Burger Shack – San Francisco – 6/29/19

Minutes of a Meeting of the Members of Burger Crew LA

Date:                                   Saturday, June 29, 2019
Time:                                  4:15 p.m. Pacific Time
Location:                          Burger Shack, 2237 Powell Street, SF, CA 94133
Members Present:     Angela, Trevor, Wayne, DK, Innie, Sumana
Members Absent:      None
Guests Present:          Christian, Isabel

I. Call to Order

Meeting was called to order around 4:15 p.m.

II. Discussion

  Angela Trevor Wayne DK (& Isa) Innie (& Chris) Sumana
Ordering (Shared) Combo: ½ lb. shack burger (added: grilled onions, bacon, jalapenos, American cheese), curly fries (Shared) Combo: ½ lb. shack burger (added: grilled onions, bacon, jalapenos, American cheese), curly fries Combo: ¼ lb. shack burger (added: American cheese, pickles, onions), regular fries, substituted drink for a Nutella milkshake ½ lb. shack burger (requested medium rare patty, added: American cheese, bacon, pickles on the side), sweet potato fries, root beer float ½ lb. shack burger (added: jalapenos, pickles and onions), onion rings ½ lb. shack burger (added: Cheddar cheese, jalapenos, pickles), Oreo milkshake
Burgers It was good. The patties were smashed, had a great sear, and were seasoned; however, it didn’t taste like meat.  The buns were flimsy and fell apart.  Picking the ½ pound was a good choice, and also the toppings were worked well for the burger. Probably would not like burger without the toppings. Need acid notes (i.e. pickles or jalapenos) for sure or else the burger would fall flat. Technically sound burger, but is missing the umami flavor. Wished it tasted better. The burger looked good, had a sear and was not dry, but the meat didn’t taste beefy enough.  The taste did not match the visual. Patty was cooked medium-well, but the doneness level was not specified when ordered. American cheese wasn’t melted. Pickles added a nice contrast. Bun was thin, falling apart. The sear on the patty was nice and crispy; however the meat was flavorless and bland. Did not think the ingredients were fresh. Pickles: “wtf yo?” (still eats it) “It has an ocean quality to them.”  If there were some changes, like better ingredients or a better patty grind, that would make it a really good burger. Really liked the burger: it was meaty and very satisfying. Recommends getting the double (½ lb.) for sure. Ration of bun to meat may be a little off, but not bad. Jalapenos made a (good) difference; it gave it an acidic kick. This was a good, no frills burger. Bun was gooey. Asked for medium rare, but only got pink here and there. Enjoyed the burger a lot. Asked the lady at the register what kind of cheese she would recommend and she recommended the Cheddar cheese.  Glad to go with her recommendation because the Cheddar cheese was melted and gooey on the patties.  Probably would have preferred to pick either the jalapenos or the pickles (not both). Patties were juicy, and the buns held up well to all the cargo.
Fries/Sides [Curly fries] Really good, standard, nice and crispy. Solid fries. [Curly fries] They are awesome. [Regular fries] Very good, super crispy, and really hot. Everything came out very fresh. [Sweet potato fries] Wished they were salted a little bit more. [Onion rings] Solid. Onions cooked through and were nicely fried. n/a
Misc Pepsi/no coke. Full bar. (Unusually) Fast service at 4pm on a Saturday afternoon. “Question: Are we Chinatown adjacent?” Shake came out way later. Nutella shake was not as nutella-y as it could be. The root beer float took a long time coming out. The bathroom is in the back. There’s room for big groups. Already finished the meal for a while before the Oreo shake came out. Really liked the shake though.
Value $8 $8 $6 $6.50 $8 n/a
Verdict 3.2 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.7 3.9

Overall Value:                     $7.30/burger
Overall Verdict:                  3.4 of 5.0

III. Future Agenda

Next meeting is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Comstock Saloon, 155 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, CA 94133.

IV. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

Submitted By:                    Sumana, Secretary of the Meeting

Popsons – San Francisco – 6/29/19

Burger crew meeting called to order on Saturday, June 29, 2019 at 11am.

Members in attendance: Angela d., Sumana S., Trevor Y., Wayne T., Dennis K., and myself (Innie C.)

