The Burgers of Burbank (Part 2)

Greetings, Readers!

Welcome back for the second of many installments on the Burgers of Burbank. For those of you reading this article first, I am on the hunt for some of the best  burgers in Burbank with writer Bryan Mahoney of The Burbank Leader.

Last week's burger was a bit disappointing, and after we left Alameda Liquor we quickly tried to forget about it with a new offering from a recommended place.

The Cafe Victory is a tiny restaurant we almost drove past twice without noticing because of it being on a quiet stretch of Victory Blvd. South and hidden behind a tree. A very inconspicuous place indeed.

Despite being in a less-traveled part of town, The Cafe Victory was packed. Speaking with the owner Rogel during our meal we found out that a lot of his customers are from his previous restaurant in Burbank and  followed him to his new establishment.

Dedicated patrons? Sounds like the food could be worth the visit.

We ordered two different burgers for this stop: A regular cheeseburger and a Kobe Burger.

I think most people would imagine that the Kobe Burger would be the clear winner over a regular cheeseburger. Surprisingly this was not the case.

The Kobe Burger with its blue cheese, grilled onions, and lettuce was simple and enjoyable but nothing incredibly memorable. The burger's flavor wasn't very strong and easily overpowered by the blue cheese. Not bad, but definitely not a standout on the menu.

The straightforward offering of the Cheeseburger fared significantly better though. The cheddar cheese was melted thoroughly, essentially encasing the savory and thick beef patty. Even with the lettuce and pickles on top, the savory deliciousness of the beef and smoothness of the cheddar shone through and complemented each other thoroughly.

So while the Kobe burger didn't live up to expectation, the Cheeseburger was definitely a nice surprise, and well worth a trip back to The Cafe Victory. Not only the food, but also the great service, and attentiveness by the owner himself, makes this little cafe definitely worth finding in Burbank.

So week two has proven much more promising than the last, but this is still the beginning of the long road to find some of the best burgers in Burbank. For those in the area, please let me know your recommendations, and all of my Readers, let me know what your favorite burger is from your town. You never know when I might make it out to write about it.

Until next week...


Cheeseburger **** Stars
Kobe Burger  *** Stars
The Cafe Victory
1608 Victory 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

Straight Outta' Steel City

Greetings, Readers!

It seems that lately I've had some luck finding restaurants or food trucks that I have been trying to get to for awhile.

It turns out that one of these sought after food trucks, Steel City Sandwich, happens to hang out in my neighborhood every Thursday night, and somehow I've never known this until the other week.

Well obviously I remedied that problem quickly, and on a Thursday night headed out to finally try their famous Yinzer sandwich.

Named after a slang term for a Pittsburgh resident, the Yinzer is stacked high with your choice of meat, Italian slaw, tomato, fried egg, provolone cheese and french fries.

Now, the size of this sandwich surprised me. It's an absolute monster and isn't exactly easy to take a bite out of because of all of the ingredients stacked as high as they are.

But it is a very tasty sandwich nonetheless.

The bread was thickly cut and rightfully so as a tough base was needed to hold this sandwich together until the end. The Italian slaw added a nice crunch to the sandwich in contrast to how thick and soft the bread was. The tomatoes were fresh and not mealy at all, and the french fries added a great seasoned flavor with a different textural contribution than the other ingredients.

At first I felt like the fried egg was an odd choice to add to this sandwich, but upon eating it  I was greatly surprised by the flavor contribution and how well it blended with the rest of the ingredients.

My main complaint about this sandwich would be with the meat. Don't get me wrong, the turkey that I had on the sandwich was good, but I had showed up a little later in the evening only to find out that my intended choice of pastrami had sold out.

One of the driving factors to visit this truck was seeing Primanti Bros. featured on an episode of Man vs. Food in which a pastrami sandwich topped with french fries was the main course.

I guess my problem this week is that Steel City Sandwich has become pretty popular. So applause is still handed out to these sandwich purveyors, and next time I'll make sure I'm first in line to get a pastrami Yinzer.

So Readers, in the coming weeks I will be heading back out into Burbank along with writer Bryan Mahoney to find some of the best burgers the neighborhood has to offer. You may remember from last year we worked together to find some of the top delis in Burbank (Deli 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). While those places were great, we are now focusing strictly on burgers as that seems to be the the unofficial sandwich of the city.

So for a little preview on our massive burger outing, Bryan has written an excellent intro here. Check it out and make sure to come back next week to see the beginning of a double digit burger tour.

Until next week, Readers...


The Yinzer
**** Stars
Steel City Sandwich truck
http://www.steelcitysandwich.com

Traveling Down The Golden Road

Greetings, Readers!

