burgercrewLA

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 Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 6:00PM

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

Mini History:

Electric Owl is a gastropub and a cocktail bar. More importantly, it was created by Ernesto Uchimura. Name sound familiar? This is the original chef that started Umami Burger and BurgerCrewLA favorite Plan Check. Needless to say, Electric Owl has a pedigree of amazing burgers and (spoiler alert) it does not disappoint.

I. Ordering

They keep it real simple here. The burgers available are either a single or a double

Smash style patties, double american cheese, grilled shallots, 1001 sauce on a frico bun. Applewood smoked bacon available.

Add tots for $3 (ranch tots or hot tots)

II The Burgers

When you order the burger be ready! It comes out quickly and it comes out hot! The burgers are on the medium to small size. If you have a big appetite you may want to consider ordering two of them.

Sumana exclaimed “It was SOO good!” and felt that it was perfect as a single patty. Meat monger Wayne followed up that his was also perfect with a double patty. Double perfection? I think yes!

The patties were very beefy and although cooked beyond medium rare it still retained juiciness. The patties were definitely smashed but not enough to get the lace edge a-la Burgers Never Say Die but enough to get a great sear. The seasoning was on point and melty cheese filled all the nooks and crannies. The onions were nicely caramelized and the 1001 sauce had a bit of sweetness to round out all the umami flavor. The combination of everything is so well thought out and balanced everyone (except DK) didn’t miss having pickles. If it’s not clear, this burger is a perfect symphony that I will be humming in my head for a very long time.

II. The Sides

Tots were executed perfectly. Super crunchy and super potato-y. It comes with a side of ketchup and ranchy ranch. I personally didn’t care for the sprig of dill. Good thing it was easy to move it off to the side. The hot tots tasted like spicy pork rinds and the heat tasted like cayenne.

III. Miscellaneous

Happy hour menu is daily 3:00-6:30 where you can get cheeseburgers for $6 (single) and $9 (double) and tots for $4.50

Order from the table using a QR code (covid friendly) and everyone can pay separately (group friendly especially for that one person that orders only the salad and a water)

With the online/QR ordering it does make getting an off menu cocktail a bit of a challenge. Reservations are HIGHLY recommended and parking can be difficult to find. We also found it a bit noisy.

IV. Value

The group would pay anywhere from $10 to $13 dollars for the burger here which makes the happy hour deal SMOKING HOT.

V. The Verdict

The scores out of 5 for this burger were 4.2, 4.6, 4.7, 4.7, 4.8. This burger was highly rated the first time we dined here and it delivered again even better!

The restaurant is located at an old train station. Don’t let any an opportunity to dine here pass you by!

Next stop, Plan Check Kitchen + Bar

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 12pm PT (4th stop in Burger Crew Does the Best of LA).

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

I. Ordering
• Cash ($12): 1/2 lb. beef patty, bacon, shishito peppers, peppered onion ring, american, cheddar, korean aioli, hoisin bbq [ordered by Angela/Trevor, Wayne/DK, Sumana]
• Chance ($12): 1/2 lb. beef patty, jalapeño, sautéed chili onion, habanero cream coleslaw, american, cheddar (extra spicy available $1) [ordered by Innie]
• Truffle parmesan fries ($7) [ordered by Angela/Trevor]
• Brussels sprouts with habanero cream ($6) [ordered by Angela/Trevor]
• Regular fries ($5) [ordered by Innie]

II. The Burgers
• Patty: Cooked to medium unless specified by the customer; thick patty; not the beefiest, but Angela/Trevor and Wayne/DK had perfectly cooked patties. I had my burger split in two by the kitchen and forgot to specify the doneness of my patty… sadly it came out well-done.
• Cash burger: The creativity of the burger was appreciated; variety of textures from the bun and crispy, peppered onion ring were fantastic; bacon was not noticeable; shishito peppers were mild
• Chance burger: Liked the spread; the coleslaw made the burger a little runny; could have preferred the burger to be more spicy

TIPS: Request the patty to be cooked medium rare; do not ask for it to be split; if ordering the Chance burger, upgrade to make it extra spicy

III. The Sides
• Regular fries: Thicker fries than in the past; not seasoned well, but they were crispy
• Truffle fries: Same fries as the regular fries, but unfortunately were soggy; the crew was disappointed since the last time we were here, the fries were thin and AMAZING
• Brussels sprouts: Deep-fried and very delicious

TIPS: Get the Brussels sprouts!