Guests: Isabel G., Christian Y., and Marty d. (Apprentice member)

I. Ordering

Wayne, Angela/Trev, and Chris/I all ordered the Double Savory burger (mushroom, truffle cheese, caramelized onion, lettuce, aioli – $11.20).  Wayne added bacon to his, and Chris and I added jalapenos to ours.  Sumana and DK/Isa ordered the special item not on the regular menu, the La Hambuguesa (queso fresco, guacamole, roasted jalapenos, caramelized onions, and Yucateco mayo – $12.20), with double patties.

Savory Burger
La Hambuguesa

There are 5 regular burger offerings on the menu, plus a veggie option.  All (excluding the veggie option) are given the option of single or double patty. 

II. The burgers

Those who ordered the Savory burger were none too impressed.  The patties were intended to be smashburgers, but the necessary sear for a good smash-style just wasn’t there.  Wayne’s patties had a moderate sear on just one side.  Angela speculated that since we were the first guests of the day, the grill didn’t have a chance to heat up properly before some of the patties were placed.   The most common complaint of the Savory crowd was that there was no truffle flavor.  We all agreed that if truffle was not advertised in the ingredient list, we would have thought this was just a mushroom burger.  The cheese didn’t have a stand-out flavor, but nicely settled into the crevices of the patty, and added to the savoriness and gooey-ness of the burger.  Wayne thought his added bacon was just okay.  It was neither a thick cut nor a thin slice, and it was neither chewy nor crispy.  A true purgatory state of bacon.  The jalapenos that Chris and I added were of the pickled variety, and would have been a nice acidic addition to the cheesiness if there were more of them. 

The La Hambuguesa was a much bigger hit.  DK said the patties themselves didn’t have too much seasoning, but the queso fresco and guacamole really made up for it.  The queso fresco was thick cut and on point. Isa compared the taste to a torta (she clarified that this was high praise).  The ingredients all together made the burger very flavorful and enjoyable.  The patties for these burgers had a much better sear.

The beef seemed to be of good quality, and all members thought they had a nice meaty flavor.  The patties were very loosely packed.  So much so that the burgers tended to fall apart toward the end.  Most of the crew noted that while the burgers were tender, they would have appreciated more juiciness.

Buns were buttery and held up well for the most part (except when the patties fell apart at the end).  The double patties seemed to be the best choice in terms of satisfying ratio of meat to bread.

III. The Fries/Sides

Between the group, we ordered the garlic fries, the chili cheese fries, and the spicy garlic fries.  The chili cheese fries is one of the offerings on the regular menu, but the garlic fries (garlic butter, grama padano, parsley – $4) and the spicy garlic fries (sambal garlic, butter, grama Padano – $4.50) were specials advertised by the register.  The fries were thin cut, crispy, and seemed to be double fried.  Wayne commented that they were “airy” on the inside.  The chili cheese fries were solid – cheesy and satisfying.  Trev compared the chili style to be of the Weinerschnitzel kind (not in a bad way).  Between the garlic and the spicy garlic fries, everyone preferred the spicy garlic.  The garlic fries were flavorful, but the spicy garlic fries had an extra kick that everyone enjoyed.

Chili cheese fries
Spicy garlic fries

IV. Miscellaneous 

Service was very friendly, and the eating area was clean.  The fountain drinks were self-fill and consisted of Coke products.  Ketchup and mustard were “Sir Kensington” brand.  Trevor, the reigning ketchup expert on crew, declared them to be “the most okay” of the non-Heinz/Hunt brands. 

Cups/straws look and feel very much like plastic, but are made of compostable plant material.  Definite win in terms of satisfying both environmental friendliness and straw usability (wimpy paper straws are the Edmure Tully of the straw world – well-meaning but incompetent).

If you want to use the bathroom at this establishment, be prepared for a bit of a walk.  To use them, you’ll have to go over to a nearby building, take the elevator to the basement, and access them via key cards.

V. Value

The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered.  The range was between $9 and $12 for the double burgers, so most of us considered the burgers to be more expensive than what we would have liked to pay.

VI. The verdict

The Savory burger had ratings of 3.3, 2.7, 2.7, and 3.0. The La Hambuguesa had ratings of 4.0 and 4.4.

Next Burger Crew stop: Burger Shack, San Francisco, CA.

