burgercrewLA

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Sat. June 30, 2018 at 11am.

Members in attendance:

• Angela d.
• Trevor Y.
• Wayne T.
• Dennis K. (authored this review)
• Innie C.
• Marty d.

Guests:

• Christian Y.
• Jeannie K.
• Kyle C.

I. Ordering
Glee offers a nice spread of 17 burgers of which 12 are beef-based. Orders are taken at the counter and they accept cash and credit.

• Angela and Trev ordered the Bacon Double Cheeseburger ($6.00).
• Wayne and I ordered the Soft Shell Crab Burger ($11.00).
• Innie ordered the Aloha Burger ($9.25).
  
• We all got our burgers Stinkin’ Burger Style ($1.25).

Our newest member, Marty, chose not to eat for her first meeting. It’s okay (even Wayne kept his cool) because she comes from strong burger bloodlines and will have red meat flowing through her veins in no time. Please join us in welcoming her as she starts her burger journey! (As Jeb Bush said that one time, “please clap” 👏👏👏.)

II. The Burgers
These are classic mom-and-pop style burgers in a family-friendly setting. The patties are on the thin side, cooked well done over a flat top and could have used more seasoning and a better sear. For those of us who went single patty, the beef got lost in the mix (cue: world’s smallest violin). Double patty sure seems like the way to go; Trev and Angela thought theirs had great flavor.

Most of the burgers are served on brioche buns from La Jolla Bakery. The crew appreciates solid buns and these were great. Buttery and chewy (“al dente”, if you will) with the insides lightly grilled. On point!

It seems like some of their specialty burgers were more about being bold than adding interesting ingredients that complement the stuff that’s already in the burger. The bacon in the Soft Shell Crab burger, for example, during post-meal both Wayne and I forgot it was even in our burgers, and that’s the only time the two of us have ever agreed on the bacon situation (a Burger Crew first). It was either lacking in flavor or there wasn’t enough to compete with the crab and Stinkin’ sauce (which to their credit was a kickbutt combo).

Also, I don’t have a place for this, but the egg on the Aloha Burger was well done. That’s a cardinal sin!

Overall, the burgers were a good size but lacked the fundamental qualities of an amazing burger. It’s a good spot for getting your weekly burger fix but not somewhere you’d take friends for an A+ burger experience. We recommend getting Stinkin’ Burger Style for extra flavor and in hindsight, one of us should’ve taken one for the team to taste what their burgers are like without it. If there’s a next time, perhaps.

III. The Fries/Sides
Most everyone ordered Cajun fries because coordinating is hard. Wayne went rogue and ordered regular fries. The batter added a nice crunch that’s always appreciated. The fries were served with a “secret” sauce and while it didn’t stand out, it wasn’t bad either.

IV. Miscellaneous

• Good sized parking lot in a strip mall (free).
• First-timers get a free donut. Their generosity is off the charts.
• The Breakfast Burger should be cross-listed under Burgers. Angela found this disturbing and she’s still waiting for an apology.
• Plenty of of seating. Mix of booths and free standing tall tables.
• Sad to say, the Coke fountain drink tasted off. Not bad, just off.
• Ketchup and other sauces are in a self-serve mini fridge. Get the ketchup out early if you don’t like chilled sauce.
• One of the employees looked like our co-founder Sumana.

V. Value
The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered.

Bacon Double Cheeseburger + Stinkin’ Burger Style
Trev: $9.50
Angela: $10.00

Soft Shell Crab Burger + Stinkin’ Burger Style
Wayne: $14.00
DK: $15.00

Aloha Burger + Stinkin’ Burger Style
Innie: $10.50

VI. The Verdict

• Trev: 3.6
• Angela: 3.8
• Wayne: 3.8
• DK: 3.5
• Innie: 3.4

Next burger crew meeting July 22nd at noon (DK’s choice). Location: SECRET

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 11am (Trevor’s pick).

Members in attendance: Angela d., Trevor Y., Wayne T., and Innie C.

Members that picked work over burgers: Dennis K.

I. Ordering

Angela and Trevor ordered the Tavern burger ($14.50; medium well due to the parasite growing inside of Angela) with a side salad, plus an additional order of garlic fries ($7). The Tavern burger comes with St Andre triple cream brie, Dr. Pepper caramelized onions, arugula, ketchup, and garlic aioli.

Innie ordered the Brutal Burger 2.0 ($15; medium rare) with a side of chips. The Brutal Burger 2.0 comes with pepper jack, romaine, red onion, grilled jalapeno, avocado, brutal sauce, and mojo verde.

Wayne ordered the Black & Bleu burger ($14.50; medium rare) with a side of chips. The Black & Bleu burger comes with Shaft’s bleu cheese, black pepper bacon, arugula, and horseradish mayo.

II. The burgers

Angela and Trevor said that their burger was very sweet due to the Dr. Pepper. They felt that the pickle included with the burgers was crucial to balancing out the sweetness of their burger, which also lacked saltiness. Innie felt that the burger was monochromatic in flavor; it was a good level of spicy for a Korean person, but it might be too spicy for non-Koreans, and she felt that the spiciness was mostly just added heat rather than added flavor. The arugula and red onions also pushed the spiciness of the burger over the edge. Wayne enjoyed his burger but said that the bleu cheese was the standout flavor of the burger rather than the burger itself. He did enjoy the bacon in his burger, which was chewy (his preferred bacon texture), thick, and peppery. Everyone generally enjoyed the patties, although Angela said that their patty was only seared around the edge. The buns were gooey with a good chew and they held up to the juices of the burger.

III. The fries

The garlic fries were AMAZING. Huge garlic flavor, even on the fries without garlic chunks. The Dodgers need to copy these fries and sell them in the stadium. The fries were quite crispy and seemed to be double fried. They came with two sauces: one jalapeno sauce and one horseradish sauce that were both good.

IV. Miscellaneous

Service was great and attentive; our waitress even warned Innie that the Brutal Burger 2.0 might be on the spicy side depending on your tolerance. The chips that came with our burgers were made in-house, which is a nice fresh touch. The restaurant is on 2nd Street in Long Beach, so parking can be hard to find. There’s both indoor and outdoor seating, and seating was easy at 11am on a Saturday. They have a good beer selection, and the restaurant was featured on Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives if you want to take a trip to Flavortown.

V. Value

Everyone was pretty much in agreement as far as what we would pay for our burgers, which was between $9-$10.

VI. The verdict

We thought that the burgers were pretty good for the most part, with the following ratings: 2.5, 3.0, 3.2, 3.7.

Next Burger Crew meeting: May 12, 2018 at noon (Wayne’s choice). Location: fundamental DTLA, Los Angeles.