Burger Crew Meeting called to order on Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 11am (Wayne’s Pick)
Members in attendance: Angela d. (that’s me!), Trevor Y., Dennis, K., and Innie C.
Slider member: Marty d.
I. Ordering
Trev and I ordered the Bacon Love #9 and Fries ($10.99) – Applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato & secret sauce #9. And we couldn’t resist ordering mac and cheese with bacon ($5.75)
We got Marty the Kid Burger with fries and applesauce ($5.99)
DK ordered the Wagyu Burger + Onion Rings medium rare ($15.99) – Hand formed Wagyu patty, roasted garlic A1 aioli, marinated grilled tomato, arugula, swiss, french fried onions.
Innie got the Scorpion Pepper ($9.50) – Pepper jack cheese, Trinidad Moruga scorpion sauce, grilled jalapenos, lettuce & tomato. Topped with a grilled jalapeno.
Wayne ordered the Golden Gate Sourdough + onion rings ($13.25) – Avocado, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato & housemade thousand island relish on toasted sourdough.
II. The Burgers
There was a lot of variance among the burgers. Trev and I didn’t love the Bacon Love #9. Maybe our expectations were too high with a name like Bacon Love. The balance was way off. It was too bready, super salty, and we could barely taste the meat. It ended up soggy on the bottom because of the pickles and the much loathed shreddece 🤨. Any burger with shreddece ends up messy, slippery, and falling apart.
Marty’s burger was big but didn’t come with anything on it. Thankfully, they were super nice and gave us a slice of cheese and some pickles when our threenager was having a fit because she wanted a cheeseburger.
Wayne said the sourdough on his burger was fine, and it didn’t fall apart like our bun did. He said the meatiness was okay; nothing to write home about, but it was well seasoned. He asked for his burger to be cooked medium rare, but it came out more medium. The avocado gave a nice creaminess to the burger.
Innie’s burger had a decent amount of heat. “Good white people heat”. She could taste the smokiness of the burger because these burgers were cooked on the grill (which if you know me, you know I don’t care for. Griddle all the way, baby). There was a good amount of grilled jalapenos and there were crispy bites until the end.
DK was the winner of this burger crew meeting. He liked the crunchiness of the burger. The Wagyu patty was nice and salty, peppery, and the beefiness was above and beyond expectations. DK hit the jackpot and got arugula instead of shreddece. It came with A1 sauce that was really good. The bacon was Wayne style (read: chewy).
III. The Sides
The fries were good, crispy, skinny, well seasoned. There was some debate regarding what constitutes an above average onion ring. Wayne thought the onion rings were standard, but DK argued that they were great! They were crispy, the onion didn’t fall out when you bit into it, and they stayed crispy the whole time. The mac and cheese was like stove top Velveeta. It was kinda plain, kinda mushy. The bacon on mac and cheese was the best part.
IV. Miscellaneous
Parking is not bad since they have a dedicated parking lot. They have a lot of seating options: indoor seating, outdoor seating with heaters, fans, and TVs, and outdoor seating in the parking lot under a tent. The traffic can be loud when you’re sitting outside. When you get there, you order at the counter and they have self-serve sauces. Wayne commented that the jalapeno ranch does not have any jalapenos in it and there was only a vague taste of jalapenos. They had paper towel rolls, ketchup, and mustard on the tables. They had some cool looking shakes, but none of us ordered any. They had a great playlist!
V. Value
I ask the members how much they would pay for the burger they ate. We would pay anywhere from $7 (that’s an outlier) to $17 (because it was the wagyu burger). So there was a lot of variance in our burger prices.
VI. The Verdict
Fun place to hang out and I think if you’re going to grab a burger here, splurge for the Wagyu burger. The other burgers were just okay. The ratings: 2.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.8, and 4.5
Next burger crew meeting, Saturday, November 21, 2021 at noon.
Heavy Handed LA Food Truck