eating in the back of Trevor and Angela’s car, but these were unique to this event so who knows what other Breakfast Dreams pop-ups are like.

V. Rating/Value/Verdict

Wayne: 4.1/$13
Trevor: 4.8/$15.50
Innie: 4.6/$10
Angela: 4.2/$14

Everyone really enjoyed their burgers and if we were to judge Breakfast Dreams strictly on the burgers we got, they get very high marks. However, their questionably slow business operations annoyed everyone immensely. Hopefully they can get their sh*t together and churn out burgers at a respectable rate.

Next Burger Crew meeting, we’ll finally get to go to Chicago in July after many false starts and delays!

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Sunday, January 22, 2023.

Members in attendance: Angela, DK, Innie, Trevor, and Wayne, with special guest Marty.

I. Ordering

Ellie’s only has one burger, so that’s what everyone got.

Innie got the standard Ellie’s Burger, which comes with aged cheddar, special sauce, lettuce, pickles, and caramelized onion ($15). DK and Wayne added bacon ($2) to their burgers, while Trevor added both bacon and egg ($2 each).

Due to her current dietary restrictions, Angela had to special order her burger, and this is what came out.

Angela ordered her burger with bacon, which got left off of her burger, and she brought her own bun and cheese.

II. Burgers

Everybody ordered their patties medium rare but everybody’s came out at least medium well. DK and Trev both said the doneness didn’t really matter to them because it was still tender and juicy, and that the juiciness of the patties helped to balance out the ratio of bun to meat because the buns were on the larger side. Angela’s patty was beyond well done and she said that it was very dry. Angela and Innie both thought it was really salty, and DK and i both thought it was pretty salty, but in a good way, while Trev didn’t think it was salty at all.

Everyone who had pickles in their burger (Angela: “you had pickles?!”) really enjoyed them for the tanginess that they brought to the burger to help balance out the heaviness of the rest of the burger. It was especially nice because the pickles were positioned at the bottom of the burger so that they would hit your tongue first, which is where they needed to be. Trev was very happy with the egg in his burger, saying it was perfectly cooked so that the yolk was still gooey without being runny and that it was what every egg in a burger should be. The bacon was also a hit with everyone who got it on their burger.

As far as the aged cheddar in the burgers went, Innie thought it was too overpowering, while Trev didn’t notice it in a good way, meaning it didn’t overwhelm the burger. I didn’t think that it was too sharp for my own tastes. Texturally, it was melted over the burger but it was congealed and essentially plastic-like when it was served to us. The secret sauce added a nice sweetness.

Angela said that the fact that she brought her own bun and cheese was the only thing that made her burger edible. If she had to have it the way that it was served to her, she would have taken two bites of it and wouldn’t have been able to continue.

Marty really enjoyed her burger, only saying that it needed more ketchup. It was the most burger she had ever eaten at a meeting.

III. Sides

We ordered the burrata and everyone thought it was amazing, especially with how well the honey complimented it. The burgers all came standard with a side salad, and while I thought that the dressing was pretty standard for a vinaigrette, Trev and Innie both thought it was too strong and sour. Angela had fries with her lettuce and patty, and she said they were too salty just like the patty was; Trev described them texturally as being “ultra fried,” with a fried crispy outer shell while the potato inside had disintegrated. Angela did say that she could taste the truffle in the fries and rated them as being just ok.

IV. Misc

The restaurant wouldn’t let anyone order anything (not even an appetizer like the burrata) until the entire table was ready to put in their entire order, which was kind of odd. Service was kind of slow even though they didn’t seem to be very busy. They do take reservations for brunch, and the burger is only offered during brunch. There’s only one bathroom available and there’s no obvious signage that it’s a bathroom; there’s also a table only about four feet away from it, and both Trev and Innie said that they would not want to be seated at that table.

V. Rating/Value/Verdict

Wayne: 3.7/$9
Innie: 3.5/$14
DK: 4.0/$17
Angela: 1.8/$10
Trev: 3.9/$17

Other than Angela’s abomination, everyone else’s burger was pretty solid and enjoyable.

Next Burger Crew meeting will be on February 26 at YoYo Burgers and Chicken in Anaheim.

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, August 20, 2022.