Black Sands Brewery – San Francisco – 6/28/19

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Friday, June 28, 2019 @ 10pm.

Members in attendance: Angela d., Sumana S., Trevor Y., Wayne T., Innie C., and me! Dennis K.

Guests: Christian Y., Isabel G.

I. Ordering
There is only one burger on the menu, the self-titled Black Sands Burger, which includes two smashed patties, American cheese, shredded lettuce (which they call “shredduce”… no comment), pickles and onion, all placed inside a toasted brioche bun. As of the time of this review, the burger and a side of fries or salad was $17. Bacon and fried egg add-ons are +$2 each, and I could tell you how much extra it is to make it a veggie burger but I’m fairly certain you didn’t come here to read about that.

II. The burgers
Brioche buns are a dime a dozen these days. The reviews were mixed: some members thought the aggressively toasted buns were nice whereas others thought the buns were forgettable. I think we all agreed that the buns did their job, so to that, two lackluster thumbs up.

The two smash patties were seasoned well and had good flavor, although they didn’t have that truly meaty quality we’ve found in other burgers. The hypothesis is that they don’t grind their beef same-day (not too surprising from a beer-first establishment). It would have been nice to see a little more sear and a have little more juice, but on the plus side, we were impressed the patties were cooked to a perfect medium-rare considering they were smashies. The cheese was overpowering for most (each of the two patties had their own cheese overcoat) but I thought the ratio was awesome and the umami flavor really stood out.

Moving on to the veggies, the crew—to be precise, particular members of the crew—are shredded lettuce haters. Not a deal breaker (obviously) but it sometimes waters down the flavor of the burger when there’s too much of it, so to that end, we were happy there wasn’t much “shredduce”. It was there but most of us didn’t notice (hey, sounds like me!) The pickles were sliced so thin they were translucent and cut long ways like a hot dog. It wasn’t until we tasted them separately that we realized they were bread & butter pickles, aka the inferior pickle, but prepared this way, they weren’t bad at all. Angela thought they were surprisingly nice but Sumana thought it still would have been better with a dill pickle. Pickles can be so polarizing.

III. The sides
The number of people who chose salad over fries: 0. And good thing too because the fries were a hit! They were salty, crispy, and get ready for this: they tasted like a higher quality version of McDonald’s fries, aka the Michael Jordan of fries, the gold standard. I hope this recipe never changes.

IV. Miscellaneous
The place was crowded and loud, not surprising given our visit fell on a Friday night @ 10pm. It was a miracle we found a table that fit all of us but the burger gods were with us that night. Service was really quick too, so a big thank you to our server at Black Sands that night (forgot your name, sorry!) Beerwise, there were only six beers on tap and most of them were IPAs. This is a small shop; don’t go in expecting pages and pages.

V. Value
The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered. The range was between $5.50 and $14, the latter being an outlier by a wide margin, so the $17 price tag was higher than what we would have liked to pay.

VI. The verdict
Out of 5.0, the scores were: 2.0, 2.5, 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 4.6.

Next Burger Crew does SF stop: Popson’s, San Francisco, CA.

4505 Burgers & BBQ – San Francisco – 6/28/19

Our first burger of Burger Crew Does San Francisco!

Burger crew meeting called to order on Friday, June 29, 2019 at 8pm.

Members in attendance: Angela d., Sumana S., Trevor Y., Dennis, K., Wayne T., and Innie C.

Guests: Christian Y. and Isabel G.

I. Ordering
There’s only one burger – the Best Damn Grass Fed Cheeseburger – Quarter pound grass fed beef patty with lettuce, onion, Gruyere cheese, and secret sauce on a buttery, griddled sesame & scallion bun.

DK & Isa and Innie & Chris each split a single ($9.95) and added bacon (+$2).

Trev & I, Wayne, and Sumana got a double ($14.25). Trev and I added the bacon, but Wayne and Sumana got theirs as specified in the menu.

Innie & Chris also ordered the brisket fries – brisket & cheese melted together over crispy fries topped with salsa verde, pickled onions & house white sauce ($11.50). DK & Isa got the spicy fries – chimichurri sauce & lemon parsley aioli ($5.50).