IV. Miscellaneous
• Order online or inside the liquor store
• Buy drinks from the liquor store side
• Pick up your order outside the whale’s mouth
• Outdoor seating includes 3 picnic tables and 2 mini tables; 2 of the picnic tables have umbrellas for shade
• Parking lot includes 5 regular spots and 2 handicap spots
• No restroom

TIPS: Bring a sweater if you’re planning to eat outside since it’s near the beach; be in earshot of the whale’s mouth to know when your food is ready

V. Value
$11, $12, $12, $13, $16, and I abstained
Average value = $12.80

VI. The Verdict
2.9, 3.3, 3.4, 3.8, 4.0, 4.5
Average verdict= 3.7

Maybe they had an off day and our experience did not live up to our past experience. Our initial visit to Standing Room blew us away, so this place is definitely worth another shot!

Next stop, Electric Owl!

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at 9:30am (3rd stop in Burger Crew Does the Best of LA).

Members in attendance: Angela, Sumana, Trev, Wayne, me (Innie), and the first appearance of DK’s alter ego, Decay.

I. Ordering

Ah, The Window (The Win-Dow? The Win~Dow?), our first breakfast burgers of the Best of LA weekend!  The morning offerings at The Window consist of their regular burger menu (cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, and their impossible “burger” – the Beauty burger), as well as additional breakfast burger options (their single or double cheeseburger topped with an egg).

DK, Trev/Angela, and I went with the breakfast burger options, with DK and Trangela going for doubles ($7.25), and me getting a single ($4.95).  Wayne and Sumana opted to keep their double cheeseburgers undiluted with anything non-bovine, and ordered theirs sans huevos ($6.25).  Sumana decided to round out her balanced breakfast with a side of steak and egg breakfast burrito ($9.50).

II. The Burgers

As seems to be a developing theme on this Best of LA tour, opinions were split amongst the group, this time on the topic of the egg in the breakfast burgers.  Angela and DK were not fans, while Trev and I really enjoyed the addition of the egg to our cheeseburgers.  DK initially had high hopes, because he normally loves a fried egg on a burger, but thought this one took away from the star of the show, the beef patty.  While both Angela and DK appreciated the crispy laciness of the edges of the egg, they felt it was a cardinal burger sin to not serve the egg with a runny yolk.  Although a nicely runny yolk is always appreciated, Trev and I didn’t mind the doneness of the egg, and thought the flavor was a complement to the beef patty rather than a detriment.  One thing we did agree on, however, was that using the additional ketchup packet that came provided on the side really upped the enjoyment factor of our breakfast burgers.

The cheese on everyone’s burgers was nice and gooey and melty.  As Wayne so succinctly put it, American cheese is the safe choice and the best choice.  The beef patties were just as good as we remembered them, flavorful and meaty, seasoned well with a great char.  Wayne’s patties were a perfect medium rare, while the rest of us ended up with more of a medium, but none of us seemed to mind too much.  The umaminess of the burger was the biggest impression of our first visit, and they’ve definitely still got it!  The buns were soft and slightly sweet.  The bottom bun had a bit of a structure problem with the double pattied breakfast burger, but everyone else fared fine.

Some of the crew’s onions were in an odd no-man’s land of doneness, neither caramelized nor crunchy, with some onion pieces pulling out with each bite. Sumana’s chief critique was in regard to the construction of the burger; the pickles were on top of the patty, and the onions were below.  The agreed-upon burger crew consensus is that for optimal mouthfeel, those ingredients should be in opposite positions.

II. The Sides

Since stomach real estate is at a premium during the annual burger crew weekend, the crew did not opt for sides of fries. However, Sumana powered through and ordered a steak and egg breakfast burrito to split with Wayne, and they both thoroughly enjoyed it.  The description provided by the menu was nice and succinct: House brisket, fries inside.

The steak pieces were large and had a braised quality, pulling apart like a slow cooked brisket.  Wayne compared it to barbacoa, since he thought the steak tasted as if it were marinated.  The tortilla was satisfyingly chewy, and the whole burrito was grilled on top of the flattop, resulting in nicely charred bits.

III. Miscellaneous

The area in front of the ordering window (win-dow? win~dow?) had changed quite a bit since our last visit in 2019!  Gone is the parking lot with scattered plastic stools.  The lot is now beautifully landscaped, complete with plenty of tables, umbrellas, and heatlamps.  If you’re looking for an instagrammable spot, you’ll be very happy here! There was plenty of seating and parking available when we came in at 9:30a on a Saturday.

There were quite a number of flies on the morning we decided to dine there, but hopefully that isn’t a regular occurrence.