Members in attendance: Angela, DK, Innie, Trevor, and Wayne, with special guests Ellis and Marty.

I. Ordering

All of Monster Burger’s menu items are named after monsters and villains from fictional works. I guess the names are supposed to somehow correlate with what’s inside of the menu item, but I feel like they’re a loose fit at best. For example, if I were to make a Dracula burger, it would have garlic inside of it, but Monster Burger’s doesn’t. Anyways, I digress…

Innie: Dracula burger (pepper jack cheese, scratch made pickdled jalapenos, white onions, roasted jalapeno sauce, chipotle ketchup)

DK: Dracula burger (with cheddar cheese instead of pepper jack) and Reaper fries (bayou cajun saice, crispy bacon, parmesan, house made ranch, hot buffalo sauce)

Wayne: Dracula burger with Minion fries (cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, green onions, house made ranch)

Angela: Angela was on a dietary restriction, so they were able to make an off-menu burger for her with bun, meat, bacon, and barbecue sauce

Trevor: American Werewolf (American cheese, lettuce, tomato, white onions, wolf sauce)

II. Burgers

Trevor and Angela really enjoyed their burgers. Angela was very impressed with the sear and seasoning, saying her burger had a nice crunch with crispy bacon, and Trevor said it had a nice chew while still being tender. Being the tomato connoisseur that he is, Trevor also really liked the tomato in his burger.

The spiciness in the Dracula burgers was fairly mild, but the flavor combination was good, with the pickled jalapenos being notable. None of us that ordered Dracula burgers were that impressed with our patties. They were seasoned well but just didn’t have great sears. Maybe our burgers were taken off the grill earlier than Trevor and Angela’s burgers.

Buns were solid and they were the right size for the patties, not too big and not too small.

III. Sides

We all thought that the actual fries themselves were really good and crispy, but the additional toppings on the fries weren’t anything special. The recommendation is to just get plain fries instead of the specialty fries because it’s not worth the extra upcharge.

IV. Misc

Being in a Steelcraft location, which is an outdoor container park, you have to contend with the elements, and aside from the summer heat, there were a lot of flies. Parking is plentiful and there are play areas for small children (like Marty) to run around in. Angela really appreciated Burger Monster’s ability to accommodate her dietary restrictions, although they did tell her that there’s still a lot of cross contamination for anyone whose food allergies are very sensitive.

V. Value/Rating

The values and ratings were a mixed bag since some of us enjoyed the burgers more than others. Values ranged from $9-$13 and ratings ranged from 3.0-4.2.

Our next meeting will be for Trevor’s birthday, catered by Tripp Burgers!

Burger Crew meeting called to order on February 26, 2022.

Members in attendance: Angela, DK, Innie, Trevor, and Wayne, with special guest Marissa.

I. Ordering

Crack doesn’t have a very extensive menu, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it also means that almost everybody ordered the same thing, which was the Bacon Jam burger. The only deviants were DK, who ordered The Dirty, and Marissa, who ordered the Ortega Burger. Most of us also added a side of fries.

II. The Burgers

The seasoning on the patties was very inconsistent. Trevor thought that his patty was very bland, and DK thought that some bites were OK while others were way too salty. The owner had told us that he had just hired a new cook, and it sounded like he was still learning how to cook, so that may have been a big reason for the inconsistency. Most of us had also ordered our burgers medium rare (except Angela), but they all came out pretty much well-done. The meat had strange chewy bits that indicated that some cheaper cuts were probably used for the beef grind. The buns were what everyone described as “classic” burger buns, not too gooey and not too dry. The bacon jam was sweet and had a little bit of heat on it, and everybody enjoyed it that had the Bacon Jam burger. Innie noted that it was unusual for a burger to have plain mayonnaise as a condiment; usually it’s mixed with something else to become a “burger sauce” of some kind or an aioli. It wasn’t necessarily bad, just unusual. DK thought that his Dirty burger was overly saucy in a messy way. Marissa and DK both thought that the Ortega burger was incredibly bland despite all of the components. The chilis and salsa tasted canned, and all of the flavors ended up cancelling each other out.