II. The burgers
We had mixed reviews on this burger. I think it had to do with the doneness of the burger that people got as well as single vs. double. Trev & I, Wayne, and Sumana all got burgers that were done medium rare. They had good chew. The meat to bun ratio was perfect with the double patty. The meat was nicely seasoned and tasted beefier than expected (given it was grass fed). The bun was nice. You know I love me some sesame seeds! It held up to the juicy patty, but the burger was very slippery and difficult to eat. Sumana ended up taking out her lettuce because of it. The bacon was chewy and didn’t really add anything to the burger (I wouldn’t suggest adding the $2 for the bacon). I thought the Gruyere was excellent!

So Innie & Chris and DK & Isa had a single burger and both of their burgers were overdone. They came out well done instead of medium rare (which is supposedly their standard). Because the burger was overdone, they didn’t really taste any beefy flavor. The entire burger was really dry (bun and patty included). DK and Innie both said the burger had the texture of meatloaf. The chewy bacon was the highlight for DK (that’s how bad the burger was).

III. The Fries/Sides
Spicy fries were not spicy, but they were pretty delicious. Maybe they should call them chimichurri fries instead. The brisket fries were just okay, but as it cooled, all the sauce and stuff congealed. The brisket was pretty good, but we were not wowed.

IV. Miscellaneous
As for most places in the city, there is crappy parking. There was a very long line to order. Once you place your order, you find your own table. There is outdoor seating only, and tables are communal. It was cold AF. The heaters only point at half the tables and the other half is SOL. We got there at 7:45pm. The first burger came out at 8:41pm. The last burger came out at 8:50pm. So be prepared to wait for your food. They have utensils, napkins, and sauces at the table (mustard & vinegar, house white, bbq, & ketchup).

V. Value
I ask the members how much they would pay for the burger they ate. We would pay anywhere between $3 to $12 for these burgers, which means they’re a little more expensive than we would expect to pay (but I think that’s the San Francisco tax.

VI. The verdict
We were split on this burger. I think you need to go double patty and make sure you get it medium rare (send it back if it’s overdone) The ratings: 1.7, 2.5, 3.2, 3.7, 3.7, and 3.8.

Next burger crew meeting: however long it took us to walk to Black Sands (1/2 mile away). Location: Black Sands Brewery, San Francisco, CA.

Annual Burger Crew Trip!

As a burger crew, we take our responsibility to eat as many burgers as possible very seriously. So we take a trip every year to a new city to sample their best burgers. Here’s where we’ve been in previous years:

2018 – San Diego – The year of red onions

2017 – Austin – The year of meaty meat

Yeah, DK was lame and skipped out FOR WORK (makes him even more lame)!

2016 – Las Vegas – The year of bacon and perfectly cooked eggs

First annual burger crew trip to Vegas, baby!

This year, we’re going to San Francisco. The feast starts tomorrow. Here’s our schedule:

Friday: 4505 and Black Sands

Saturday: Popson’s, Burger shack, and Comstock Saloon

Sunday: WesBurger

Get ready San Francisco! We’re coming for you!

The Social List – Long Beach – 4/6/19

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, April 6, 2019 @ noon (Angela’s pick).

Members in attendance: Angela d., Trevor Y., Wayne T., Innie C., and yours truly, Dennis K.

I. Ordering
Wayne ordered the Napoleon ($14.00) – house blend all beef patty, cooked medium-rare and topped with slow braised tri-tip steak, crispy onion gastrique (bless you) and spicy Gouda fondue. Dressed with garlic aioli and served with demi-glace for dipping.

Trev and Angela shared the Backyard Burger ($13.00) – house blend all beef patty, cooked medium-rare, melted cheddar cheese, jalapeno infused bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onions, and house made thousand island dressing.

Innie and I each had the Breakfast Burger ($12.00) – house blend all beef charbroiled patty, cooked medium-rare, fried egg, potatoes, cheddar, applewood smoked bacon. I added jalapenos to mine and neither of us opted for the $3 Jameson shot add-on, mostly out of fear that they’d pour it onto the burger instead of just having it off to the side. You never know.

II. The burgers
The buns, as with most burgers these days, were standard brioche. They were sweet-ish and held their burger contents without becoming soggy. Does it deserve high praise for barely doing its job? Probably not, but we can give it a participation trophy.

