I'm Hook'd On You

Greetings, Readers!

This past week, I was able to get out to one place that I've always wanted to get to in southern California. It didn't have sandwiches, but it did have some of my favorite beers on record. This magical land of science was The Bruery.

The beer was magical, but the sandwich that Bryan (@818NewGuy) and I had between brewery tour tastings and our taster flights was nearly forgettable. So let's not talk about it and allow it to sully the delicious beer we tasted.

If you'v never tried their beer, you should. I had this amazing one named Windowsill which had raspberry, rhubarb and biscuit notes, made to emulate a raspberry rhubarb pie. Delicious.

The following day though, I visited Hook Burger in Burbank. I had previously visited Hook Burger with Bryan while touring Burbank for burgers. It had come on a day where we had done 3 prior to arriving at Hook, so I didn't actually have a burger then, but just had a beer and tried to digest.

This time around I changed that.

Feeling the need for bacon, I ordered the Hickory Burger, a patty of lean beef is topped with thick cut bacon, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, homemade crispy onion strips, lettuce, tomato, onions and my choice of blue cheese.

As you can see in the photo, the burger is fairly tall, and required pressing it down in order to get your first bite. Despite this though, the burger patty itself is relatively small. It tastes great, but I would definitely have preferred something thicker.

The funky blue cheese and smoky bacon worked very well together, and I can highly recommend this combination. The added smoke and tang of the BBQ sauce only adds to the flavor sensations. The lettuce and grilled onions added a crispness to contrast the burger and the soft bun.

Speaking of the bun though, while it did have a nice light flavor to contribute to the sandwich, it fell apart fairly quickly. Halfway through this sandwich and I was mostly gripping lettuce shreds and bacon.

Combined with a pint of Green Flash IPA, this was definitely an enjoyable burger for a cool Sunday afternoon. While not my favorite burger in Burbank, it definitely has its plus side. If you happen to be around a Hook Burger, you wouldn't be disappointed with this quality go-to.

Until next week, Readers!

P.S. - I'll be tweeting progress on my National Novel Writing Month experience throughout November, but you can get a quick glance of my progress off in the right hand column here on the blog. Here's to my first novel!

Hickory Burger
*** 1/2 Stars
Hook Burger
1731 N. Victory Place
Burbank, CA 91506

The Hills Are Alive... With The Sounds of Sizzling

Greetings, Readers!

Finally here in Los Angeles we've seen a break in our high temperatures. While I understand it's still technically summer, I admit I'm quite glad that the temperature is showing signs of changing as we head towards a season that acts like fall is supposed to act.

Looking back over the past few months though, I see I've gotten around to quite a lot of places, burgers joints especially. I actually hit even more places than I had written about and elected to skip over a few at the time. Recently, I had been thinking of one place that I skipped reviewing that I wanted to share with you now.

DeBell's Golf Club is located up a steep road into the hills in Burbank, which gives the Clubhouse Grill an excellent view out over this part of the valley. While Bryan (@818NewGuy) and I had gone on a relatively cloudy day, I imagine on a clear sunny day you can see fairly far.

The Clubhouse Grill is a swank little rest area for golfers between rounds, with a bar as well. Sitting down near one of the windows with a view, we looked at the menu and settled on the basic cheeseburger.

"The Best In Town" it said.

"Oh, really?" we said.

At the top of the burger section on the menu, DeBell's Clubhouse Grill proudly states that their burger patties are freshly ground and handmade on site, and topped with their own special sauce. Along with that, the cheeseburger comes with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions.

The patty was grilled well and had decent flavor, but the other ingredients didn't add much to the burger at all. The grilled onions were a bit tough and the American cheese, while melted well enough, didn't add much in the way of flavor. The burger could have been helped a bit with a more flavorful cheese, even something as simple as cheddar. Overall, this burger was not even close to the "best in town", but the experience as always was enjoyable.

Getting out of the city, without actually getting out of the city, made the trip worthwhile. Sometimes the sandwiches I research may fall short, but there usually is at least one redeeming factor. If you're looking for a new place to get away to, even just to have a drink, it might be worth trekking into the hills to visit the Clubhouse Grill.

Just don't feel pressured into buying the burger.

Until next week, Readers...


The Clubhouse Cheeseburger
*** Stars
DeBell Golf Club Clubhouse Grill
1500 E. Walnut Ave
Burbank, CA

Robots. Monsters. Burgers.

Greetings, Readers!