III. The Sides

For $4, the portion of fries was disappointing. DK said that they reminded him of little seasoned potato wedges in terms of taste and texture. Trevor saw that they were air frying them, which explained the lack of crispiness. They reminded us of fries that you get from the freezer section of a supermarket, and not in a good way.

IV. Miscellaneous

The owner was a character, to say the least. He was very judgemental about any changes that we wanted to make while ordering. The changes were things like side of pickles or for a burger to be cut in half, so not anything out of ordinary, but they were all met with snide comments. He made his political leanings very apparent when speaking with us, and when he brought out the burgers, he was strangely misogynistic, assuming that the women all wanted their burgers to be cut in half. Angela described him as home cook burger enthusiast, someone who enjoys making burgers but might not necessarily have the experience or quality of ingredients to be running a restaurant. He had a hard time keeping everyone’s orders straight, including different levels of doneness and who had their burger cut in half. The food took forever to come out, so the owner brought out different samples of white bean chicken chili and macaroni salad to try to hold us over.

V. Value

The Crew was largely in agreement regarding the value of the burgers we had. Everyone said they would pay between $7.50 and $8.50, perhaps the narrowest range we’ve ever had for value.

VI. The Verdict

The ratings came out to 2.3, 2.7, 3.1, 3.1, and 3.2, so clearly nobody was impressed with what we had. Crack has overwhelmingly positive reviews on Yelp, and we hypothesized that maybe it’s because it’s in a golf course, and everybody expects mediocre food at a golf course, so when the food is slightly above average, it’s met with tons of praise.

Our next meeting will be at Nilly’s Neighborhood Burger Shop in Artesia.

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, September 25, 2021.

Members in attendance: Angela, DK, Sumana, Trevor, and Wayne, with special guest Will.

After way too much procrastination on my part, I’m finally resuming the Best of LA reviews. Plan Check has always been in the upper tier of Burger Crew favorites, and we were happy in the past to see them expand to multiple locations, but all of the other locations have now closed and their original location on Sawtelle is the only one that remains.

I. Ordering

Plan Check’s menu hadn’t really changed all that much until relatively recently, where they added a lot of new items. Most of the Crew stuck with tried and true mainstays while Sumana and I decided to try something new. All burgers came with regular fries, except for DK substituting sweet potato fries.

Angela: PCB (Plan Check Burger; beef patty, Americanized dashi cheese, ketchup leather, shmaltz onions, mixed pickles, crunch bun)

Trevor: Chef’s Favorite Burger (beef patty, cheese two ways, bacon two ways, ketchup leather, sunny fried egg, hot sauce, crunch bun)

DK: Chef’s Favorite Burger with sweet potato fries

Sumana/Will: Machismo Burger (beef patty, habanero cheese, bacon, fried onions, spicy mayo, jalapeños, crunch bun)

Wayne: So Cal Dbl Cheeseburger (two smash patties, Americanized dashi cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon 1000 island, crunch bun)

II. The Burgers

As mentioned above, more than half the Crew ordered burgers that they had already had and enjoyed before. However, Angela was very quick to say that she didn’t enjoy her PCB as much as she had in the past and said that while the burger was very well-composed, the meat didn’t taste as meaty and didn’t come with as good of a sear as she had come to expect from Plan Check. A part of her patty also had what she assumed was a piece of tendon and to her it’s a sign that the quality of their meat isn’t as high as it used to be.

For the Chef’s Favorite burgers, Trevor said that he thoroughly enjoyed everything about it, and DK likened his experience eating the Chef’s Favorite to the scene in Ratatouille where the food critic takes a bite and the food causes him to experience a flashback to a happier time, saying that he’s not sure that he’ll ever get another burger at Plan Check because it’s so consistently good.

One thing that the group noticed though was that the fried eggs weren’t as runny was they used to be; whereas before your hands would end up completely covered in egg yolk, the eating experience was far cleaner this time.

Moving on to the new burgers, Sumana really enjoyed her Machismo burger, specifically mentioning the nice differences in texture between the pickled jalapenos and the crispy fried onion strings. She thought that it was just spicy enough and thought that all of the various flavors came together really well.