The patties, on the other hand, have potential. The meat blend was pretty tasty. Even though two of the patties came out more medium than medium-rare, the meat was both tender and had that meaty funk. The main knock–and this was across the board–was that the patties weren’t seasoned enough. They could have doubled the amount of seasoning and it would’ve been fine.

Trev and Angela had lots of good things to say about their jalapeno infused bacon: it was salty, smoky, and crispy. Everything you’d want in bacon unless you’re a heathen who thinks bacon should be pork belly.

A warning to those interested in ordering the Napoleon: the tri-tip was super dry, “almost like shredded beef jerky” said Wayne. So much for being slow braised. He also didn’t notice the cheese fondue which I’m sure was a major factor in picking that burger. I had a vision of hot gooey cheese shooting out from the top of the burger like Old Faithful but I guess the chef couldn’t make it happen. I’m not sure what s/he settled for but Wayne didn’t notice it. (To be fair, Wayne can be pretty dense when it comes to non-meaty things.)

Innie’s main gripe with her Breakfast Burger was that it initially came out without an egg. Not to sound like a brat but how does a Breakfast Burger leave the kitchen without a goddamn egg? It turned out fine and when it came out, the egg was perfect. The burger itself needed some kind of acid though. Maybe she should have gotten that shot of Jameson (does that count?).

And in other news, Trev really liked the lettuce. According to The Social List’s website, all of their ingredients are locally sourced, so f*** yeah you go California lettuce!

III. The sides
Another meeting where we did not coordinate side selection, so this review is solely for the breakfast potatoes and the garlicky shoestring fries.

The potatoes looked tastier than they tasted and the fries needed more salt and more garlic. Lack of seasoning was definitely a trend here.

IV. Miscellaneous
* Parking is tough but understandable given the area (hipster Long Beach).
* Loud environment, not ideal for a quiet get together
* Reservations are a must; this place gets packed
* Rotating taps every week

V. Value
The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered. The range was between $9.50 to $12.00 so the prices were a little above what we would have liked to pay (the prices above include fries).

VI. The verdict
Out of 5.0, the scores were: 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.2 (hello groupthink!).

Next meeting: May 25th at The Win-Dow in Venice.

Thirty-eight degrees – Alhambra – 3/16/19

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 =)

Fronk’s – Bellflower – 2/16/2019

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 11:30am (Trevor’s pick).

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

I. Ordering

Trangela: Big Hunk O’ Love with fries

Innie: Ha’bull’nero with onion rings

DK: el Diablo with baked beans

Wayne: Big Hunk O’ Love with sweet potato fries

II. The burgers

No one really enjoyed the burger buns. DK and Wayne both thought the buns were really dry, although Innie’s was soaking in burger juices by the end. In terms of spiciness, both spicy burgers delivered the right amount of heat. DK really liked the spicy relish in his burger. Innie’s egg was cooked the way that she and Wayne like, which is just starting to congeal. The patties had a good sear and seasoning, but Wayne’s was overdone to the point that he sent his back to the kitchen. His replacement burger was much better. The maple bacon in the burgers was thick and crispy. The peanut butter in the Big Hunk O’ Love was smooth, probably overly smooth, to the point where it felt like it was just coating your mouth; chunky would’ve been better for texture. The burger also came with lettuce, which was a strange combination with peanut butter.

III. The sides

The onion rings had a nice and crispy batter, and the onions were cooked through so that you can actually take bites out of them without pulling out the whole onion. The sauce that came with them was very good. DK’s baked beans were a mix of black and kidney. It was very light on meat and could’ve used more sugar; he thought it was just ok. Innie thought that the sweet potato fries, which were coated in a sweet and salty seasoning, were too sweet, but on the plus side they were cooked all the way through despite being pretty thick.

IV. Miscellaneous

The service was slow and it was hard to get the attention of our server(s). The restaurant also identifies as a whiskey bar but their selection is nothing special, although this is partially offset by their great hot sauce selection. It was pretty busy on a Saturday afternoon and it can be a little loud inside. Street parking is fairly easy to find. Innie and Wayne also had their burgers delivered to the wrong person.

V. Value

The prices that people would pay for their burgers ranged from $9 to $12, making their burgers on the pricey/overpriced side.

VI. The verdict

The ratings out of 5 ranged between 3.3 and 3.7, so the burgers weren’t bad but they definitely could’ve been executed better. Better buns and medium rare patties would go a long way.