The breakfast menu is available from 8a to 11a, and they do not offer the “classics” part of their menu (fried chicken sandwich, grain bowl, shaved kale salad) until afterwards.  Hot coffee is also available, only during breakfast hours ($2).

DK’s order came with the best interpretation of his name ever.  Starbucks baristas, eat your heart out.

IV. Value

The members were asked how much they’d pay for the burger they ate.  The prices ranged from $7.50 to $14 for the doubles, and $6 for the single.  The majority of us were willing to pay quite a bit more than the advertised price for our respective burgers!  Even after a couple of years since our last burger crew visit, we still think it’s an amazing deal for a solid burger in LA!

V. The Verdict

The scores for our burgers were 4.0, 4.3, 4.6, 4.5, 4.4, and 4.3.  Winning scores all around.

Next stop, Standing Room in Redondo Beach!

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Friday, September 24, 2021 at 9:00pm (2nd stop in Burger Crew Does the Best of LA).

Members in attendance: Angela, Sumana, Trev, Wayne, and forever yours, DK
Excused for hardship: Innie

I. Ordering

There are two burgers on the menu: the Single Burger and the Grilled Pork Chorizo Burger. The latter, due to its piggy patty, is not recognized as an official burger by high-ranking members of Burger Crew LA (but is still delicious).

After settling into our table, under the mellow incandescent light bulbs crisscrossed above, our matriarch ordered Single Burgers for the entire table. Wayne asked for his to be made a double. The waitress did not bat an eye.

The menu says the Single Burger ($10) is made with prime beef chuck, Tillamook cheddar, and dill pickle, all inside an egg brioche bun. The pickle was a spear and on the side, and their burger sauce (slathered across the bottom bun) was not listed.

II. The Burgers

The buns were slightly controversial. Half of the group thought the buns used to be gooier, toastier, and breadier, while the sensible ones (me and Trev) insisted they were fine. A few of us ended up with soggy bottom buns, however no one cared because…

These patties, man! First off, big props to ERB for delivering them medium-rare without having to ask. Heavy-handed with the seasoning, these patties popped with every bite. There was nice texture from the sear and it had great chuck flavor. It was a real treat!

And as if the burger couldn’t get any better, enter the burger sauce. Generously spread, it had a slightly tangy, black peppery flavor that was just… *chef’s kiss*. Literally perfect.

Here are some minor gripes:

The meat-to-cheese ratio seemed a little skewed to the meat side. Their choice of Tillamook cheddar is interesting because it seems deliberate. American is the no-brainer, so why go astray? If you know, leave us a comment!

Angela was vocal about wanting the pickle in the burger. She did not like the fact that she had to burn extra calories and manage her own acid.

III. Sides

We ordered a few sides of fries ($5). They came nice and crunchy with a healthy amount of seasoning, accompanied by little cups of ketchup and aioli. You’ll want these to munch on while basking in the afterglow of the Single Burger.

IV. Miscellaneous

Is this a bar with a great kitchen? Or a restaurant with great drinks? Whatever it is, it can get loud whether you’re indoors or out on the patio because the word’s gotten out: ERB is a great place to hang. The inside has swanky booths and their spacious back patio has great ambiance.

Street parking is free, though if you want a little security, there is a lot next to the bar. Look for the BAR sign over the bright orange door. If you know, you know…

V. Value

I asked the members how much they’d pay for the burger they ate. They ranged between $10 and $14 with the majority of us willing to pay more than the asking price. Great effin’ value for one of the best burgers in LA.

VI. The Verdict

The individual scores were 3.8, 4.7, 4.8, 5.0, 5.0. Go get this burger!

Next up… The Window at American Beauty!

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Friday, September 24, 2021 at 1:00pm (1st stop in Burger Crew Does the Best of LA).

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

I. Ordering

There’s only 1 burger on the menu: Regular. (ground in-house every day) – Cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickle, onion ($7.85). The regular is a double. Everyone got one, but Trev and I split one. We also got fries ($4) and a cheese sauce 4 ounce cup ($2). Everyone also got a variety of beverages; Mexican Coke, root beer, etc. And Sumana got herself a sweet BNSD t-shirt ($18).

II. The burgers

These burgers are the quintessential smash burger. It had some beautiful lacy edges with a crunch we’ve never experienced with any other burger. Since they were so smashed, we felt we needed a little bit more meat. The BNSD double pretty much equated a standard single. So since I always opt for a double, perhaps a quadruple would give me the meat I desired from this burger. And Sumana reminded me not to forget that a quadruple patty would need quadruple cheese to accompany it! 

