The Patron Saint of Burgers

Greetings, Readers!

Hopefully this past week you took some time off to celebrate St. Patrick's Day the way that all good Irish Americans (or Irish Americans for the day) like to: with beer.

And hopefully a sandwich.

Meeting up with friends to catch up, I spent the evening at Stout Burgers and Beers in Studio City to enjoy a burger and beer.

Settling down with a Rosy Barl Sour Ale from Anderson Valley Brewing, and joined that up with a Goombah Burger.

The Goombah was an all-beef burger cooked medium-rare and was topped with Parmasiano flakes, smoked mozzarella, crispy prosciutto, and lemon basil aioli. The lemon flavor was surprisingly noticeable over the smooth and smoky flavors provided by the burger and other toppings. Not too powerful, but definitely on display and an interesting change of pace with a burger.

The patty itself was perfectly cooked and delicious tasting. One of the best things about Stout is that they have such an incredible burger philosophy listed on their menu page, and it shows in both the flavor of their burgers as well as the knowledge of the servers.

I've written about Stout before, and the message remains the same: this is a must visit.

What about you, Readers? Where did you stop to eat on St. Patrick's Day to celebrate?

Until next week, Readers...

The Goombah Burger
**** Stars
Stout Burgers and Beers
11262 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604

One Last Night Into The Cold

Greetings, Readers!

I hope that those affected by the recent polar vortex have come out stronger on the other side it. I also hope that you took my twitter advice to stay inside and enjoy a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup as others tried to throw boiling water into the air to watch it freeze.

You obviously came out on top if you did. And with fewer burns.

When I was visiting Philly last month, it was a bit colder than I had become used to in Los Angeles, but still nowhere near what the weeks after my visit would be like. Regardless, there wasn't a better way to deal with the cold than a night out at the bar with friends for drinks and dinner.

We headed out to Kraftwork Bar, a place I had visited before on a prior trip. This time around, the bar was packed, but after waiting for a seat, we settled down and looked through their excellent dinner menu. I had gone back and forth between a few of the sandwich options, but the Beer Can Chicken Sandwich's call was just too strong to ignore. Paired with a heavy, dark beer we settled into our booth and all caught up with each other.

The sandwich came out shortly (service was excellent even with it being so busy) and looked like a challenge. The shredded chicken was piled high between the light fluffy bun. With every bite, the juicy and marinated chicken nearly dissolved in my mouth, it was that well cooked. Combined with fried long hot peppers, onions and smoky provolone, this sandwich was quickly consumed. A bit of spice, a bit of heat a bit of smoke, a lot of delicious.

The bread really was just there as a way to eat the meal, as whatever flavor it would have added to the sandwich was easily blocked out by the flavorful mash-up in the middle. The sandwich is heavy and plentiful so if you're hungry and looking to stay warm do the same as I did and pair this up with a dark beer like a porter or stout to complete your meal.

Add some old friends in and you'll complete your night.

Following Kraftwork we walked to Barcade and Frankford Hall, both of which we met up with more people, family included). I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with both of these bars as well and will plan a return visit on my next trip east.

Until next week, Readers...stay warm, and stay full!


Beer Can Chicken Sandwich
**** Stars
Kraftwork Bar
541 E. Girard Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19125
www.kraftworkbar.com

Spring House in Winter Weather

Greetings, Readers!

I hope the last two weeks of the holidays have left you satisfied, relaxed, and ready to start off 2014 with a bang.

2013 led to a lot of amazing sandwich experiences, and I'm looking to take you through another year of them.

Wrapping up 2013 with my visit to Philadelphia, I had a number of great experiences, and one of the top ones was my trip to Spring House Brewery Tap Room in Lancaster, PA.

Part of a full day of brewery tours in eastern Pennsylvania with my brother, Spring House was our first stop. To accompany the ten beer sampler, I decided to go with the Reuben. On a cool December day, this filling sandwich sounded like the perfect companion to some of the amazing house brews.

To be fair, every sandwich sounded excellent. I was also leaning towards the French Dip.

The Reuben is a straight forward affair at Spring House: Sliced Corned Beef, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing and Swiss cheese on lightly grilled rye bread. Sometimes being simple is the best way to take it. For this Reuben, the corned beef was cooked well and full of mouth-watering flavor. The spices in the meat shone through even with all of the other flavors competing for the spotlight. The Swiss cheese was melted thoroughly and offered its smooth smoky flavor, a delicious contrast to the sour bite or the sauerkraut and the sweet taste of the Thousand Island.

My only complaint, and it's minor in this situation, is that I would have preferred the bread toasted/grilled just slightly longer. This factor should in no way deter you form this sandwich though.

This was a delicious choice to accompany the beer sampler we had and a great way to keep warm on a cold December afternoon.

If your'e able to swing by the Tap Room, I highly suggest getting this sandwich as well as their extensive ten-pour sampler so you can try every one of their offerings. My favorite was the Big Gruesome Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout. It's a real knockout and thoroughly delicious.

One more stop to go in my trip back to Philadelphia, but we'll continue that next week.

Until then, Readers...


Reuben Sandwich
**** Stars
Spring House Tap Room
25 West King Street
Lancaster, PA 17603

http://www.springhousebeer.com

A Burger Paradise

Greetings, Readers!

The temperatures have finally started to drop in Los Angeles, and it's actually beginning to feel quite a bit like fall here.

Granted, "fall" in Los Angeles really just means that it won't be 90 degrees every day now.

Craving a delicious burger recently, I was surprised to find in my sandwich research that a Studio City branch of Stout Burgers and Beers had opened a short walk from my apartment.

Sitting down in the restaurant and perusing the menu with New Belgium's Peach Porch Lounger (a delicious peach flavored saison), I knew I had picked a great spot to dine with a friend. The menu is short and sweet, but this did not make choosing a burger any easier. It was even more difficult to decide on what to order when we were informed of the special: a burger with truffle aioli.

I decided to go with the Stout Burger though (maybe it was because it had bacon), which came out in a delicious medium rare (it's the standard by the way make sure to ask for it to be cooked longer if this isn't your thing).

The Stout Burger, a delicious beef patty topped with blue cheese, Gruyere, rosemary bacon, caramelized onions, horseradish cream and roasted tomatoes, is an excellent combination of elements for a burger.

According to Stout's website, the burger meat is ground daily, in house.

According to this website, the beef is delicious.

The blue cheese, along with the Gruyere, adds a smooth dry flavor with a mild tanginess that complements the savory meat. The cheeses, especially the blue cheese, were also a bit more muted than usual, but this wasn't a bad thing.

The rosemary bacon was delicious. Not only was it crisp (adding a different texture to the sandwich) but it also added a smoky flavor which was an excellent contrast to the savory meat flavor and smooth cheeses. Add to this the slightly sweet caramelized onions and roasted tomatoes, along with the garlic flavor from the aioli and you have a delicious, savory burger.

Add to the delicious food the fact that we had excellent service, and that the low light atmosphere is relaxing and enjoyable, and you have an excellent experience out for burgers.

You know, for all the praise of Umami Burger here in Los Angeles, I have to step out of the typical LA thought here and say that Stout Burgers and Beers is leaps and bounds better than Umami. It is a hands down, knockout decision for Stout Burgers and Beers.

There, I said it. I don't think I'm the only one in the entire city who thinks this, but let's start this conversation for those that have tried both: Stout is better than Umami.

Argue for or against in the comments below.

Until next week, Readers...


The Stout Burger
*****
Stout Burgers & Beer
11262 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
http://www.stoutburgersandbeers.com