Oh My Burger – Gardena, CA – 1/19/2019

Burger crew meeting notes Oh My Burger Innie’s choice

Burger crew meeting called to order on Saturday Jan 19, 2019 (Innie’s Pick).

Member in attendance: Trevor Y., Innie C., Dennis K., Angela D., Wayne T., Guest member Anuj. Guest member Anella

I. Ordering
Wayne – The Big Homie – #1 burger year after year. Double bacon cheddar burger, OMG signature sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion. Opted for grilled cheese buns
$13 + 3

Dennis – Lil homie with jalapeños
$10.50 + $.75

Innie – lil homie with jalapeños.
$10.50 + $.75

Trevor/Angela – big homie no cheese swapped with wheat buns instead of brioche
$13

Anuj – grilled cheese with fried egg

Anella – Lil Homie, no onion
$10.50

II. The Burgers
Burgers were over done. A little chewy/tough. We asked for medium and it was more well done than anything else. Super highly seasoned especially with pepper. Every bite of bacon was really good.

Grilled cheese bun was very gooey. Nice and crispy and buttery However, Anuj felt it was too greasy.

Signature aioli OMB sauce was liked by Innie

Wheat bun was better than brioche

Brioche was a little thick and made it a bad meat to bun ratio – dk

Jalapeños not that spicy. Not noticeable by innie. Can taste the roastedness but much prefer the acidity (like from pickled jalapeños) no tang

Wayne didn’t have the beefy flavor but Angela disagreed. Perhaps the grilled cheese got in the way

Dk is over spring mix lettuce on burgers. Shouldn’t be a thing anymore but doesn’t want any other lettuce either.

Tomato was nice and thin even Angela didn’t take it out

Wayne felt the red onion wasn’t over powering so that’s a good thing

Dk thought patty could have been more salty and seared. Everyone else disagreed.

III. The Fries/Sides
Seasoned fries are good. Salty and well seasoned. A little thicker but great chew and mouth feel.

Onion rings were so good. Fried chicken style batter not beer batter. It was made with a butter milk wash. Nice and sweet batter.

Innie like the chipotle aioli. Super flavorful sometimes it tastes just like mayo but not here.

Taco fries are shrug… Inconsistent seasoning some bites had more than other.

IV. Miscellaneous
They don’t cook the patties medium rare.

Orders take a little longer to come out but it shows in the care of the presentation.

Soda machine on the side

Parking in the back. Limited with restrictions. They will tow you. We saw two tow trucks.

They do online ordering and post mates

Indoor and out door seating. Really loud on el segundo Blvd people seem to be in a rush.

Anuj – snarky

V. Value/rating

We found the value of the burger anywhere from $9 to $12 but if the burgers were done to our liking we’d be okay in the $16 range.

VI Verdict.

Innie said there was like no wow. Except it has like bacon. Our ratings ranged from 2.3 to 3.2 making it more of a ho-hum burger experience instead of the oh-my burger experience.

G Burger – La Habra – 12/8/2018

Burger crew meeting called to order on Saturday, December 8th, 2018 at 12pm.

Members in attendance: Angela, Trev, Wayne, Dennis, and me (Innie)

Guests: Marty, mini Burger Crew member-in-training

I.  Ordering

Ordering was done at the counter, with burgers brought out tableside.  The menu highlights their 100% angus beef burger choices, but they also offer turkey and chicken sandwiches, vegetarian options, and salads.

Trev and Angela split the white truffle burger with no cheese ($9.50) – grilled portobello mushrooms, roasted red bell peppers, white truffle oil, garlic aioli.

Dennis ordered the guacamole burger, which was one of the daily special burgers advertised only at the counter – guacamole, tortilla chip strips, pico de gallo, bacon, jack cheese.

Wayne ordered the white truffle burger with bacon added ($9.50 + $2.50)- grilled portobello mushrooms, roasted red bell peppers, asiago cheese, white truffle oil, garlic aioli, + 2 slices applewood smoked bacon.

I ordered the G Fire burger ($9.50) – pepperjack cheese, red & green chili, habanero, grilled onion, roasted bell peppers, house spicy aioli on the side.