You know how I love sandwiches. You know how I love baseball. Now it's time you find out another love of mine: Giant robots punching things.

It doesn't matter what they punch, but if it's in the middle of a major metropolitan area with some sort of equally tall enemy, I'm all about it. Throw in collateral damage and people running away from said enemies and you have a winner.

Hence, my love of Pacific Rim.

Recently, while out with close friends, we decided to have dinner downtown at the Yard House before seeing Punchfest 2013. There are a number of states with a Yard House location, so you should definitely see if one is near you.

First of all, the beer menu here is massive. For a beer fan like myself (add that to the list of 'likes') it was almost overwhelming. Would I start with an IPA? A Blonde? Or something heavier?

I decided to go with some Belgian Quads, specifically Gulden Draak 9000, a delicious beer to have, but make sure not to have more than one as these are especially strong beers. To accompany the strong and syrupy flavors of the quad, I settled on the Pepper Crusted Gorgonzola Burger.

But don't get me wrong, the burgers are not the only things that look great on the menu. Everything looks delicious.

The pepper crusted, medium cooked burger comes topped with Marsala sauteed crimini mushrooms, caramelized onions, baby spinach and Gorgonzola cheese.

Battling against the strong flavor of the Belgian quad, the burger flavor shone through perfectly. The strong peppery crust and the aged cheese flavors had a lot of competition for my taste buds attention but complemented each other well.

The crimini mushrooms were cooked perfectly well as they still had a little bit of pop left with each bite. The baby spinach added some much needed green contrast to the sandwich with a slight flavor that was noticeable on occasion.

The bun also held together until the end and worked well with the sandwich. Fluffy, fresh and yet not prohibiting the flavors from the rest of the sandwich or taking away from the meal.

Overall, Yard House, you done well. Excellent sandwich and an excellent prequel to robots punching monster faces.

Have you seen Pacific Rim yet? Have you had an excellent sandwich since last week? Let me know in the comments.

Until next week...


Pepper Crusted Gorgonzola Burger
**** Stars
The Yard House
800 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90015

I Love You, Tokyo

Ohaiyou Gozaimasu, Readers!

I have returned from my 8 day journey to the wonderful capital city of Tokyo, Japan.

Granted, I didn't eat many sandwiches there as the numerous options of delicious sushi and various types of noodles took precedence while there, but I did happen upon a sandwich dealer while walking through the neighborhood of Ginza.

Tucked beneath the tracks for the local JR Yamanote train line, The Beat Diner can be hard to find if you're not looking for it.

Also being tucked beneath a subway, every so often during your meal the entire place rattles as the train passes overhead. It definitely adds to the atmosphere of the place.

And speaking of atmosphere, the place has it in handfuls. A rugged brick interior with walls adorned by classic American rock records, it's a tribute to 60s and 70s America, right down to the classic american food: The Hamburger.

Every burger is listed in two different sizes, essentially 1/3lb and 1/4 lb options, and for this time out I decided to go with the straight up 1/4lb Cheeseburger.

While not expecting much out of sandwiches in Tokyo, and having had so many great ones recently in Burbank, I was blown away by how delicious this sandwich was.

After being given a small paper bag to wrap the burger in (a la West Coast style) I dove right in and was hit with a delicious beef flavor and a well rounded, melted cheddar flavor. A little bit of crisp lettuce tops of the burger added a freshness as well as textural crunch.

The fries were also excellent, and I wish there had been more. Very flavorful, lightly salted, and with a bit of crispiness on the outside.

This was really a fantastic burger, not just for Tokyo, but for any burger love in general.

As I've found with many sandwiches over this journey, sometimes the best ones appear to us through accident. Here we were, hungry and looking for lunch after touring the Imperial Palace grounds and we happen to pass by a local restaurant that mostly neighborhood locals would know of. We didn't expect much, and were absolutely blown away by this find.

If you're ever in Tokyo, and you should definitely make sure you are at one point in your life, you should absolutely try to find this for a break from the country's delicious sushi and udon offerings. You will be thoroughly rewarded for doing so.

Until next week, Readers...


1/4lb Cheeseburger
**** Stars
The Beat Diner
Tokyo, Japan

The Burgers of Burbank (Part 10)

 Greetings, Readers!

Have you been waiting patiently over the past week to hear more from our exciting Burgers of Burbank tour?

A few days ago Bryan and I hit up two excellent places, starting off with Apollo Charburger.