The toppings on the burger were really good. The cheese was nice and melty. The mustard was very good. It reminded Trevor of a grown up version of a McDonald’s burger. There was a good mix of acid with the pickles and onions. 

The buns were fine. Nothing to write home about. We took them to the Silver Lake Meadow since there wasn’t any seating there so the burgers were a bit cold. But not their fault!

III. Sides

The fries were soggy. They kinda looked like McDonalds fries, but sadly, not as seasoned. They definitely needed a better fry. The cheese sauce was really good though! It was made in-house and stayed nice and gooey.

IV. Miscellaneous

They have an awesome mural outside. They are one of those rare places in this area that has its own parking, but the spots were pretty tight. There is no seating during the pandemic. The seating is only for the adjacent coffee shop. So the result is there were a lot of people eating in their cars or trunks. 

As we’ve been here before, we noticed the change due to COVID. In the pre-COVID times, you went inside to order, but now, they have a little window that you order at. Service was really friendly! They don’t take cash. There is no restroom available. They also sell t-shirts ($18) and buttons. There’s a large variety of different drinks to accompany your burgers. Mexican Coke. Root beer. La croix. 

V. Value

I ask the members how much they would pay for the burger they ate. We would pay any where from $5 (that’s an outlier) to $10. So the burgers are nicely priced!

VI. The Verdict

This burger is undoubtedly the epitome of the smash burger scene in LA. Enjoy those crispy, crunchy edges! The ratings: 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.4, 4.5, 5.0!

See you all at the next location: Everson Royce Bar (my favorite!!!)

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.

Burger Crew meeting called to order on Saturday, August 21st, 2021.

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

This was Burger Crew’s first foray into the city of Paramount, a city so well-hidden that some of the members had never even heard of it before. Will it become the hidden city burger-equivalent of Shangri-La? Read on and find out.

I. Ordering

The ordering started off in a confusing manner because the restaurant’s full menu is split between two opposing walls, one above and behind the cashier and one on the wall on the other side of the room. If you weren’t aware of it, you could easily miss half the menu because it’s behind you when you face the cashier.

DK: Stockberger ($19.99) (Created by Tommy Stockberger himself. A Texas toast burger build that starts with our smash burger and all its fixins’, adds brisket and is of course topped off with mac n cheese) and street corn ($4.99).

Innie: Smash burger ($8.99), mac & cheese ($4.99), street corn, and waffle fries ($4.99)

Chris: Nashville hot chicken sandwich ($12.99)

Trangela: Smash burger and Texas style brisket fries ($13.99) (Battered waffle fries, covered in creamy cheese sauce and topped with our smoked Texas style beef brisket, and handcrafted BBQ sauce. Add some bread and butter pickles and fresh cut cilantro)

Wayne: The Mac Rib ($30) (A full smash burger with all the fixings, smoked brisket sautéed in our house bbq sauce, and topped with a full dino short rib. Put together with 3 pieces of Texas toast to hold things down) and no sides because The Mac Rib was ridiculous enough on its own

II. The Burgers

Almost everyone had great things to say about the burgers. The beef had good texture and there was excellent meat to bun coverage. Since it was smashed, it had a lot of the crispy caramelized bits that are associated with smashed patties. Angela thought that the beef could taste meatier, but everyone else was generally satisfied. The cheese was nice and melty, coating everything else in the burger, contributing to an overall feeling of a nice and gooey burger. For the burgers that included Texas toast, there was ample butter applied to the toast, giving it a very rich mouthfeel. The short rib in The Mac Rib was really tender and tasted good as far as short rib goes, but as far as smoked short rib goes, it definitely could’ve used more smoke. Angela hated the bread and butter pickles that were in the smash burger, but she hates bread and butter pickles so this was very much a personal choice because Trevor loved them.

III. The Sides

The mac & cheese was super gooey. The Stockberger included it inside the burger, and DK likened it to a velvety cheese sauce, although he felt that the macaroni shells themselves weren’t al dente enough. The street corn was overly roasted to the point of being burnt, and the overall consensus was that it lacked flavor, and it notably didn’t include cotija cheese, which is standard in Mexican street corn. The waffle fries were pretty standard in a good way. The Texas style brisket fries were very good, so good that Trangela ordered a second portion to take home. The only notable complaint about them (aside from Angela’s hatred of the bread and butter pickles) was that the cheese was underneath the fries instead off drizzled on top.

Chris’s Nashville hot chicken sandwich was great as a chicken sandwich, but as far as being a Nashville hot chicken sandwich went, it was lacking in heat. However, the chicken was juicy and the portion was large.