You know, sometimes a place makes such good sandwiches (or beer as well in this instance) that you just have to return again and again to have that same meal or to try something new.

In this case, I spent the evening with close friends at Golden Road Brewing, a place I have visited numerous times before and reviewed a year ago

This time, relaxing in the cool evening air with friends and a gut-warming glass of GRB's Barleywine (amazing, try it) I decided to go a little lighter than my last visit. This time I tried a sandwich for all of you vegetarians out there.

This time around I went for the Tomato Caprese Sandwich.

Stuffed into a golden, flaky French roll were thick and delicious slices of mozzarella, sliced roma tomatoes, basil pesto, balsamic reduction and olive oil.

The sandwich, while filling, was fresh, light, and thoroughly enjoyable. A contrast in flavors and ingredients to my previous visit (the delicious pulled pork sandwich), this was an excellent example of delicious on the other end of the food spectrum.

And it's proof that pub food doesn't have to be soaked in grease and made from meat to be enjoyable and easily paired with delicious beer.

As I've stated on the blog before, when tomatoes are on a sandwich that I am eating, I really need them to be fresh and juicy. If a tomato is mealy in any degree, I'll pull all of them off...but this was not the case this time around.

The tomatoes were fresh and juicy, with the balsamic reduction and pesto adding excellent herb flavors on top. Packed inside the flaky French roll, this is sandwich worth eating....again and again.

Overall, with this sandwich I can proudly state that Golden Road is a place where carnivore and vegetarian can eat at the same table and drink delicious beer while both enjoying excellently created sandwiches.

+++++++++++

In related sandwich news, I wanted to pass on this excellent article regarding the inherent danger in sandwiches. They can be so dangerous that even professional athletes can get hurt.  Seems that Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Joel Peralta suffered a neck injury on a recent sandwiching adventure in Florida.

Read more about it here.

Do you see, Readers? The danger I put myself in weekly to inform you of great sandwiches?

So take care out there this week, and enjoy your sandwiching.

Until next time...


Tomato Caprese Sandwich
**** 1/2 Stars
Golden Road Brewing
5410 West San Fernando Road
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Chasing The White Whale

Greetings, Dear Readers!

I have some fun news to share.

Like Captain Ahab chasing the great Moby Dick, I have finally caught up with my own White Whale...except this time with much more positive results.

In the early days of this blog, when I first signed up for Twitter (@danger_sandwich) many moons ago, one of the first accounts I started to follow was that of The Grilled Cheese Truck (@grlldcheesetruk).

Even though I had wanted to find and sample from this truck from nearly the beginning of my sandwiching adventures, timing and location always seemed to elude me.

Well that all changed two weeks ago.

While at a comic book signing at House of Secrets in Burbank with Matt Fraction (@mattfraction) the Grilled Cheese Truck showed up outside to cater the event. Not only did I get to meet one of my favorite comic book writers, but now I could finally try my most sought after sandwich: The Cheesy Mac and Rib.

Yes, that sandwich sounds exactly like what it is.

Between two slices of seasoned grilled bread sits a healthy serving of cheesy mac, sharp cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and shredded BBQ pork rib (you can get the sandwich just as the Cheesy Mac though without rib for you non-meat eaters).

Wow.

When I got home with the sandwich, I quickly took my first photo of it to show you, and I had planned to take another. Before I knew it though, the sandwich was gone.

Seriously, I could not put it down after I started. The sharp cheddar was an excellent choice for this sandwich because it's so full of flavor, you need a strong cheese to stand out. The cheesy mac, while plentiful, wasn't overloaded.

The BBQ pork was amazing. The smoky and tangy flavors brought to the plate with it were excellent complements to the sandwich, but also contrasted well with the sharp cheddar to stand out on its own. The caramelized onions gave a bit of textural difference...and then there's the bread.

You would think with this sandwich being packed with not only heavy ingredients, but also ones that would easily destroy bread, that it would fall apart after the second bite.

I can happily report though that the bread not only held together incredibly until the end, but also added a great grilled flavor to the mix.

Overall, finding my own Moby Dick was worth the wait, and is definitely a truck anyone in the area should try to find and eat from. It will be absolutely worth your time.

So now with the Grilled Cheese Truck crossed off my list, it's now onto finding another great sandwich. What will the next one be? Only time will tell.

Until next week, Readers...



Cheesy Mac and Rib Sandwich
***** Stars
The Grilled Cheese Truck
http://www.thegrilledcheesetruck.com/

Cold Weather, Warm Sandwich (Part 2)

Greetings, Readers!