This tiny, greasy-spoon type restaurant at the corner of Magnolia and Glenoaks Blvd. is a place I have known about for quite some time but had never tried, mainly due to its very limited hours.

During the week they close up at 4pm, so the race was one as soon as I left work at 3pm.

Arriving only 20 minutes before they closed, I was greeted by two burgers that Bryan had already ordered (and with quality decision making skills): The Pastrami Burger and a Bacon Cheeseburger.

I know what you're thinking, Readers: "We appreciate your dedication to the art of sandwiching, especially when you share two burgers at the same time just for our benefit."

It's a hard job, but someone must do it.


Both burgers were pretty straightforward offerings with cheese, lettuce and pickles topping the burger patty and their differing additions.

Speaking of the patty, it was delicious in both cases. Even though it was a fairly thin patty, it was full of delicious all beef flavor that permeated the sandwich and worked well with the condiments, never giving them a chance to even partially overpower its flavor.

For someone who enjoys pastrami as much as I do though, the Pastrami Burger was the lesser of the two burgers. Sure it was topped off with a healthy dose of pastrami, but it was a bit chewy and the flavor didn't shine through.

The Bacon Cheeseburger worked much better. The smoky bacon flavor mixed very well with the beef patty, and the crunchy lettuce and pickles broke up that flavor with their salty and fresh flavors.

Despite my love for pastrami, my love of bacon once against trumps in this burgering adventure as well. Even if you're not a bacon or pastrami fan the burgers here are pretty basic, yet solid and delicious offerings. You won't be disappointed even with a straight up cheeseburger.

Until next week, Readers.



Pastrami Burger
3 1/2 Stars
Bacon Cheeseburger
4 Stars
Apollo Restaurant
401 N. Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502

The Burgers of Burbank (Part 7)

Greetings, Readers!

Last week I told you about the first two burgers in our Five-In-Two-Hours Burgering Adventure, and while those two may have been a bit disappointing, the third one in this series definitely brightened the day a bit.

After the Peanut Butter Burger, we headed a few doors down on San Fernando Blvd. to the Burbank Bar and Grille.

It's been a long time since I was last in this restaurant, but this is a great place to eat with a clean sports bar vibe and a retractable roof on the patio on warm days/nights.

Settling in on a slow afternoon at the Grille, we decided to order the Angus Burger, which was essentially our only option at the Grille. The burger, a 1/2 pound patty of freshly ground Angus beef cooked to medium doneness, with a thick slice of gouda cheese and served on a brioche bun, this was definitely a step up from the previous burgers this day.

I added a few slices of onion and lettuce on top for a fresh and crunch contrast to the savory meat and cheese. The beef patty had a much more noticeable and palatable flavor than the previous burgers on this outing. While the gouda had a noticeable smooth and mellow cheese flavor, the Anugs patty was still able to shine through on this burger.

The sweet potato fries on the side were a nice addition to this meal, contrasting the flavor of the savory burger with a sweet crispness.

While this burger was delicious though, it wasn't a knockout, but if you're in the area and want a solid burger for lunch, The Burbank Bar and Grille would be a good option for lunch.

While I still have two more burgers from this day alone to write about, Readers, we are still a long way from the finish line. Having just spent an afternoon this past Sunday in Burbank, I have a lot more exciting sandwiches to tell you about in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

And make sure you leave a message in the comments below about your favorite burger, meat or meatless.

Until next week...



The Angus Burger
*** 1/2 Stars
Burbank Bar and Grille
112 N. San Fernando Blvd.
Burbank, CA

The Burgers of Burbank (Part 1)

Greetings, Readers!

I hope you are sitting down, because today begins the trek through Burbank as Bryan Mahoney (@818NewGuy) and I try to find some of the best burgers in town.

Prior to the start of our expedition we planned out nearly 30 different places in Burbank that had a burger listed on their menu. Even diners were suggested for the list, as long as the burger was promoted as their best item, not just if it made an appearance.

So this past weekend we decided to make our first dent in the list and stopped at Alameda Liquor, which is a liquor store that has a grill right inside the front door.

Not wanting to fill up on our first stop, we decided to try the single cheeseburger and split it.

While waiting though we were told by a regular customer that the real sandwich to try would be the Double Pastrami with everything on it (note to self: get double pastrami later today).

The burger was really nothing to write home about. An incredibly thin patty, overloaded with mayo, ketchup and mustard with a little lettuce, pickles and onions underneath, we were left very unsatisfied and comparing this sandwich to a basic Burger King burger.