As for my So Cal Dbl Cheeseburger, I thought it was huge miss, which I never thought I would say about a burger from Plan Check. The patties were advertised as smash patties, and while they were thinner and smaller than their standard patties that they use in all of their other burgers, they weren’t smashed at all, so they lacked both the caramelization that you would expect from a true smash patty and the juiciness and beefiness that you would expect from a larger patty. I also thought that the patties were overly seasoned with salt. All in all, I would be very hesitant in the future to try new burgers from Plan Check that didn’t use their standard patties.

III. The Sides

Having fries included with the burgers is fairly new for Plan Check; in the past, everything was a la carte. Everyone thought that both the regular fries and ketchup were better than in the past, especially the ketchup, which nobody really cared for before. The fries used to be soggy, but this time they were crispy. DK thought that his sweet potato fries were overly salted but otherwise they were pretty standard.

IV. Miscellaneous

We had reservations for 8:45pm but we were able to be seated at 7:45pm. We sat outside on their patio, but they have heaters to keep everyone nice and toasty. Every table had a bottle of hand sanitizer on it, which was great considering the ongoing pandemic. Finding street parking on Sawtelle can be a challenge.

V. Value

Most of the Crew would pay between $15-$17 for their burgers, with one outlier of $9. Based on the individual reviews above, you might be able to figure out who said $9.

VI. The Verdict

The ratings came out to 2.8, 3.8, 4.5, 4.9, and 5.0, so most of us liked Plan Check just as much as we had in the past, but they’re not as consistently good as they used to be with all of their menu items.

The next re-visit in the Burger Crew does Los Angeles staycation is Pier Burger.

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Friday, September 24, 2021.

Members in attendance: Angela, DK, Innie, Sumana, Trevor, and Wayne, with special guest Will.

Welcome to the beginning of Burger Crew does Los Angeles! Despite the fact that the main goal of our staycation was to revisit and re-review our favorite burger places in the LA area, we decided to visit Bill’s Burgers for the first time because we were going to be swinging by the Burbank Airport anyway, and Bill’s is only open Tuesday through Friday, so we decided to take advantage of this opportunity to eat burgers in a new area.

I. Ordering

Bill’s Burgers has a very basic menu as far their burgers go, offering single and double hamburgers and cheeseburgers, as well as a chili burger.

Innie: Cheeseburger with jalapenos on the side

Trangela: Double cheeseburger

DK: Cheeseburger

Will: Cheeseburger

Sumana: Double cheeseburger

Wayne: Double cheeseburger with a bag of chips

II. The Burgers

The burgers were definitely on the smaller side. The patties were very well-seasoned, with a peppery taste and good sear. Most of us agreed that the patties were very dense with a sausage patty-like texture, which wasn’t unpleasant, but just different from a standard ground beef patty. As can be seen from the picture above, the American cheese was melted over the patties, coating them in cheesy goodness. The buns were very simple and gooey. Despite having shredded lettuce, Angela didn’t hate the lettuce since it wasn’t falling out of her burger, and she felt that the double cheeseburger had the perfect ratio of meat to bun; if she had gotten a single cheeseburger, she would not have been satisfied. The tomatoes were thinly sliced, which was a plus because it kept the burger from getting too wet. The jalapenos that Innie got on the side were very generous in portion size, with more than enough to cover two burgers.

III. The Sides

I was the only one to order a side, which was a small bag of Lay’s potato chips, and I didn’t even eat them while we were at Bill’s, so I’ll go out on a limb and say that they probably taste like standard Lay’s potato chips. For $0.50, they were actually quite cheap for a small bag.

IV. Miscellaneous

Bill’s has a nice and big parking lot. They have a small counter in front of the ordering area, but unfortunately because of the current pandemic, they don’t currently have seats for the counter. They’re cash-only, and the hours and days that they’re open are very limited right now (8:30/9am-4pm, Tuesday-Friday).

V. Value

The prices that we were willing to pay were in a pretty narrow window, between $5 and $6.50, which isn’t bad for a small single or double cheeseburger. As I mentioned earlier, I thought that the small bag of chips was a pretty great value as well for $0.50.

VI. The Verdict

The ratings came out to 3.0, 3.8, 3.9, 3.9, 4.4, and 4.9, so most of us were generally satisfied with the burgers, with the outliers ranging from meh to amazing.

Up next is the first re-visit of Burger Crew does Los Angeles with Burgers Never Say Die.