IV. Miscellaneous

Towards the end of our meal, the cashier asked us if we wanted dessert, and since only monsters turn down dessert, we said yes. A few minutes later, she brought out an awesome platter with two slices of their mud pie ($6.99 each) and a cup of smokey cookies and cream ice cream ($4). The desserts were very good (especially if you like chocolate), if a bit hard to finish due to everyone being so full already.

The restaurant has multiple seating areas that encompass every level of comfort that people might consider during a pandemic: fully indoors, fully outdoors, and semi-indoors (with one wall open to the outside). Service was excellent, there are lots of beers on tap, and parking was easy.

V. Value

Ignoring The Mac Rib as an outlier since it’s significantly more expensive than the other burgers, the value proposition of the burgers was pretty average, with the total prices that we’d be willing to pay trending pretty closely to the actual total prices of the burgers. The actual range was between $7.50 to $16.

As far as The Mac Rib goes, I thought that it was a good value for what it offered. The short rib on its own on the menu is $25, so for $5 more, you also get a pretty great burger.

VI. The Verdict

The ratings came out to 3.8, 4.2, 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4, and it’s somewhat rare for a location to get this many ratings for 4+ from the Crew, so overall, Smoke & Fire gets pretty high marks. Big thanks to the hostess for the delicious dessert platter.

Since I’m a huge procrastinator and waited until the last minute to get this review out, the next Burger Crew meeting is later today for our annual trip!

We do our burger crew trip every year (with the exception of last year due to a little thing called COVID).

In past years, we’ve done Las Vegas, Austin, San Diego, and San Francisco.

This year, we’re staying on our home turf and revisiting the best places in LA. Sadly, some of our favorites have closed. But here are the one’s that made the list!

Burgers Never Say Die

Everson Royce Bar

The Window

Standing Room

Electric Owl

Plan Check

Pier Burger

Grill ‘Em All

Lock & Key 

Great ready LA! We’re coming for you this weekend!

Burger crew meeting called to order on Saturday, July 24^th, 2021.

Members in attendance:  Angela, Trev, Marty, DK, Innie

Original burger crew meeting was slated for For The Win. Unfortunately when we arrived the restaurant was closed due to plumbing issues. Needless to say, there was no win.

Our consolation was a place a couple miles away called Blue Burger. It is located inside Bluebird Market which resembles more a liquor store than a market. The “market” portion is easily rivaled by the “mini store” in the lobby of the local TownePlace Suites by Marriot.

I.  Ordering

There were only 4 burgers on the menu with a Fries add on for $2. The prices listed below reflect burger only.

Angela and Trevor ordered the Original Burger $9 – Raw onions, Mayo, Ketchup, Mustard, Lettuce, Tomato, American Cheese

and

Tex Mex with Fries $10 – American Cheese, Bacon, BBQ Sauce, Onion (fried)

DK ordered the Hot Cheeto Burger with Fries $12 – American Cheese, Bacon, Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato, Fried Onions, Mayo, Ketchup

Wayne and Innie ordered the Original Burger with fries.

II.  The Burgers

We all found the OG Burger was super juicy and really good. The patties had a really great sear with nice rough grind. All the burgers came with TWO patties and TWO super melty slices of cheese. The buns were also EXTRA toasted. We really don’t see enough of this around. The chef really made the burgers with care and love and it absolutely shows.

As for the Hot Cheetos burger, the first reaction after picking it up with the hands is that it was really stiff to the point it could be snapped. However, after first bite the fears were assuaged and the burger gave way predictably and nicely. The cheetos gave a crunch and felt really satisfying. Perhaps it could be described as ASMR for the mouth.

III. Fries

Fries seem single fried a-la crispy on the outside and way over done on the inside. If you’ve ever had fries at In ‘n Out “well done” then you know what I’m talking about. Plenty of seasoning salt to make that Coke taste extra good.

IV.  Miscellaneous

This is strictly to-go establishment. There’s no seating available inside the market. There’s loud thumping music playing on the speakers.

It’s simply one chef working the grill/counter and payment is done in the market portion of the store. We didn’t see mask wearing by the chef.

Parking is difficult because ktown.

Hours are Closed Tuesday

12PM-9PM all other days except Friday and Saturday they close two hours later at 11PM

V.  Value

As a group we valued the burgers between $9 and $12. The actual pricing is good for the money.

VI.  The Verdict

The ratings: 4.1, 4.2, 3.5, 4, and 4.2.  Perhaps there’s an indicator that one of the burgers wasn’t consistently made. Overall we really enjoyed the burger. Personally I would not go out of my way to come back but If I was in the area I’d definitely stop in if I were craving a hamburger.