And if you like that sort of burger, and wanted to support a local business at the same time, this may be the one for you.

I suggested that maybe a double cheeseburger would have given us more meat flavor, since the taste of the patty was barely recognizable under all of those condiments, but i also feared this would just provide more room for more condiments to be added.

Okay, so should we have expected more from a grill inside of a liquor store? Maybe not, but you know, sometimes incredible sandwiches can be found in the least likely of places.

It may not have been the best start to our journey, but the good news is that it can only get better from here on out, and next week's blog will show you a shining example of a great Burbank burger.

Until next week...


Cheeseburger (sans tomatoes)
* 1/2 Stars
Alameda Liquor
929 S. Victory Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502

The Judge Has Ruled...Deliciousness!

Greetings my Dear Readers!

This past week, I somehow managed to be called to report for jury duty for the second year in a row. Not only was I called, but I was selected to be on a jury again.

Despite this, I was not disappointed for the fact that now I had the ability to wander the downtown streets, while everything was open, in order to have sandwiches for you all to read about.

One of my favorite places to wander into downtown near the courthouses is Grand Central Market. Knowing that I may only be downtown for a day or two, I took my time selecting a place to eat among all of the attractive vendors.

The tacos in this places are amazing. But let's not discuss that here.

I stopped by a newly opened stall called La Mamma's Burgers which looked exactly like an old lunchroom counter, completer with swirling stools.

The burgers here are straightforward options of beef or turkey, but are fully customize-able with different cheeses, sauces and vegetables.

I went for a basic turkey burger with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, onions, pickles and jalapenos.

Oh, and garlic fries. With huge chunks of garlic. Those were damn good.

The burger patty was delicious. Cooked to medium, full of flavor, and maybe just a bit greasy.

The vegetables were also fresh and crispy, adding a needed crunch to the sandwich. The main problem here was the bun. With the grease of the burger, it was not able to fully stay together through until the end.

But as always with a great lunch counter, the waitstaff and cooks were entertaining, and fun to talk with on my break from jury duty. It was nice to sit down and not have to hear testimony for five minutes.

Definitely give it a shot when you're downtown during the week.

So, one week down of my jury duty blogs, and one more entry to go on my week downtown for jury duty.  Then I will begin a series of blogs detailing sandwich shops in Burbank that I've started with Bryan Mahoney of The Burbank Leader. Make sure you follow him on Twitter (@818NewGuy) as well as myself (@danger_sandwich).

Until next week...


Turkey Burger w/ Cheese
3 1/2 Stars
La Mamma Burgers
Grand Central Market
317 South Broadway,
Los Angeles, CA

Burger Time!

Greetings, Readers!

I've lived in the Toluca Lake/Noho Arts District area for a little bit and I have consistently been pleased by the number of great eateries that are available in this fun little pocket of the Valley. One place I have always been interested in trying, yet have somehow avoided for months, is Jack's Classic Hamburgers.

Even more odd is that we share a name and I somehow didn't jump on going there.

Jack's is a tiny burger stand crammed onto the corner of Tujunga and Camarillo/Riverside right up against the 170 freeway (sounds like a lot of directions if you're not from LA). Even though the shop may be small, the servings are quite large.

I've tried a lot of burgers in my time, so this place had a lot to live up to, but I was quite satisfied with what Jack's had to offer.

Now let's get something out there first: Jack's is not reinventing the hamburger. You won't find ostrich meat or alligator bacon with some obscure cheese on top. What they do is present to you the stripped down original version of this sandwich. They just happen to do it very well.


The cheeseburger combo that I ordered had a large patty topped with cheddar cheese, lettuce, onions and tomatoes with a side of fries. The one thing that caught me off guard at first was the deceptive thickness of the entire sandwich. I thought the patty took up more room than I originally though, but it's actually the large stack of vegetables they pile on. There is a ton of lettuce and onions (which you can ask them to leave off) that make each bite a mouthful.


This doesn't take away from the sandwich though, as it adds a nice crisp and fresh contrast to the greasy burger underneath.

 Greasy and delicious.

The cheddar was perfectly melted on top of the delicious beef patty, completing the classic cheeseburger taste.

So if you find yourself in the W. Toluca Lake/Noho Arts district area, whether it be by visiting our local park, or by stumbling out of a bar late one Saturday night, Jack's is definitely a stop you should make.

Cheeseburger Combo
*** 1/2 Stars
Jack's Classic Hamburgers
11375 Riverside Drive
W. Toluca Lake, CA 91602