II.  The burgers

The truffle burger was a hit!  Creamy and full-flavored, with a good mouthfeel.  Trevor and Angela noted that most truffle burgers tend to be a bit boring and one-note in taste, but this one was interesting the whole way through.  They thought that it tasted rich even without the cheese.  Mushroom pieces were big, cooked throughout, and soft.  Wayne, who also got the truffle burger, thought that the patty was a little dry and not very juicy.  The rest of the crew disagreed, and then proceeded to shame him for accidentally ordering the doneness of his burger medium instead of medium-rare.

Wayne added bacon as an extra topping to his truffle burger.  These were described as “thick cut” but upon receiving them, weren’t really that thick.  However, Wayne thought they were tasty and were worth adding.

Dennis thought that the guacamole burger generally suffered from a lack of texture.  The guacamole, tortilla chips, pico de gallo, bacon, and jack cheese all melded into a similar texture.  Larger chunks of onion may have helped to provide a necessary crunchy element.  There was a generous amount of guacamole on the burger, but this ended up overpowering the beef flavor of the patty.

The fire burger (which advertised a promising icon of two chili peppers on the menu) wasn’t as spicy as I was hoping for.  It did taste of chilis, but didn’t have much heat.  The house spicy aioli on the side had the color of sriracha mayo and also did not deliver on the heat scale.  The pepperjack cheese may have added some creamy texture, but didn’t contribute much flavor-wise.

The patties when tasted alone did not seem to be fully salted, but the added ingredients of each burger provided the seasoning and flavor.   Everyone enjoyed the portion size of the burgers- not too small to be unsatisfying but not too large to be unwieldy and difficult to eat.  We all received the correct doneness that was ordered.

Everyone’s burger used the same “high-rise buns”, which were soft, eggy, and spongey.  Trev mentioned that the buns contributed to a richer tasting burger overall.  The buns all seemed to hold up well to the toppings.

III. The Fries/Sides

The sides were a consistent winner with everyone.

The garlic parmesan fries ($5.00) smelled amazing when they came out!  They were nice and garlic-y and full-flavored.  The cheese didn’t really stick to the fries, but most fries with parmesan seem to have this issue.

The G-tornado fries ($5) had melted cheese, grilled onion, bacon pieces, and lots of thousand island-style dressing.  We described it as a better version of in-n-out animal style fries.  These fries and the garlic parmesan fries were of the battered kind and very nicely cooked.

The regular fries ($2.50) were still solid without any fancy toppings.  They had a great potato flavor and crispy texture.

The beer battered zucchini fries ($5.50) consisted of 6 large zucchini spears and was served with a side of ranch. These were a different style of battered than the aforementioned fries- these looked like a dry/wet/dry type of fry.  Very nicely seasoned, with visible salt grains.  Definitely one of the better zucchini fries that we’ve had.  Warning: Beware of molten lava status when they first come out.

IV.  Miscellaneous

La Habra felt like a farther drive than expected.  I think it might be because it’s so far from all freeways and required a good amount of side streets to get there.

There is a small parking lot available which filled up pretty quickly by the end of our meal.  Outdoor seating is also available.

The ketchup is off brand but was still tasty.  Our resident ketchup connoisseur, Trevor, gave it the high praise of saying that he wouldn’t have noticed that it wasn’t Heinz.

The fountain drinks are refillable and had a pretty standard selection of Coke products.

We originally sat at a table adjacent to the bathroom, but moved after we found that there was a strong bathroom cleaner smell.  The bathrooms themselves were pretty tidy.

Very nice staff.  We received our food in a timely manner, and our food runner was oddly generous with napkins.  (By our fifth unprompted delivery of napkins, we were beginning to question if we just looked like a messy group.)  However, our bounty of accumulated napkins came to the rescue when one of our crew spilled his coke over our table.  The only logical conclusion here: Precog.

Marty had boiled, pureed carrots.  She seemed to like it.

V.  Value

The members were asked how much they would pay for the burger they ordered.  We would pay anywhere from 10 to 12 dollars for our burgers, so the prices were generally on par with what we received.

VI.  The verdict

The white truffle burger was the clear winner during this meal.  The ratings ranged from 3 to 4.7, with the truffle burger earning all 4s and above.  The other burgers fell short of expectations and were solidly average burgers.

Next burger crew meeting: January 19th at Oh My Burger in Gardena (Innie’s choice)