As I mentioned in last week's post, my sandwiching experience back East was cut a bit short with illness, but that doesn't mean that I didn't get to taste some of the local flavor.

On my last day back East, I headed to the Reading Terminal Market for lunch with my mother and sister. I hadn't been to the Market since I was there two years ago to review DeNic's Roast Pork Sandwich, so it was definitely time for a return visit.

Going without a particular shop or sandwich in mind that I wanted to try, it took some time to walk around the entire market and find a place that I wanted to eat at. It was definitely much busier than my last visit, and some of the aisles were near impossible to get down because they were so crowded.

Finally though, I happened upon the simply named The Rib Stand in a far corner of the Market. This stand is pretty bare bones, offering shredded ribs, slabs of ribs and three side options, but you'll still have a hard time deciding which way to go. The scent of ribs and the sides will have you salivating while you wait in line.

I went with the shredded rib sandwich and was not let down in my expectations. The rib meat is juicy and had obviously been marinated for a long time as it was bursting with flavor. There was also a distinct flavor of black pepper that permeated the sandwich without being too overpowering.

The ribs had been marinated in a thin red sauce instead of a more thick, standard barbecue sauce, but The Rib Stand provides you with a container of deliciously made sauce that you can add to the sandwich in your desired quantity.

While the rib sandwich was delicious in its own right, this addition of barbecue sauce really sends it to the next level. It's got a little kick to it, but nothing that will set your mouth on fire.

The only downside is the roll. It mostly held together until the end, but wasn't really anything spectacular. It did its job as a vehicle for delicious rib meat, so I guess we can applaud it for that.

For my sides, the green beans and mac & cheese were excellent options and complemented the sandwich so well. Definitely worth choosing these two if you happen to lunch here one time.

And so ends my trip back East, Readers. Hopefully next time I can visit more places on my list and get a better sense of the sandwiching culture there.

Next week, I finally catch up to an LA food truck I've been chasing for years.

Until then, Readers...


Rib Sandwich
**** Stars
The Rib Stand
Reading Terminal Market
Philadelphia, PA

Cold Weather, Warm Sandwich (Part 1)

Greetings Readers and Sandwich Lovers!

I am back from my trip to the East Coast, but not all had gone as planned.

Originally the goal for the blog was to not only sandwich in Philadelphia, but also New York and Washington DC. I had hoped to build up quite a collection of sandwich outings that I had been researching for months.

Numerous roadblocks surfaced with that plan.

For starters, I caught a stomach bug that was going around in the Northeast which sidelined sandwiching as my stomach fought back against me for a number of days, and caused me to cancel my trip to DC altogether.

Secondly, the entire week was absolutely freezing. The day I was in New York the high temperature was only 27. So I had to cut my trip short, but not before I revisited a place I hadn't been for about 6 years.

Carnegie Deli.

This place is known far and wide, even by people who had never been there or even in Manhattan.

I'm sure if you live in or spend more time in the city you could find many other quality delis, but this is THE one of prominence and fame.

Years ago I had tried THE sandwich of sandwiches here: The Woody Allen.

This is a sandwich that is stacked about 6 inches high with pastrami and corned beef with only four small triangles of rye bread keeping the two halves of the sandwich together. It was a monumental task that, sadly, I never finished.

This time around I figured I would tone it back a bit to have a sandwich that would be much more manageable to eat by one person in one sitting. I simply ordered a pastrami sandwich on rye, something that I haven't had in a few days.

Or hours.

Though not as tall as the Woody Allen, this sandwich was still stacked about 4 inches high with freshly sliced, warm pastrami.

This meat was absolutely delicious. Slow cooked for an extended period of time with the slight bite of pickling spices. The flavor was complemented well with spicy deli mustard that I added, but besides the meat, there wasn't anything else on the sandwich.

So while I did love this pastrami sandwich, it was essentially like eating a pile of delicious sliced meat with four scraps of bread. I would have enjoyed some onions, pickles, cole slaw or even Swiss cheese to top it off and add a little textural contrast to the sandwich, because as much as I love pastrami, I like a little variety too.

My return to Carnegie was much more successful than my previous visit, and while many people will enjoy a plain pastrami and bread sandwich, I was hoping for something above and beyond the usual. While the meat was some of the best pastrami I have ever tasted, this sandwich left me wanting more.

And so ended my trek through the cold streets of Manhattan. Wanting to stay for more sandwiching adventures, but absolutely too cold to wander anymore, I left looking for my next place to review in Philadelphia.

Until next week, Readers...



The Pastrami Sandwich
*** 1/2 Stars
Carnegie Deli
854 7th Avenue
New York, NY
http://www.carnegiedeli.com